smolensk

The name of the city is derived from the name of the Smolnya River. Smolnya river flows through Karelian and Murmansk areas of north-western Russia.{{Cite web|title=Государственный водный реестр: река Смольная|url=http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=156856|access-date=13 February 2022|website=textual.ru|archive-date=25 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225071954/http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=156856|url-status=live}} The origin of the river's name is less clear. One possibility is the old Slavic word {{lang|sla|смоль}} ({{lang|sla-Latn|smol'}}) for black soil, which might have colored the waters of the Smolnya. An alternative origin could be the Russian word {{lang|ru|смола}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|smola}}), which means resin, tar, or pitch. Pine trees grow in the area, and the city was once a center of resin processing and trade. The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) recorded its name as {{lang|grc|Μιλινισκα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Miliniska}}).{{cite web |url=http://faculty.uml.edu/ethan_spanier/Teaching/documents/CP21DeAdministrandoImperio.pdf |title=Byzantine Relations with Northern Peoples in the Tenth Century |author=Paul Stephenson |date=21 April 2000 |access-date=16 April 2012 |archive-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813164022/http://faculty.uml.edu/ethan_spanier/Teaching/documents/CP21DeAdministrandoImperio.pdf |url-status=live }}

The city is located in European Russia on the banks of the upper Dnieper River, which crosses the city within the Smolensk Upland, which is the western part of the Smolensk–Moscow Upland. The Dnieper River flows through the city from east to west and divides it into two parts: the northern (Zadneprove) and southern (center). Within the city and its surroundings the river takes in several small tributaries.

In the valleys are stretched streets, high ridges, hills, and headlands form the mountain. Smolensk is situated on seven hills (mountains). The old part of the city occupies the high, rugged left (south) bank of the Dnieper River. The area features undulating terrain, with a large number of tributaries, creeks and ravines.

{{See also|Timeline of Smolensk}}

{{see also|Principality of Smolensk}}

File:Свирская Церковь.jpg

Smolensk is among the oldest Russian cities. The first recorded mention of the city was 863 AD, two years after the founding of Kievan Rus'. According to Russian Primary Chronicle, Smolensk (probably located slightly downstream, at the archaeological site of Gnezdovo) was located on the area settled by the East Slavic Radimichs tribe in 882 when Oleg of Novgorod took it in passing from Novgorod to Kiev. The town was first attested two decades earlier, when the Varangian chieftains Askold and Dir, while on their way to Kiev, decided against challenging Smolensk on account of its large size and population.

The first foreign writer to mention the city was the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. In De Administrando Imperio (c. 950) he described Smolensk as a key station on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Rus' people sailed from the Baltic region up the Western Dvina (Daugava) River as far as they could then they portaged their boats to the upper Dnieper. It was in Smolensk that they supposedly mended any leaks and small holes that might have appeared in their boats from being dragged on the ground and they used tar to do that, hence the city name.

The Principality of Smolensk was founded in 1054. Due to its central position in Kievan Rus', the city developed rapidly. By the end of the 12th century, the princedom was one of the strongest in Eastern Europe, so that Smolensk princes frequently controlled the Kievan throne. Numerous churches were built in the city at that time, including the church of Sts. Peter and Paul (1146, reconstructed to its presumed original appearance after World War II) and the church of St. John the Baptist (1180, also partly rebuilt). The most remarkable church in the city is called Svirskaya (1197, still standing); it was admired by contemporaries as the most beautiful structure east of Kiev.

Smolensk had its own veche since the very beginning of its history. Its power increased after the disintegration of Kievan Rus', and although it was not as strong as the veche in Novgorod, the princes had to take its opinion into consideration; several times in 12th and 13th centuries there was an open conflict between them.{{cite book|title=Смоленская земля в IX-XIII вв.|last=Алексеев|first=Л. В.|year=1980|publisher=Наука|location=Moscow|pages=111–115|language=ru}}

{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |bgcolor=GhostWhite

|title=Historical affiliations

|fontsize=80% |quote=

{{flagicon image|Royal banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.svg}} Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1404–1514
{{flagicon image|Banner of Dmitry Donskoy.svg}} Grand Principality of Moscow 1514–1547
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Tzar of Muscovia.svg}} Tsardom of Russia 1547–1611
{{flagicon image|Chorągiew królewska króla Zygmunta III Wazy.svg}} Poland–Lithuania 1611–1656
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Tzar of Muscovia.svg}} Tsardom of Russia 1656–1721
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} Russian Empire 1721–1812
{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg}} French occupation 1812
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} Russian Empire 1812–1917
{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} Russian Republic 1917–1918
{{flagicon image|Flag of Belarus (1991-1995).svg}} Belarusian People's Republic 1918–1919
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg}} Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia 1919
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1954–1991).svg}} Russian SFSR 1919–1922
{{flag|Soviet Union}} 1922–1941
{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg}} German occupation 1941–1943
{{flag|Soviet Union}} 1943–1991
{{flag|Russia}} 1991–present

}}

Although spared by the Mongol armies in 1240, Smolensk paid tribute to the Golden Horde, gradually becoming a pawn in the long struggle between Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Principality of Moscow. The last sovereign monarch of Smolensk was Yury of Smolensk; during his reign the city was taken by Vytautas the Great of Lithuania on three occasions: in 1395, 1404, and 1408. After the city's incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of Smolensk's boyars (e.g., the Sapiehas) moved to Vilnius; descendants of the ruling princes (e.g., the Tatishchevs, Kropotkins, Mussorgskys, Vyazemskys) fled to Moscow.

Three Lithuanian Smolensk regiments took part in the 1410 Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Knights. It was a severe blow to Lithuania when the city was taken by Vasily III of Russia in 1514. To commemorate this event, the Tsar founded the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow and dedicated it to the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk. The loss of Smolensk to Moscow was the inspiration for Stańczyk, one of the most famous paintings by Polish painter Jan Matejko.

File:Smalensk. Смаленск (1610).jpg

In order to repel future Polish–Lithuanian attacks, Boris Godunov made it his priority to heavily fortify the city. The stone kremlin constructed in 1597–1602 is the largest in Russia. It features thick walls and numerous watchtowers. Heavy fortifications did not prevent the fortress from being taken by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1611 after a long twenty-month siege, during the Time of Troubles and Dimitriads. Weakened Muscovy temporarily ceded Smolensk land to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Truce of Deulino. The city was granted Magdeburg rights in 1611 and was the seat of Smolensk Voivodeship for the next forty-three years.{{cite book |last1=Никитин |first1=Павел |title=История города Смоленска |date=1848 |publisher=Типография Селивановского |location=Moscow |page=171}}

To recapture the city, the Tsardom of Russia launched the so-called "Smolensk War" against the Commonwealth in 1632. After a defeat at the hands of king Wladislaw IV, the city remained in Polish–Lithuanian hands. In 1632, the Uniate bishop Lew Kreuza built his apartments in Smolensk; they were later converted into the Eastern Orthodox Church of Saint Barbara. The hostilities resumed in 1654 when the Commonwealth was being affected by the Khmelnytsky Uprising and the Swedish deluge. After another siege, on 23 September 1654, Smolensk was recaptured by Russia. In the 1667 Truce of Andrusovo, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth renounced its claims to Smolensk.

File:Battle of Smolensk on 18 August 1812.jpg

Smolensk has been a special place to Russians for many reasons, not least for the fact that the local cathedral housed one of the most venerated Orthodox icons, attributed to St. Luke. Building the new Cathedral of the Assumption was a great project which took more than a century to complete. Despite slowly sinking into an economic backwater, Smolensk was still valued by the Tsars as a key fortress defending the route to Moscow. It was made the seat of Smolensk Governorate in 1708.

In August 1812, two of the largest armies ever assembled clashed in Smolensk. During the hard-fought battle, described by Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace (Book Three Part Two Chapter 4), Napoleon entered the city. Total losses were estimated at 30,000 men. Apart from other military monuments, central Smolensk features the Eagles monument, unveiled in 1912 to mark the centenary of Napoleon's Russian campaign.

File:Smolensk 1912.jpg]]

At the beginning of World War I, the 56th Smolensk Infantry Division was first assigned to the First Army of the Imperial Russian Army. They fought at the Battle of Tannenberg. It was subsequently transferred to the 10th Army and fought at the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. In March 1918, the Belarusian People's Republic, proclaimed in Minsk under the German occupation, declared Smolensk part of it. In February–December 1918, Smolensk was home to the headquarters of the Western Front, North-West Oblast Bolshevik Committee and Western Oblast Executive Committee. On 1 January 1919, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in Smolensk,{{cite book|last1=Marples|first1=D.|title=Belarus: From Soviet Rule to Nuclear Catastrophe|date=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-37831-5|page=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evVZCwAAQBAJ&q=1+january+1919+belorussian+soviet+republic+smolensk|access-date=4 December 2020|archive-date=22 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322152348/https://books.google.com/books?id=evVZCwAAQBAJ&q=1+january+1919+belorussian+soviet+republic+smolensk|url-status=live}} but its government moved to Minsk as soon as the German forces had been driven out of the city several days later.

In 1940, {{convert|18|km|0|abbr=on}} from Smolensk, the Katyn Massacre occurred, in which some 22,000 Polish POWs were murdered by the NKVD. At this time Boris Menshagin was mayor of Smolensk, with his deputy Boris Bazilevsky. Both of them would be key witnesses in the Nuremberg Trials over the massacre.Sanford, George. Katyn and the Soviet Massacre of 1940: Truth, Justice and Memory, Part 804, 2005, p. 140. {{ISBN|978-0-415-33873-8}}.

File:Смоленск во время оккупации.jpg

During World War II, Smolensk once again saw wide-scale fighting during the first Battle of Smolensk when the city was captured by the Germans on 16 July 1941. The first Soviet counteroffensive against the German army was launched in August but failed. However, the limited Soviet victories outside the city halted the German advance for a crucial two months, granting time to Moscow's defenders to prepare in earnest. Over 93% of the city was destroyed during the fighting; the ancient icon of Our Lady of Smolensk was lost. Nevertheless, it escaped total destruction. In late 1943, Hermann Göring had ordered Gotthard Heinrici to destroy Smolensk in accordance with the Nazi "scorched earth" policy. He refused and was punished for it. The city was finally liberated on 25 September 1943, during the second Battle of Smolensk. The rare title of Hero City was bestowed on Smolensk after the war.

After the Germans captured the city in 1941, they found the intact archives of the Smolensk Oblast Committee of the Communist Party, the so-called Smolensk Archive. The archive was moved to Germany, and a significant part of it eventually ended up in the United States, providing Western scholars and intelligence specialists with unique information during the Cold War on the local workings of the Soviet government during its first two decades. The archives were returned to Russia by the United States in 2002.{{Cite web|url=http://www.volgagermans.net/volgagermans/Volga%20German%20News.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129093006/http://www.volgagermans.net/volgagermans/Volga%20German%20News.htm|url-status=dead|title=None|archivedate=29 January 2008}}{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2002/spring/spoils-of-war-3.html |title=Prologue: Selected Articles |publisher=Archives.gov |date=19 October 2011 |access-date=24 December 2011 |archive-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719220459/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2002/spring/spoils-of-war-3.html |url-status=live }}

File:Katastrofa w Smoleńsku.jpg, 2010]]

On 10 April 2010, a Tu-154 military jet carrying Polish president Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and many notable political and military figures crashed in a wooded area near Smolensk while approaching the local military airport. All ninety-six passengers died immediately on impact. The purpose of the visit was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.

In June 2013, archaeologists of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered and unearthed ancient temples in Smolensk dated to the middle to second half of the 12th century, built on the left bank of the Dnieper River. At the time the city was the capital of Smolensk principality.{{cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=51592|title=Интерфакс-Религия: Археологи обнаружили в Смоленске храм XII века|website=www.interfax-religion.ru|access-date=22 February 2014|archive-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304215050/http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=51592|url-status=live}}

In September 2013, Smolensk widely celebrated its 1,150th anniversary with funds spent on different construction and renovation projects in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://smolgazeta.ru/economic/5814-1150-letie-smolenska-ot-proektov-k-realizacii.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415162550/http://www.smolgazeta.ru/economic/5814-1150-letie-smolenska-ot-proektov-k-realizacii.html|url-status=dead|title=1150-летие Смоленска: от проектов к реализации|archivedate=15 April 2014|website=smolgazeta.ru}} In celebration the Central Bank of Russia issued commemorative coins made of precious metals.{{cite web|url=http://www.35kopeek.ru/news/k-1150-letiyu-osnovaniya-smolenska-otchekanili-pamyatnye-monety-iz-dragocennyx-metallov.html|title=К 1150-летию основания Смоленска отчеканили памятные монеты из драгоценных металлов|website=www.35kopeek.ru|access-date=22 February 2014|archive-date=15 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415073146/http://www.35kopeek.ru/news/k-1150-letiyu-osnovaniya-smolenska-otchekanili-pamyatnye-monety-iz-dragocennyx-metallov.html|url-status=live}}

{{Historical populations|cols=2|align=left|1897|47000|1926|73520|1939|156884|1959|147196|1970|210779|1979|276402|1989|341483|2002|325137|2010|326861|2021|316570|type=|footnote=Source: Census data}}

{{clear|left}}

Owing to its long and rich history, Smolensk is home to many examples of Russian architecture ranging from the Kievan Rus period to post-WWII Stalinist style. Although the city was destroyed several times over, many historically and culturally significant buildings remain, including a large number of churches and cathedrals. The most famous of these are the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception Church, and the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, which is one of the few structures from before the Mongol invasion remaining in Russia.

File:Смоленск. Дом Энгельгардта..JPG|House Engelhardt

File:Смоленск. Дом Будникова..JPG|House Budnikova

File:Смоленск. Сбербанк..JPG|Sberbank Building

File:Смоленск. Здание 1930-х годов..JPG|Editorial office of the newspaper Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda

File:Смоленск. Концертный зал филармонии..JPG|Smolensk Philharmonic Concert Hall

File:Smolensk train station.jpg|Smolensk railway station

File:Смоленск. Здание универмага..JPG|Department Store building

File:Смоленский драматический театр.JPG|The A. Griboedov Smolensk Drama Theater

The Smolensk Kremlin, built at the end of the 16th century during the reign of Tsars Fyodor I Ioannovich and Boris Godunov, under the supervision of the architect Fyodor Kon, is one of the greatest achievements of Russian medieval architecture and military engineering.

File:BD090090(2).jpg|The walls of Smolensk

File:Федор Конь.jpg|Monument to Fyodor Kon

File:Bub.jpg|Bubleika Tower

File:Надвратная церковь Одигитрии задний вид.jpg|Dnieper Gate

File:Башня Орел вечером.jpg|Oryol Tower

File:Вид вечером.jpg|Cathedral of the Assumption

File:Smolensk Catholic Church 2.JPG|Immaculate Conception Church

File:Свирская Церковь.jpg|Church of St. Michael the Archangel

File:Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul on Gorodyanka in Smolensk (2013-11-08) 06.JPG|Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on Gorodyanska

File:Церковь Иоанна Богослова.JPG|Temple of St. John the Divine

File:Смоленск. Церковь Николая Чудотворца..JPG|Church of St. Nicholas

File:Смоленск. Вознесенский собор..JPG|Ascension Cathedral

File:Смоленск. Богоявленский собор..JPG|Epiphany Cathedral

File:Avraamiev monastery in Smolensk - the view from the tower Zaaltarnoy.JPG|Savior-Transfiguration Avraamiev Monastery

File:Smolensk Trinity Monastery Holy Trinity Cathedral IMG 1913 2175.jpg|Holy Trinity Cathedral

Being the site of many great battles in Russian history, Smolensk is home to many monuments commemorating its rich military history.

File:Opalennyiy tsvetok, Scorched Flower.jpg|The Scorched Flower, a monument to child prisoners of Nazi concentration camps

File:Tvardovsky Monument Smolensk.JPG|Monument to Alexander Tvardovsky and Vasily Terkin

File:Памятник Софийскому полку в Смоленске.JPG|Monument to the 2nd Sofia Infantry Regiment

File:Смоленск. Пушка в Лопатинском саду..JPG|Cannon in Lopatinsky garden

File:Смоленск. Лопатинский сад..JPG|Monument to the defenders of Smolensk

File:Smolensk skver pamyati geroyev.jpg|View of the Heroes' Square

File:Смоленск. Памятник Благодарная Россия..JPG|The "Grateful Russia" Monument, commemorating the centenary of the Russian victory over Napoleon

File:Смоленск. Бюст Кутузова в Сквере Памяти Героев.JPG|The bust of Mikhail Kutuzov

File:Смоленск. Университет..JPG|Smolensk State University building

File:Russia sgtep april2007.jpg|Smolensk Polytechnic College building

File:Смоленск. Академия физической культуры..JPG|Smolensk Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism building

File:Смоленск. Колледж телекоммуникаций..JPG|Smolensk College of Telecommunications building

File:Смоленск. Здание советского периода..JPG

File:Смоленск. Жилой дом..JPG

File:Смоленск. Сталинка..JPG

Smolensk serves as the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Smolensky District, even though it is not a part of it.Resolution #261 As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Smolensk Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.Decision #164

Chairman of the City Council of the VI convocation (since 24 December 2021) – Anatoly Ovsyankin (United Russia).

The Smolensk City Council of the VI convocation was elected on 13 September 2020. The party composition of the current city council is as follows: United Russia – 23 deputies, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – 4 deputies, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia – 1 deputy, A Just Russia – 1 deputy, Party of Pensioners – 1 deputy.{{cite web |url=https://www.smolsovet.ru/deputat/VI%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%B2/%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B%20VI%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%B2.php |title=Смоленский городской Совет |trans-title=Smolensk City Council |access-date=20 October 2023 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528105904/https://www.smolsovet.ru/deputat/VI%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%B2/%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B%20VI%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%B2.php |url-status=live }}

Smolensk has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). By European standards, the climate is quite cold for its latitude on 54°N. The far inland position warms springs up relatively quickly, with May being quite a bit milder than September.

{{Weather box

|location = Smolensk (1991–2020, extremes 1887–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|width = auto

|Jan record high C = 9.3

|Feb record high C = 9.0

|Mar record high C = 23.3

|Apr record high C = 28.0

|May record high C = 30.6

|Jun record high C = 33.3

|Jul record high C = 34.5

|Aug record high C = 37.2

|Sep record high C = 29.5

|Oct record high C = 24.8

|Nov record high C = 14.6

|Dec record high C = 9.8

|year record high C = 37.2

|Jan high C = -3.5

|Feb high C = -2.6

|Mar high C = 3.0

|Apr high C = 11.7

|May high C = 18.3

|Jun high C = 21.5

|Jul high C = 23.6

|Aug high C = 22.3

|Sep high C = 16.6

|Oct high C = 9.2

|Nov high C = 2.0

|Dec high C = -2.1

|year high C = 10.0

|Jan mean C = -5.8

|Feb mean C = -5.5

|Mar mean C = -0.8

|Apr mean C = 6.7

|May mean C = 12.7

|Jun mean C = 16.1

|Jul mean C = 18.2

|Aug mean C = 16.7

|Sep mean C = 11.4

|Oct mean C = 5.5

|Nov mean C = -0.2

|Dec mean C = -4.2

|year mean C = 5.9

|Jan low C = -8.4

|Feb low C = -8.6

|Mar low C = -4.3

|Apr low C = 2.0

|May low C = 7.3

|Jun low C = 10.8

|Jul low C = 13.1

|Aug low C = 11.8

|Sep low C = 7.1

|Oct low C = 2.3

|Nov low C = -2.4

|Dec low C = -6.4

|year low C = 2.0

|Jan record low C = -37.9

|Feb record low C = -36.8

|Mar record low C = -28.1

|Apr record low C = -15.9

|May record low C = -5.4

|Jun record low C = -0.7

|Jul record low C = 4.4

|Aug record low C = 0.3

|Sep record low C = -4.4

|Oct record low C = -12.8

|Nov record low C = -23.8

|Dec record low C = -35.2

|year record low C = -37.9

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 48

|Feb precipitation mm = 45

|Mar precipitation mm = 44

|Apr precipitation mm = 39

|May precipitation mm = 73

|Jun precipitation mm = 82

|Jul precipitation mm = 88

|Aug precipitation mm = 84

|Sep precipitation mm = 61

|Oct precipitation mm = 71

|Nov precipitation mm = 57

|Dec precipitation mm = 51

|year precipitation mm = 743

|Jan snow depth cm = 19

|Feb snow depth cm = 25

|Mar snow depth cm = 22

|Apr snow depth cm = 2

|May snow depth cm = 0

|Jun snow depth cm = 0

|Jul snow depth cm = 0

|Aug snow depth cm = 0

|Sep snow depth cm = 0

|Oct snow depth cm = 0

|Nov snow depth cm = 4

|Dec snow depth cm = 11

|year snow depth cm = 25

|Jan rain days = 9

|Feb rain days = 8

|Mar rain days = 10

|Apr rain days = 15

|May rain days = 17

|Jun rain days = 18

|Jul rain days = 16

|Aug rain days = 16

|Sep rain days = 16

|Oct rain days = 18

|Nov rain days = 15

|Dec rain days = 11

|year rain days = 169

|Jan snow days = 25

|Feb snow days = 22

|Mar snow days = 16

|Apr snow days = 5

|May snow days = 1

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 1

|Oct snow days = 4

|Nov snow days = 15

|Dec snow days = 23

|year snow days = 112

|Jan humidity = 87

|Feb humidity = 84

|Mar humidity = 78

|Apr humidity = 69

|May humidity = 69

|Jun humidity = 75

|Jul humidity = 77

|Aug humidity = 79

|Sep humidity = 83

|Oct humidity = 85

|Nov humidity = 89

|Dec humidity = 89

|year humidity = 80

|Jan sun = 35.5

|Feb sun = 65.4

|Mar sun = 134.8

|Apr sun = 190.3

|May sun = 259.5

|Jun sun = 287.0

|Jul sun = 288.5

|Aug sun = 248.7

|Sep sun = 159.3

|Oct sun = 83.2

|Nov sun = 31.0

|Dec sun = 21.9

|year sun =

|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net{{cite web

| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/26781.htm

| title = Weather and Climate-The Climate of Somlensk

| language = ru

| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)

| access-date = 8 November 2021

| archive-date = 25 April 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160425171648/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/26781.htm

| url-status = live

}}

|source 2 = NOAA{{cite web

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/RussianFederation/CSV/Smolensk_26781.csv

| title = Smolensk Climate Normals 1991–2020

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 30 October 2021

| archive-date = 30 October 2021

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211030150256/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/RussianFederation/CSV/Smolensk_26781.csv

| url-status = live

}}

|date=December 2011

}}

Smolensk has several factories including the Smolensk Aviation Plant and several electronics and agricultural machinery factories.

File:Smolensk railway station.jpg]]

Smolensk is located on the M1 main highway and Moscow–Brest Railway. Since 1870, there is a railway connection between Smolensk and Moscow.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_smolensk.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323173513/http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_smolensk.html|url-status=dead|title=Train Station in Smolensk|language=ru|archivedate=23 March 2012}} Local public transport includes buses and trolleybuses.

Public transportation network includes buses, trolleybuses, trams, and marshrutkas.

There are two airports located in the outskirts of the city; Smolensk South (civilian) and Smolensk North (military); however, there are no regular flights scheduled to Smolensk South Airport.

Smolensk is home to the Smolensk State University (SMOLGU) and the Smolensk State Medical University (affiliated as university in 2015) (SSMU); together with colleges of further education and other educational institutes.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

Smolensk is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Города-побратимы|url=https://www.smoladmin.ru/o-smolenske/mezhdunarodnye-i-mezhmunicipalnye-svyazi/goroda-pobratimy/|website=smoladmin.ru|publisher=Smolensk|language=ru|access-date=21 December 2020|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626163133/https://www.smoladmin.ru/o-smolenske/mezhdunarodnye-i-mezhmunicipalnye-svyazi/goroda-pobratimy/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Colorado Springs Sister Cities International|url=https://coloradosprings.gov/sistercities|website=coloradosprings.gov|date=30 April 2018|publisher=City of Colorado Springs|access-date=21 December 2020|archive-date=6 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806234756/https://coloradosprings.gov/sistercities|url-status=live}}

{{div col|colwidth=21em}}

• {{flagicon|USA}} Colorado Springs, United States (1993– suspended 2022){{Citation | title=Colorado Springs Suspends Sister City Partnership With Russian City | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-springs-ukraine-smolensk-sister-city/ | date=7 March 2022 | access-date=9 December 2022 | archive-date=9 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209095408/https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-springs-ukraine-smolensk-sister-city/ | url-status=live }}
• {{flagicon|GER}} Hagen, Germany (1985)
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Kerch, Ukraine (2000)
• {{flagicon|SRB}} Kragujevac, Serbia (2009)
• {{flagicon|BUL}} Targovishte, Bulgaria (2002)
• {{flagicon|FRA}} Tulle, France (1981)
• {{flagicon|BLR}} Vitebsk, Belarus

{{div col end}}

• Ivan Ivanovich Baryatinsky (1772–1825), Russian Rurikid Prince; father of Prince Aleksandr Baryatinsky.[https://www.myheritage.com/names/leonilla_baryatinskaya Leonilla Baryatinskaya] My Heritage
• Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968), cosmonaut
• Timofey Mikhaylov (1859–1881), revolutionary, one of the assassins of Tsar Alexander II
• Grigorii Maksimov (1893–1950), politician
• Fyodor Glinka (1786–1880) a Russian poet and author.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Glinka, Fedor Nikolaevich |volume= 12 | page = 122 |short= 1 }}
• Mikhail Glinka (1804 in Novospasskoye – 1857), composer.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Glinka, Michael Ivanovich |volume= 12 | page = 122 |short= 1 }}
• Sergey Glinka (1774–1847) a minor Russian author of the Romantic period.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Glinka, Sergy Nikolaevich |volume= 12 | page = 123 |short= 1 }}
• Anatoly Kharlampiyev (1906–1979), founder of Sambo
• Eduard Khil (1934–2012), singer
• Patriarch Kirill of Moscow (born 1946), religious leader
• Sergey Konenkov (1874–1971), sculptor
• Semyon Lavochkin (1900–1960), aircraft designer
• Morris Markin (1893–1970), businessman and founder of Checker Motors Corporation
• Viktor Nemytskii (1900–1967), mathematician
• Grigory Potyomkin (1739 at Chizheva – 1791), statesman.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Potemkin, Grigory Aleksandrovich, Prince | volume= 22 |last= Bain |first= Robert Nisbet |author-link= Robert Nisbet Bain| page = 22 |short= 1}}
• Andrey Starovoytov, (1915–1997), IIHF Hall of Fame inductee
• Aleksandr Tvardovsky (1910–1971), writer

Smolensk Strait between Livingston Island and Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after the city.[https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=137422 Smolensk Strait.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512225237/https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=137422 |date=12 May 2014 }} SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer.Ivanov, L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150708084208/http://livingston-island.weebly.com/ General Geography and History of Livingston Island.] In: Bulgarian Antarctic Research: A Synthesis. Eds. C. Pimpirev and N. Chipev. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2015. pp. 17–28. {{ISBN|978-954-07-3939-7}}

A Soviet post World War II project planned the creation of a light cruiser vessel named Smolensk. It was never constructed.

• Battle of Orsha
• Immaculate Conception Church, Smolensk
• Coat of arms of Smolensk

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|smo|adm|list}}
• {{RussiaBasicLawRef|smo|smolensk}}
• "Była notatka o opcjach prawnych śledztwa". Były dyplomata o katastrofie smoleńskiej – Polsat News, polsatnews.pl [dostęp 2020-03-18] (pol.)https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2016-10-24/byla-notatka-o-opcjach-prawnych-sledztwa-byly-dyplomata-o-katastrofie-smolenskiej/.

{{See also|Timeline of Smolensk#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Smolensk}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Smolensk (town) |volume= 25 | page = 278 |short= 1 }}
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.smoladmin.ru/ Official website of Smolensk]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.visitsmolensk.ru/ Travel in Smolensk]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.smolensk2.ru/ Smolensk news]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://live.smolensk.ws/ Smolensk Wiki]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.krepost-smolensk.ru/ Homepage of the Smolensk fortress]
• [http://www.krepost-smolensk.ru/fotoal-bom/gallery/ Some photos of the Smolensk fortress]
• [http://live.smolensk.ws/index.php/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%8B_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0 More photos of Smolensk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051103171305/http://live.smolensk.ws/index.php/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%8B_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0 |date=3 November 2005 }}
• (in English) [http://tour2moscow.com/ww2-battlefields/ Smolensk photos in Soviet times, 1983 in color]
• [http://www.bfcollection.net/cities/russia/smolensk/smolensk.html Historic images of Smolensk]
• {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20080522101721/http://orangeball.org/ Basketball in Smolensk]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.smolsport.ru/ News of Smolensk sport]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.smolmed.ru/ News of Smolensk medicine]
• [http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=675 The murder of the Jews of Smolensk] during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.
• {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|3006140|Smolensk, Russia}}
• [http://sgmu.org/ Smolensk State Medical University]
• {{Wikivoyage inline}}

{{Smolensk Oblast}}

{{Major fortresses of Western Russia}}

{{Hero Cities}}

{{Gardariki}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Forts in Russia

Category:Portages

Category:Populated places on the Dnieper in Russia