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List of diver certification organizations

This article lists notable underwater diver certification agencies. These include certification in cave diving, commercial diving, recreational diving, technical diving and freediving. Diver certification agencies are organisations which issue certification of competence in diving skills under their own name, and which train, assess, certify and register the instructors licensed to present courses following the standards for the certification they issue.

Recreational scuba diving certification agencies
Organisations which publish standards for competence in recreational scuba diving skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by affiliated schools or instructors:

 * ACDC - CMAS code ITA/F07
 * ACUC -
 * AED - CMAS code INT/F09
 * AFUS - CMAS code ARM/F00
 * CMAS code ITA/F14
 * AMCQ - CMAS code CAN/F05
 * ANDI -, also ANDI International EUF CB 2005005
 * ANIS - CMAS code ITA/F08
 * ANMP -
 * APT - CMAS code ITA/F05
 * CMAS code ITA/F04
 * ASI - CMAS code ITA/F11
 * AUF - CMAS code AUS/F00
 * AUSI - (formerly Australian Underwater Scuba Instructors)
 * BEFOS-FEBRAS - (Royal Belgian Diving Federation) CMAS code BEL/F00
 * CMAS code BLR/F00
 * BNAUA - CMAS code BUL/F01
 * BSAC - EUF CB 2007001
 * CBPDS - CMAS code BRA/F00
 * CDP - CMAS code CAN/F08
 * CFT - (Irish Underwater Council) CMAS code IRL/F00
 * CFUA - CMAS code CYP/F00
 * CIRSS - CMAS code ITA/F01
 * CMAS -
 * CMAS Baltic - (Latvia) CMAS code LAT/F01
 * CMAS-CH - CMAS code SUI/F01
 * CMAS-ISA - CMAS code RSA/F01
 * CRASA - CMAS code RUS/F00
 * CTUF - CMAS code TPE/F01
 * CUA - CMAS code CHN/F00
 * DDI - EUF CB 2011003
 * DSF - 	Dansk Sports Dykker Forbund CMAS code DEN/F00, EUF CB 2005006
 * EAVSL - (Estonian Sportdivers Association) CMAS code EST/F00
 * ESA - CMAS code ITA/F12
 * EOBV -
 * EDLF - CMAS code EGY/F00
 * FAAS - (Argentine Underwater Federation) CMAS code ARG/F00
 * FADAS - CMAS code AND/F00
 * FASSAS - . CMAS code ALG/F00
 * FAS - (Federation of Underwater Activities of the Republic of Moldava) CMAS code MDA/F02
 * FAST - CMAS code TUN/F00
 * FAUI - (formerly National Association of Scuba Diving Schools Australasia)
 * FCAS - CMAS code CUB/F00
 * FCVDS - CMAS code CPV/F00
 * FEDAS - (Spain) CMAS code ESP/F00
 * FEDASUB - CMAS code ECU/F00
 * FEDECAS - CMAS code COL/F00
 * FEDEPASA - CMAS code PER/F00
 * FEDESUB - (Chile) CMAS code CHI/F00
 * FFESSM - (French Underwater Federation) CMAS code FRA/F00
 * CMAS code ITA/F10
 * FIAS - CMAS code ITA/F09, EUF CB 2005004
 * Finnish Underwater Certification Kluster
 * FIPSAS - CMAS code ITA/F00
 * FLASSA - CMAS code LUX/F00
 * FMAS - (Monaco) CMAS code MON/F00
 * FMAS - CMAS code MEX/F00
 * FMPAS - (Moroccan Federation of Diving and Underwater Activities) CMAS code MAR/F00
 * FPAS - (Portuguese Federation of Underwater Activities) CMAS code POR/F00
 * FSAS - CMAS code SMR/F00
 * FSGT -
 * FUAM - CMAS code MLT/F00
 * FVAS - CMAS code VEN/F00
 * GUE - EUF CB 2013001
 * HSA -
 * HFUA - (Hellenic Federation for Underwater Activities, Sportfishing and Finswimming) CMAS code GRE/F00
 * HKUAL - CMAS code HKG/F00
 * HRS - (Croatian Diving Federation) CMAS code CRO/F00
 * IAC - EUF CB 2005001
 * IAHD - EUF CB 2007005
 * IAHD Adriatic - (International Association for Handicapped Divers Adriatic) CMAS code SLO/F01
 * IANTD - CMAS code INT/F01
 * IDA
 * IDEA -
 * IPA - (Monaco) CMAS code INT/F11
 * IDSA
 * ISDA - EUF CB 2010002
 * ISC - International Scuba Certification
 * ISE -
 * EUF CB 2006003
 * CMAS code IRI/F00
 * ITDA -
 * JCIA - CMAS code JPN/F00
 * JCS - JCS CMAS code JPN/F03
 * JEFF - CMAS code JPN/F02
 * KD Japan - (Kansai Sports Diving Federation Japan) CMAS code JPN/F05
 * KDP PTTK - (Polish Tourist Country-Lovers Society Underwater Activity Commission) CMAS code POL/F00
 * KP-LOK - (Commission Diving National Defense League) CMAS code POL/F02
 * KSC - CMAS code KUW/F02
 * KUA - CMAS code KOR/F00
 * KUF - CMAS code KGZ/F00
 * KWTDIVERS - CMAS code KUW/F01
 * LDA - (Ajamiaa Alibia Lil Gaus) CMAS code LBA/F00
 * LIB - CMAS code LIB/F00
 * LTV - (CMAS Liechtenstein) CMAS code LIE/F00
 * LUSF - (Lithuanian Underwater Sport Federation) CMAS code LTU/F00
 * LZSF - (Federation of Underwater Sports of Latvia) CMAS code LAT/F02
 * MBSz - (Hungarian Divers Federation) CMAS code HUN/F00
 * MICRODIVE -
 * MDEA -
 * MSDA - CMAS code MRI/F00
 * MSAC - CMAS code MAS/F00
 * MTES - diving division. CMAS code JPN/F04
 * MUF - CMAS code MDV/F01
 * NADD - CMAS code ITA/F03 EUF S 000513
 * NASE - EUF CB 2008003
 * NASDS -
 * NAUI -
 * NDF - (Norwegian Diving Federation) CMAS code NOR/F00
 * NDL - EUF CB 2007003
 * NOB - (Dutch Underwater Federation) CMAS code NED/F00
 * NUWF - CMAS code NAM/F00
 * PADI - EUF CB 2004001
 * PCIA - (CMAS Philippines) CMAS code PHI/F01
 * PDA - EUF CB 2006004
 * PDIC -
 * PDSA -
 * POSSIISSA - (Indonesian Subaquatic Sport Association) CMAS code INA/F00
 * ProTec - CMAS code INT/F08
 * PSAI -
 * PSS -
 * PTA - CMAS code INT/F07
 * PTRD - EUF S 000786
 * PURE APNEA
 * PZPn - (Polish Underwater Sports Federation) CMAS code POL/F01
 * (Diving Association of Montenegro) CMAS code MNE/F00
 * RAID -
 * RJMSF - CMAS code JOR/F00
 * RUF - CMAS code RUS/F01
 * CMAS code KSA/F00
 * (Diving association of Bosnia and Herzegovina) CMAS code BIH/F00
 * SAA - CMAS code GBR/F03
 * SEI - USOA CMAS code USA/F00
 * SDFS - CMAS code SEY/F00
 * SDI - EUF CB 2006002
 * CMAS code SRB/F00
 * SNSI -
 * SPCR - (Divers Association of the Czech Republic) CMAS code CZE/F00
 * SPZ - (Slovenian Diving Federation) CMAS code SLO/F00
 * SSAC -
 * SSDF - (Swedish Sports Diving Federation) CMAS code SWE/F00
 * SSI - EUF CB 2005002
 * SUF - CMAS code SIN/F00
 * (Finnish Divers Federation) CMAS code FIN/F00
 * SUSV - CMAS code SUI/F00
 * CMAS code SYR/F00
 * CMAS code TPE/F02
 * TDA - CMAS code THA/F01
 * TIDF - EUF CB 2012001
 * CMAS code IMA/F00 (Marianas)
 * TSSF - (Turkish Underwater Sports Federation) CMAS code TUR/F00
 * TVSÖ - CMAS code AUT/F00
 * UEF - (Hungary) CMAS code HUN/F01
 * UFUSUA - CMAS code UKR/F00
 * UISP - CMAS code ITA/F06
 * CMAS code KAZ/F00
 * USOA - CMAS code USA/F00
 * UTD -
 * VDST - CMAS code GER/F00, EUF CB 2004002
 * VDTL - EUF CB 2009001
 * VIT -
 * WADI-
 * WOSD - EUF CB 2011002
 * ZPS-SDA - (Slovak Diving Union) CMAS code SVK/F00

Recreational certification organisations no longer operating

 * NASDS (USA) - National Association of Scuba Diving Schools only USA (Founded in the 1960s and merged with SSI in 1999)

 * TAC - The Aquatic Club - existed in the UK between 1982 and 1986. dissolved organization
 * (1959-2008).

Technical diving certification agencies
Organisations which publish standards for competence in technical diving skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by affiliated schools or instructors:
 * ANDI -
 * BSAC -
 * PADI TecRec (DSAT) -
 * GUE -
 * IANTD - CMAS code INT/F01
 * IART -
 * ISE -
 * NAUI Tech -
 * ProTec - CMAS code INT/F08
 * PSAI -
 * PSS Technical Division -
 * RAID - Recreational, Professional, Technical, and Rebreather training www.diveraid.com SAA - CMAS code GBR/F03
 * TDI - EUF CB 2006002 CMAS code INT/F05
 * SSI TXR -
 * SwedTech Diving -
 * UTD -
 * NASE -
 * ITDA -
 * RAID -
 * ISSDA -
 * DIWA -

Cave diving certification agencies
Organisations which publish standards for competence in cave diving skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by affiliated schools or instructors:
 * ANDI -
 * CDAA -
 * CDG -
 * GUE -
 * IANTD - CMAS code INT/F01
 * ISE -
 * ITDA -
 * NACD -
 * NASE -
 * NAUI Tec-
 * NSS-CDS -
 * ProTec -, Cave division. CMAS code INT/F08
 * PSAI -
 * SCD -
 * UTD -
 * TDI - CMAS code INT/F05
 * TSA -
 * RAID -

Freediving and snorkelling certification agencies
Organisations which publish standards for competence in freediving and snorkelling skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by affiliated schools or instructors:
 * AUF -
 * CMAS -
 * FII -
 * IANTD -
 * Molchanovs Freediving Education
 * PFI -
 * PADI
 * Pure Apnea - Specialising in both sports and recreational freediving. Currently the only freedive education system separating competitive from recreational freediving (www.pureapnea.com)
 * ProTec -, Apnoea division CMAS code INT/F08
 * PSS -
 * Pure Apnea - Specialising in both sports and recreational freediving. Currently the only freedive education system separating competitive from recreational freediving (www.pureapnea.com)
 * ProTec -, Apnoea division CMAS code INT/F08
 * PSS -

Commercial diver training and registration authorities
Organisations which publish standards for competence in commercial diving skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by registered or affiliated schools: Organisations specifically certifying public safety divers:
 * ADCI – Association of Diving Contractors International
 * ACDE –
 * ADAS –
 * DCBC –
 * HSE –
 * ITDA -
 * (Workers Compensation Board British Columbia)
 * (SA)DEL –
 * Sicilian online repertory of commercial divers – Department of Employment and Labour of Sicilian regional government (Regione siciliana) keeps an online repertory of commercial divers trained according IDSA standards
 * (SA)DEL –
 * Sicilian online repertory of commercial divers – Department of Employment and Labour of Sicilian regional government (Regione siciliana) keeps an online repertory of commercial divers trained according IDSA standards
 * DRI -
 * ERDI -

Scientific diving certification agencies
Organisations which publish standards for competence in scientific diving skills and knowledge, and issue certification for divers assessed as competent against these standards by affiliated schools or instructors:
 * AAUS - American Academy of Underwater Sciences
 * CAUS - Canadian Association for Underwater Science
 * The Scientific Committee of CMAS
 * DIA - Dive International Agency
 * SDSC - Scientific Diving Supervisory Committee
 * ITDA - International Technical Diving Agency

Dedicated diver first aid & rescue training

 * DAN - Divers Alert Network
 * ILS - International Life Saving Federation
 * IHMP - IHMP First Aid and Medical Training

Maritime archaeology

 * NAS - Nautical Archaeology Society

Professional associations for diving instructors

 * ANMP - Association nationale des moniteurs de plongée (France)
 * CEDIP - European Committee of Professional Diving Instructors (Comité Européen Des Instructeurs de Plongée professionnels)

International standards, accreditation and quality assurance organisations

 * CMAS - Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques
 * EUF - European Underwater Federation
 * IDSA – International Diving Schools Association
 * IDSSC - International Diving Safety Standards Commission
 * IMCA – International Marine Contractors Association
 * RTC - Rebreather Training Council
 * WRSTC - World Recreational Scuba Training Council


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Kenner Products

Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models. The company was closed and merged by its corporate parent Hasbro in 2000.

History
Kenner was founded in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by brothers Albert, Phillip and Joseph L. Steiner. The company was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, just north of Cincinnati Union Terminal. It was a pioneer in the use of television advertisement for the marketing of merchandise across the United States, beginning in 1958.

In the early 1960s, Kenner introduced its corporate mascot, The Kenner Gooney Bird, which would be used in both its company logo ("It's Kenner! It's fun!") and TV ads, in both animated form and puppetry. One commercial was produced by Muppets creator Jim Henson and featured a puppet that would later become the Sesame Street character Little Bird. The Bird was phased out by 1974.

The company was purchased by General Mills in 1967. In 1971, General Mills merged its Rainbow Crafts division into Kenner, bringing Play-Doh into the Kenner product line. In 1985, General Mills would spin-off both its Kenner and Parker Brothers toy divisions to form Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. The following year Kenner Parker sold off its Lionel Trains division.

Kenner Parker was acquired by Tonka in 1987. Under Tonka management, Kenner Products was reconstituted as a division. Tonka (including Kenner) was purchased by the toy company Hasbro in mid-1991. Hasbro closed the Cincinnati offices of Kenner in 2000, and Kenner's product lines were merged into Hasbro's.

Products and product lines
One of Kenner's original products was the "Bubble-Matic," a toy gun that blew bubbles. An "updated" version was available at least as late as the mid-1960s. Kenner introduced its popular Girder and Panel building sets construction toy in 1957, the Give-a-Show projector in 1959, the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963, the Electric Mold Master also in 1963, the Spirograph drawing toy in 1966, and the Starting Lineup sports action figure collectible line in 1988.

Kenner Products obtained the rights to produce Star Wars action figures and playsets for the Star Wars trilogy from 1976 through 1985. After Kenner acquired the license to produce Star Wars toys when the Mego Corporation rejected it in 1976, Kenner popularized the 3.75 inch action figure that became an industry standard that continues to dominate the action figure toy market. Kenner also produced toys related to the popular 1970s TV series The Six Million Dollar Man and the 1979 sci-fi movie Alien. In 1981, Kenner belatedly entered the diecast toy car market, with a short-lived range called Fast 111's. The 1980s also saw the release of the "Fashion Star Fillies" line of model horses, a product discontinued by the end of the decade.

One of Kenner's most highly acclaimed lines was the Super Powers Collection, produced from 1984 to 1986. These action figures were based on the famed superheroes of DC Comics. What made the line so successful was that the characters were modeled almost exactly from the style guide of the company; and also, each character performed some "action." For example, if Superman's legs are squeezed, he would throw a punch. Furthermore, Kenner was able to commission some of the characters' creators like Jack Kirby for his New Gods characters and George Perez for Cyborg to design the action figures. In 1985, DC Comics named Kenner as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for its work on the Super Powers Collection.

One of the more popular action figure lines in the late 1980s was Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters, based on the 1986-1991 animated series adaptation of the 1984 feature film Ghostbusters. The toy line debuted the same year as the cartoon and continued production through most of its run. Although the initial releases accurately resembled The Real Ghostbusters cartoon designs, unlike Super Powers, the toy line very soon stopped attempting to be faithful to the existing source material. Instead, new, original costumes, weapons and ghost characters were designed by Kenner, many of them centered on unique action features, similar to those popularized by Mattel's competing Masters of the Universe toy line as well as Kenner's earlier Super Powers toy line.

This idea of basing a toy line on well-known characters but then coming up with original designs that were not based on any published storylines represented a major shift in the design approach to action figure toy lines at the time. In previous years, one major approach to producing toy lines was to base them closely on popular, well-known characters from properties like Star Wars, Marvel Comics, or DC Comics. The other major approach was for the toy companies to invent their own original characters and then help produce comic books and cartoons that promoted those exact designs (e.g., Hasbro's G.I. Joe and Transformers and Mattel's Masters of the Universe). In a departure from this, Kenner did not have any arrangement to incorporate their new concepts and designs into The Real Ghostbusters cartoons or comic books.

This looser approach to the source material of licensed toy lines continued with Kenner's Dark Knight Collection, launched in 1990 and the first of their numerous lines based on the Batman character. This initial set was created to capitalize on the phenomenal success of the cinematic version of the character, releasing vehicles (such as the Batmobile or Batplane) inspired on the highly successful 1989 film. Kenner also made vehicles from the Batman Forever movie (1995). Later toy lines expanded beyond the movie series and took inspiration from Batman's animated series and comic book incarnations. Kenner went on to develop lines centered on Superman and other DC Comics characters as well. As with The Real Ghostbusters, most of these DC Comics lines incorporated multi-colored costumes, weapons and action features which were not based directly on any existing storylines, although the character names and likenesses were typically drawn from the source material. This design approach to the DC Comics toy lines was continued to a large extent by Mattel when they took over the DC Comics license and produced lines based on the movies Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Superman Returns as well as the Justice League cartoons. Hasbro, Kenner's eventual buyer, has taken a similar approach with some of their action figure lines, most notably on their 2010 3.75" Spider-Man action figure line as well as some of their 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra product.

In 1998, the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect line was released but sales were less than expected. The Night Hunter series, the second line of toys based on Chaos Effect, was planned for 1999, but was cancelled due to poor sales. The Jurassic Park series became more of an annoyance to Hasbro rather than a trademark brand name. Due to this, the overproduction of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace toys, coupled with low sales, forced Hasbro to downsize by getting rid of the Kenner department in Cincinnati. 100 people were transferred and 420 were laid off. Among these 420 was the Jurassic Park design team (which also designed Batman among other toy lines), who had just started the very early concepts for Jurassic Park III. Because of this, Hasbro assigned the toys from Jurassic Park III to their Star Wars design team, who scaled the humans to be in size with Star Wars figures and made the style of the toys similar to the ones from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

In 2010, Hasbro began releasing modern Star Wars action figures with packaging reminiscent of the original Kenner 1978–1984 Star Wars product line. Star Wars: The Vintage Collection is composed of new highly pose-able figures, with screen-accurate likenesses. Hasbro had done this twice before, with the 2004 "vintage" Original Trilogy Collection and the 2006–2007 "vintage" Saga Collection but this is the first time that their Star Wars line was entirely dedicated to replica Kenner carded figures.

List of product lines
Ice Bird with 5 flavor packets
 * Alien
 * Baby Alive
 * Banjo-Matic
 * Batman & Robin
 * Batman Forever
 * Batman Returns
 * Batman: The Animated Series
 * Batman Total Justice
 * Battle Brawlers
 * Beast Machines: Transformers
 * Beast Wars: Transformers
 * Beat the Buzz
 * Beetlejuice
 * Big Burger Grill
 * Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures
 * The Bionic Woman
 * Blythe
 * Bone Age
 * Bride Surprise
 * Bubbl-Matic
 * Building Blasters
 * Building Boulders, Flintstones
 * Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
 * Capitol Critters
 * Captain Planet and the Planeteers
 * Care Bears
 * Care Bear Cousins
 * Cassette Movie Projector
 * Centurions
 * Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos
 * Close 'n Play
 * Congo
 * Daddy Saddle
 * Darci Covergirl
 * Dragonheart
 * Duke
 * Dusty
 * Easy Bake Oven
 * Fairy Winkles
 * Fashion Star Fillies
 * Fast 111's
 * Finger Pops
 * Fluppy Dogs
 * G.I. Joe Extreme
 * Gargoyles
 * Girder and Panel building sets
 * Give-A-Show Projector
 * Glamour Gals
 * Gun That Shoots Around the Corner
 * Hardy Boys, The
 * Home Workshop, Motorized
 * Hugga Bunch
 * Hugo
 * Jurassic Park
 * Knight Rider
 * Li'l Loggers
 * Littlest Pet Shop
 * Mega Force
 * Megabug Gladiators
 * M.A.S.K.
 * Milky, the Marvelous Milking Cow
 * Movie Viewer
 * Mummies Alive!
 * My Magic Genie
 * Pistol That Shoots Around the Corner
 * Play-Doh
 * Play 'n Play Back Organ
 * Police Academy
 * Power Sub
 * Predator
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark
 * The Real Ghostbusters
 * Red Line
 * Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
 * RoboCop: The Animated Series
 * Robotman & Stellar
 * Rose Petal Place
 * Rotodraw
 * Run Joe Run
 * Savage Mondo Blitzers
 * Say It! Play It!
 * Scuba Squad
 * Sea Wees
 * The Shadow
 * Shadow Strikers
 * SilverHawks
 * Steel
 * Technozoids (Zoids)
 * Sip-Along Sam
 * The Six Million Dollar Man
 * Sky Commanders
 * Small Soldiers
 * Spirograph
 * SSP (Super Sonic Power) Vehicles and Smash Up Derby
 * Star Wars
 * Starting Lineup
 * Strawberry Shortcake
 * Stretch Armstrong
 * Super Powers Collection
 * Superman: The Animated Series
 * Swamp Thing
 * Terminator 2: Judgment Day
 * TTP (Turbo Tower of Power) Vehicles
 * Turn-A-Tune
 * VR Troopers
 * Vor-Tech
 * Waterworld
 * Wish World Kids
 * XRC
 * Zippity Speedway
 * Zoom-Loom Automatic Weaving Machine

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kenner Products


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Velizh

Velizh (Ве́лиж) is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Western Dvina, 134 km from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:

History
In the late 14th century, it used to be a border fortress of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Muscovy recaptured it in 1536. Lithuania recaptured it in 1562, then Muscovy again in 1563, then Polish forces led by Jan Zamoyski captured it in 1580, confirmed by the 1582 Truce of Yam-Zapolsky. In 1585, King Stephen Báthory of Poland established the coat of arms and granted privileges for the townspeople. In 1654 it was occupied by Russia, but in 1667 it was restored to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

After the First Partition of Poland in 1772 the town was annexed by Russia and included into newly established Pskov Governorate, a giant administrative unit comprising what is currently Pskov Oblast and a considerable part of Belarus. After 1773, the area belonged to Velizhsky Uyezd of Pskov Governorate. In 1777, it was transferred to Polotsk Viceroyalty. In 1796, the viceroyalty was abolished and the area was transferred to Byelorussia Governorate; since 1802 to Vitebsk Governorate. Between July and October 1812, Velizh was occupied by the army of Napoleon advancing to Moscow. In 1924, Vitebsk Governorate was abolished, and Velizhsky Uyezds was transferred to Pskov Governorate.

In April 1823, Velizh was the site of an infamous blood libel incident, in which local Jews were wrongly accused of the murder of Christian boy who was found dead in a field. Based on the testimony of a drunk prostitute, over forty Jews were arrested and in 1826 the synagogues were closed. Some of the accused were not released until 1835.

In 1860 there were 649 craftsmen in the town, and in 1891 there were 67 industrial plants in the town, which employed 1,279 people. Two annual fairs were held in the town in the late 19th century. In 1897, the ethnic make-up, by mother tongue, was 49.1% Jewish, 47.6% Belarusian, 2.3% Russian, and 0.4% Polish.

On 1 August 1927, governorates were abolished, and Velizhsky District with the center in Velizh was established. It belonged to Velikiye Luki Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On June 17, 1929, Velizhsky District was transferred to Western Oblast. On 23 July 1930, the okrugs were also abolished and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On 17 September 1937, Western Oblast was abolished, and the district was transferred to Smolensk Oblast. During World War II, between July 1941 and September 1943, Velizhsky District was occupied by German troops.

Much of the town was destroyed during World War II. During the war, Velizh was occupied by the German Army from July 14, 1941 to September 20, 1943. In September 1942, German occupation forces murdered all but 17 of the town's 1,440 Jewish residents.

On 1 February 1963, during the abortive Khrushchyov administrative reform, Velizhsky District was merged into Demidovsky District, but on 12 January 1965 it was re-established.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Velizh serves as the administrative center of Velizhsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with seventeen rural localities, incorporated within Velizhsky District as Velizhskoye Urban Settlement. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Velizhsky Municipal District.

Industry
In 2013, 35% of the industrial output of Velizhsky district was made by enterprises of textile industry, 17% by timber industry, and 10% by food industry. Most of these enterprises are located in Velizh.

Transportation
Paved roads connect Velizh with Smolensk, Nevel via Usvyaty, and Vitebsk. There are also local roads with bus traffic originating from Velizh.

The closest railway station is in Rudnya, on the railway connecting Smolensk with Vitebsk.

Culture and recreation
There is a local museum in Velizh.

The houses of Nikolay Przhevalsky and Alexander Rodzyanko in the proximity to Velizh are open to the public as museums.

Notable people

 * Vladimir Gorev, Belarusian Soviet military
 * Max Penson, Russian photographer and photojournalist
 * Baruch Poupko, Jewish American multi-lingual scholar and Orthodox Rabbi
 * Jurka Vićbič, Belarusian writer, publicist and a prominent member of the Belarusian diaspora

title: Velizh