Соловецкий монастырь
Smolensky was a graduate of the Faculties of Jurisprudence and Philology of Kazan University; during his studies, he had also taken private lessons on violin and piano. From the early 1870s he made a study of ancient church chant, publishing several books on znamenny chant and a catalogue of the musical manuscripts held in the library of the Solovetsky Monastery.