Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, 360 kilometers west-southwest of Moscow.
The walled city in the center of Smolensk was destroyed several times throughout its long history because it was on the invasion routes of the Mongol Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, First French Empire and Nazi Germany. Smolensk is known for its electronics, textiles, food processing, and diamond faceting industries.