Smolensk Oblast

Smolensk Oblast (, Smolenskaya oblast; informal name — Smolenschina ()) is a federal subject of Russia. Specifically, it is an oblast. Its administrative centre is the city of Smolensk. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 985,537.

 Geography 
The oblast was founded on 27 September 1937.Исполнительный комитет Смоленского областного совета народных депутатов. Государственный архив Смоленской области. "Административно-территориальное устройство Смоленской области. Справочник", изд. "Московский рабочий", Москва 1981. Стр. 8 It borders Pskov Oblast in the north, Tver Oblast in the northeast, Moscow Oblast in the east, Kaluga Oblast in south, Bryansk Oblast in the southwest, and Mogilev and Vitebsk Oblasts of Belarus, in the west and northwest, as part of the Belarus–Russia border.

The main river of the region is the Dnieper River and its tributaries, Desna, Vop, Vyazma. By the rivers of the Volga basin and its tributary Vazuza Gzhat and tributary of the Oka river, Ugra.

 Administrative divisions 

Smolensk Oblast is divided into 25 districts (raions) and two cities of oblast significance.

 Demographics 
Population: 

Ethnic groups: According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic groups of the oblast were:

 Russians: 94.6%
 Ukrainians: 1.3%
 Belarusians: 1.3%
 Armenians: 0.5%
 Others: 2.3%

 Notable people 

 Isaac Asimov (1920–1992), an American writer and professor of biochemistry, born in Petrovichi
 Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, born in Klushino
 Shmuel Schneersohn (1834–1882) an Orthodox rabbi, born in Lyubavichi
 Ivan Sidorenko (1919–1994) a Red Army officer and sniper, born in Glinkovsky District
 Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov (1906–1993) a Russian mathematician and geophysicist, born in Gagarin
 Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1893–1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, a Soviet general


 References 

 Other websites 


 Official website of Smolensk Oblast 
  Official website of Smolensk Oblast 
  News of Smolensk Oblast


Category:States and territories established in 1937