Vetka

Vetka is a small, historical town in Belarus, situated on the bank of the Sozh River.It is the principal centre in Vetka Raion in Gomel Region.

It was established in 1685 by the Old Believer Priest Group (a branch of the Orthodox Christian Church)) who were known as the Theodesians and who had migrated from Central Russia. At the time it was founded, Vetka was on Lithuanian territory.

The town's prosperity brought on the wrath of the Russian Empire and as result, it was gutted twice (1735 and 1764) by the Tsarist army in the 18th century. Vetka, on the left bank of the Sozh River, is located in an area which was highly radioactive due to the nuclear fallout of the Chernobyl disaster that occurred on April 26, 1986.