Editing Smolensk (section)

== History ==
{{See also|Timeline of Smolensk}}

=== Medieval origins ===
{{see also|Principality of Smolensk}}
[[File:Свирская Церковь.jpg|thumb|left|St. Michael's Church (Svirskaya) was built in 1180–1197 and is one of the few surviving structures in Russia from before the Mongol conquests.]]
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 [[Primary Chronicle|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 [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]] to [[Kiev]]. The town was first attested two decades earlier, when the [[Varangians|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 VII|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 [[Daugava River|Western Dvina]] ([[Daugava]]) River as far as they could then they [[portage]]d their boats to the upper [[Dnieper River|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 [[church (building)|churches]] were built in the city at that time, including the church of Sts.&nbsp;Peter and Paul (1146, reconstructed to its presumed original appearance after [[World War II]]) and the church of St.&nbsp;[[John the Baptist]] (1180, also partly rebuilt). The most remarkable church in the city is called [[Svirskaya Church|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 [[Novgorod veche|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

=== Between Lithuania and Russia ===
{{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<br />{{flagicon image|Banner of Dmitry Donskoy.svg}} [[Grand Principality of Moscow]] 1514–1547<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Tzar of Muscovia.svg}} [[Tsardom of Russia]] 1547–1611<br />{{flagicon image|Chorągiew królewska króla Zygmunta III Wazy.svg}} [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland–Lithuania]] 1611–1656<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Tzar of Muscovia.svg}} [[Tsardom of Russia]] 1656–1721<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} [[Russian Empire]] 1721–1812<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg}} [[First French Empire|French occupation]] 1812<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} [[Russian Empire]] 1812–1917<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg}} [[Russian Republic]] 1917–1918<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Belarus (1991-1995).svg}} [[Belarusian People's Republic]] 1918–1919<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg}} [[Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia]] 1919<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1954–1991).svg}} [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] 1919–1922<br />{{flag|Soviet Union}} 1922–1941<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg}} [[Operation Barbarossa|German occupation]] 1941–1943<br />{{flag|Soviet Union}} 1943–1991<br />{{flag|Russia}} 1991–present
}}
Although spared by the [[Mongol invasion of Rus'|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 [[boyar]]s (e.g., the [[Sapieha family|Sapiehas]]) moved to [[Vilnius]]; descendants of the ruling princes (e.g., the [[Tatishchev family|Tatishchevs]], [[Kropotkin]]s, [[Mussorgsky family|Mussorgskys]], [[Vyazemsky (family)|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 [[Siege of Smolensk (1514)|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 [[Hodegetria|Our Lady of Smolensk]]. The loss of Smolensk to Moscow was the inspiration for ''[[Stańczyk (painting)|Stańczyk]]'', one of the most famous paintings by Polish painter [[Jan Matejko]].

[[File:Smalensk. Смаленск (1610).jpg|thumb|left|Siege of Smolensk (1609–1611) by Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
In order to repel future [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish–Lithuanian]] attacks, [[Boris Godunov]] made it his priority to heavily fortify the city. The [[Smolensk Kremlin|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 [[Siege of Smolensk (1609–1611)|a long twenty-month siege]], during the [[Time of Troubles]] and [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)|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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Никитин |first1=Павел |title=История города Смоленска |date=1848 |publisher=Типография Селивановского |location=Moscow |page=171}}</ref>

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 [[Władysław IV Vasa|Wladislaw&nbsp;IV]], the city remained in Polish–Lithuanian hands. In 1632, the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate]] bishop [[Lew Kreuza]] built his apartments in Smolensk; they were later converted into the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] of [[Saint Barbara]]. The [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)|hostilities resumed]] in 1654 when the Commonwealth was being affected by the [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]] and the [[Deluge (history)|Swedish deluge]]. After another siege, on 23&nbsp;September 1654, Smolensk was recaptured by Russia. In the 1667 [[Truce of Andrusovo]], the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] renounced its claims to Smolensk.

=== Modern history ===
[[File:Battle of Smolensk on 18 August 1812.jpg|thumb|left|French and Polish soldiers assault the burning city of Smolensk, 1812.]]
Smolensk has been a special place to Russians for many reasons, not least for the fact that the local [[Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk|cathedral]] housed one of the most venerated [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] icons, attributed to [[Luke the Evangelist|St.&nbsp;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 [[Grande Armée|armies]] ever assembled clashed in Smolensk. During the [[Battle of Smolensk (1812)|hard-fought battle]], described by [[Leo Tolstoy]] in ''[[War and Peace]]'' (Book Three Part Two Chapter 4), [[Napoleon I|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 [[French invasion of Russia|Napoleon's Russian campaign]].

[[File:Smolensk 1912.jpg|thumb|View of Smolensk in 1912. Early colour photograph by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky|Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii]]]]
At the beginning of [[World War I]], the 56th Smolensk Infantry Division was first assigned to the [[1st Army (Russian Empire)|First Army]] of the [[Imperial Russian Army]]. They fought at the [[Battle of Tannenberg (1914)|Battle of Tannenberg]]. It was subsequently transferred to the [[10th Army (Russian Empire)|10th Army]] and fought at the [[Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes]]. [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk|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 (1917–1918)|Western Oblast]] Executive Committee. On 1&nbsp;January 1919, the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] was proclaimed in Smolensk,<ref>{{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}}</ref> but its government moved to Minsk as soon as the German forces had been driven out of the city several days later.

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

[[File:Смоленск во время оккупации.jpg|thumb|left|Smolensk under German occupation, 1941.]]
During [[World War II]], Smolensk once again saw wide-scale fighting during the [[Battle of Smolensk (1941)|first Battle of Smolensk]] when the city was captured by the Germans on 16&nbsp;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&nbsp;September 1943, during the [[Battle of Smolensk (1943)|second Battle of Smolensk]]. The rare title of [[Hero City (Soviet Union)|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref>

=== Recent events ===
[[File:Katastrofa w Smoleńsku.jpg|thumb|Wreckage from the Polish Tu-154 shortly after the [[Smolensk air disaster]], 2010]]
On 10&nbsp;April 2010, a [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|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]].<ref>{{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}}</ref>

In September 2013, Smolensk widely celebrated its 1,150th anniversary with funds spent on different construction and renovation projects in the city.<ref>{{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}}</ref> In celebration the [[Central Bank of Russia]] issued [[commemorative coin]]s made of precious metals.<ref>{{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}}</ref>