The town had been part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but in the Third Partition of Poland around 1795, it came under the Russian Empire territory.

In 1939, the Soviet Union retook the town and annexed Western Byelorussia, and Kazhan-Haradok again became part of the Byelorussian SSR.

At the beginning of the 20th century, about half of the Jews left the town, and there were three synagogues, one of them belonging to Stolin Hasidism.

On 5 July 1941, during Operation Barbarossa, the town was taken over by Nazi Germany, who rounded up Jews in a ghetto where they were subjected to various decrees.

[2] The Soviet Extraordinary State Commission investigated the massacre and uncovered a grave containing 937 Jews, including 325 women and 301 children.