Smolensk Oblast in the context of "Valdai Hills"

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, 360 kilometers (220 mi) west-southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 316,570 (2021 census).

First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of the past millennium, beginning as the capital of the Principality of Smolensk in the 11th-15th centuries, then the Smolensk Voivodeship of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Smolensk Governorate and Oblast within Russia. It was the main stronghold of the Smolensk Gate, a geostrategically significant pass between the Daugava and Dnieper rivers, and as such was an important point of contention in the struggle for dominance in Eastern Europe, passing at various times between Lithuania, Poland and Russia. In more recent history, it was the site of two battles in 1812 and 1941 during the French invasion of Russia and Operation Barbarossa respectively on their paths towards Moscow. It was the place of the Smolensk air disaster of 2010.

Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and stretches to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is also called Jambi. It is bordered by the provinces of Riau to the north, West Sumatra to the west, Bengkulu to the southwest, South Sumatra to the south, and shares a maritime border with the Riau Islands to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The province has a land area of 49,026.58 km, and a sea area of 3,274.95 km. Its area is comparable to the European country of Slovakia or Smolensk Oblast. It had a population of 3,092,265 according to the 2010 census and 3,548,228 according to the 2020 census; the official estimate of population as of mid-2024 was 3,745,746 (comprising 1,893,490 males and 1,830,790 females).

The Moskva (Russian: Москва, romanized: Moskva), often called the River Moskva or the Moskva River (Russian: река Москва, Москва-река, romanized: Moskva-reka) is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about 140 km (90 mi) west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About 110 km (70 mi) southeast of Moscow, at the city of Kolomna, it flows into the Oka, itself a tributary of the Volga, which ultimately flows into the Caspian Sea.

The Principality of Tver (Russian: Тверское княжество, romanized: Tverskoye knyazhestvo) was a Russian principality which existed between the 13th and the 15th centuries with its capital in Tver. The principality was located approximately in the area currently occupied by Tver Oblast and the eastern part of Smolensk Oblast.

It was one of the states established after the fall of Kievan Rus'. Originally part of the Pereyaslavl-Zalessky principality, Tver became an independent principality when Yaroslav Yaroslavich was given the western slice of his father's patrimony. During the 14th century, Tver rivaled the Principality of Moscow with the aim to become the center of the unified Russian state. Eventually it lost, decayed, and in 1485, it was annexed by Moscow.

Dziady (lit. 'grandfathers, forefathers, eldfathers'; For example, presented in Polish literature in one of the most famous books written by Adam Mickiewicz „The Forefathers’ Night”. Dziady is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, celebrations, rituals and customs that were dedicated to them. The essence of these rituals was the "communion of the living with the dead", namely, the establishment of relationships with the souls of the ancestors, periodically returning to Earth to their headquarters from the times of their lives. The aim of the ritual activities was to win the favor of the deceased, who were considered to be caretakers in the sphere of fertility. The name dziady was used in particular dialects mainly in Belarus, Poland, Polesia, Russia, and Ukraine (sometimes also in border areas, e.g. Podlachia, Smoleńsk Oblast,in Lithuania Aukštaitija), but under different other names (pomynky, przewody, radonitsa, zaduszki) there were very similar ritual practices, common among Slavs and Balts, and also in many European and even non-European cultures.

The Kasplya (Belarusian and Russian: Каспля) is a river in Smolensky, Demidovsky, and Rudnyansky Districts of Smolensk Oblast of Russia and in Vitebsk Region of northern Belarus. It is a major left-bank tributary of the Daugava. Of its total length of 136 kilometres (85 mi), the first 116 kilometres (72 mi) are in Russia, and the rest in Belarus. It joins the Daugava in the urban-type settlement of Surazh. The town of Demidov is situated on the Kasplya.

The Kasplya originates from Lake Kasplya in Smolensky District. It flows north, crosses the border with Demidovsky District and turns northwest. It flows through Demidov, and next to the selo of Boroda turns west, crosses Rudnyansky District and enters Belarus. There, it turns northwest again and enters the Daugava.

Katyn (Russian: Кáтынь [ˈkatɨnʲ]; Polish: Katyń [ˈkatɨɲ]) is a rural locality (a selo) in Smolensky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located approximately 20 kilometers (12 mi) to the west of Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. The village had a population of 1,737 in 2007.