Smolensk

Smolensk, oblast (region), western Russia. The oblast lies mostly in the upper Dnieper River basin. The terminal moraines of the Smolensk-Moscow Upland lie east-west across the oblast, rising to 1,050 feet (320 m) and dividing the Dnieper, Volga, and Western Dvina basins. Easy portages between these basins have made the area a focal route since earliest times. The natural vegetation of mixed forest has been largely cleared for agriculture and now covers less than one-fifth...