In this era, Divin was at the center of fighting to establish dominance in the area.
In the year 1794, there was fighting between Russia and Lithuania over the boundaries of certain lands. Our Divin turned out to be in the center of these battles.
The famous Russian commander
A. V. Suvorov, leading a small force, fought with the vanguard division of the Lithuanian corps. These were led by General Sierakowski. The troops moved from the village of
Nemirov in the direction of Kobryn. A meeting and bloody
battle took place in our Divin. The Russians gained
{
7} a victory.
Before our time, a church in which Suvorov attended service in honor of his victory was preserved in Divin. A huge oak, growing by the road to this day, is called Suvorov’s. Underneath this oak, Suvorov and his troops took respite after the victory.
On the 23
rd of January, 1795, an important event occurred in the history of our region and town of Divin. Divin, the former center of the Poleski parish, was united with Russia. A temporary border with Austria ran along the Bug River.
After this, Divin entered the Kobryn district of the Lithuanian province. In 1801, the Kobryn district entered the Grodno province. This was the third partition of Poland, after which Poland became a sovereign nation. Only after this, the final partition of Poland, does the fortune of our people take shape: to live in the same state as those akin to us by descent, language, history and customs – with the Great Russian people.
All of the Belarusian lands have entered into the Russian Empire. The Unification with Russia sped up the economic and cultural development of Belarus. This was felt by the residents of our Divin. This rid our people of forced
Polonization, which could have led to the degeneration of our people. The forces of the Polish gentry and the Vatican were used in these efforts.
The year 1812 brought new challenges to our people. Peaceful life, which began to slowly improve, was interrupted with a new war. In this year the invasion of Napoleon began. Divin was occupied by the French. The residents of Divin and the entire Belarusian population were obligated to turn over many resources for the maintenance of the French army and the French rear. This was the beginning of difficult and huge exactions; everything that could be taken from the inhabitants was taken.
The French were eventually defeated, and modernization of the region resumed. But the rural areas were held back by the widespread existence of serfdom.
After the chasing out of the French from Russia, life in the cities of Belarus slowly began to recover. The cities grew, crafts and industry developed. However, the rural areas remained unchanged. The main barrier to development of peasants’ villages was the rule of serfdom.
