Smolensk-Russian
Smo·lensk (sm?-l?nsk’, sm?-) A city of western Russia on the Dnieper River west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in the ninth century, it became an important port situated on various medieval trade routes. It was sacked by Mongols in the 13th century and captured by Lithuania, Russia, Poland, and Russia again in turn before being seized by Napoleon’s troops in 1812. A shipping point for the surrounding agricultural region, it is also an industrial, cultural, and educational center. Population: 319,000.
Smolensk
- Smolensk-Russia
by. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
City (pop., 2006 est.: 317,915), western Russia. One of the oldest and most historic of Russian cities, it was a key stronghold on the Dnieper River by the 9th century and became a commercial centre on the trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Byzantine Empire. Sacked by the Tatars c. 1240, it subsequently fell to Lithuania. Sieges led to its capture by Moscow in 1340 and recapture by Lithuania in 1408. It was fought over several times, then was finally taken by Russia in 1654. It was burned during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812. The scene of heavy fighting in World War II, it was occupied by the Germans from 1941 to 1943. It is a light-industry and educational centre.