Ksizovo Village

Ksizovo stands on the right bank of the Don at the mouth of the Snova river, south of Zadonsk. The village arose in the early 17th century; documents of 1620 already call it the village of Nikolskoye, after its church. The name comes from the Slavic Ksizovo hillfort. The archaeology is outstanding: on the southern edge, where the Snova joins the Don, the settlement and burial ground 'Ksizovo 6' have been excavated with seventeen cultures from the 4th to the 13th century. The finds include a Byzantine cup, Gothic armour and a 12th-century medallion of St George — the earliest depiction of the saint in the Black Earth belt; excavations continue in recent years. The writer Alexander Ertel, author of 'The Gardenias' and 'The Goryev Farmsteads' (1855), was born in Ksizovo; Heroes of the Soviet Union Ivan Boyev and Georgy Ivanov also came from the village. About 380 people live here today.