Battle of Smolensk
The feature is so named in order to preserve the historical memory of the area. While sailing through this strait on 6 February 1821, the Russian explorer Thaddeus von Bellingshausen met with the American sealer Nathaniel Palmer, made a description of Livingston Island and named it "Smolensk" after the Battle of Smolensk, one of the great battles of the Napoleonic Wars.