Polatsk, city, Vitsyebsk oblast (region), Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina River at its confluence with the Polota. Polatsk, first mentioned in 862, has always been a major trading centre and an important fortress with a remarkably stormy history. Modern Polatsk and its satellite town, Navapolatsk (Novopolotsk), are railway junctions and industrial centres, with oil-refining, petrochemical, glass-fibre, woodworking, and food-processing industries, as well as a teacher-training institute. Pop. (2006 est.) 82,400.