Spassk

 city, district center

Town and the administrative center of Spassky District in Penza Oblast, Russia. Population: 7,442 (2010 Census).
In 1648, an uncultivated field was discovered in Shatsky Uyezd and was given to a nearby monastery. In 1663, a village was established there, called Bogdanovo (Богданово). In 1779, it was renamed Spassk and made the seat of an uyezd by a decree of Catherine the Great. However, soon it became apparent that confusion would result since several other towns in Russia shared the name (notably Spassk-Ryazansky) and the town was officially renamed Spassk-na-Studentse (Спасск-на-Студенце). In 1925, a communist party conference in the uyezd resolved that the town be renamed Bednodemyanovsk (Беднодемьяновск) in honor of the poet Demyan Bedny. Bedny himself never visited the town, but was said to maintain a lively correspondence with its inhabitants. In 2005, the original name of the town was restored, and the district was also renamed.