Smolensk

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Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, 360 kilometers (220 mi) west-southwest of Moscow. Population: 316,570 (2021 census). First mentioned in 863, Smolensk is one of the oldest cities in Russia. During the early medieval period, Smolensk lay on the historic route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It has been a regional capital for most of the past millennium, first serving as the capital of the Principality of Smolensk, one of several dominant Russian principalities, from the 11th to the 15th centuries. It then became the capital of Smolensk Voivodeship within Lithuania before passing to Russia in 1514. Smolensk passed to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1611 before becoming part of Russia again in 1654, after which it became the capital of Smolensk Governorate in 1708. In the late modern period, it was the site of two major battles, in 1812 and 1941, during the French and German invasions of Russia, respectively...

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