GOMEL (Homel), town in White Russian S.S.R.; lat. 52° 25' N., long. 31 ° o' E., on the Sozh river, a tributary of the Dnieper. Pop. (1926) 82,952. It is situated on the great north road from Kiev, and is an important railway junction from which five lines radiate, one linking westward with Warsaw. It also has steamer routes to Kiev and Mogilev. Its industries include iron founding, the making of agricultural machinery, saw-milling, the prepara tion of bristles, brewing and confectionery. It is situated in a forest and marsh-dotted county of the same name, drained by numerous tributaries of the Dnieper. Its western position gives it a less extreme climate, average January temperature —6-5° C, average July temperature 18-5° C. The rivers are frozen for 130 to 140 days.
The town is first mentioned in 1142, when it belonged to the Prince of Chernigov. It was alternately in the occupation of Poland and Russia until 1772, when it was finally annexed by Russia. In 1648 it was captured by the Cossack chieftain Bog dan Chmielnicki (q.v.)