Krasninsky District () is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #77-z district (

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

), one of the twenty-five in

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is located in the west of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

and borders with Rudnyansky District in the north, Smolensky District in the east, Monastyrshchinsky District in the south, Horki District of Mogilev Region of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in the southwest, and with Dubrowna District of Vitebsk Region, also of

, in the west. The area of the district is . Its

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

is the urban locality (a settlement) of Krasny. Population: 12,895 ( 2010 Census); The population of Krasny accounts for 33.7% of the district's total population.

Geography

Most of the district's territory is located on the Smolensk-Krasninsky Plateau. Soils of the area are formed mostly of loam, sand, and sandy loam. Forests cover 29.3% of the territory. The whole area of the district belongs to the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. The Dnieper crosses the northern part of the district. Its major (left) tributary within the district, the Mereya, flows in the north of the district and forms a natural border between Krasninsky District and Vitebsk Region of Belarus, itself part of the Belarus–Russia border. The rivers in the eastern part of the district drain into the Sozh, another major left tributary of the Dnieper; the biggest of them is the Vikhra River.

History

The area was settled in the prehistory, and there are multiple archaeological sites in the district. Krasny (originally Krasn or Krasen) is first mentioned in 1165 by the

Hypatian Codex The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicle, Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and ''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important sou ...

, when Davyd Rostislavich, Prince of Smolensk, gave Krasen to his nephew, Roman of Vitebsk. Between the second half of the 14th century and the middle of the 17th century, the area belonged intermittently to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, to Poland, and to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

. Since 1654, it was finally transferred to the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, the area was included into

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929. Smolensk Governorate, together with seven o ...

and remained there until 1929, with the exception of the brief period between 1775 and 1796, when Smolensk Governorate was transformed into

Smolensk Viceroyalty Smolensk is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It ...

. The area belonged to Krasninsky Uyezd, which was established in 1775. In 1776, Krasny was granted town status. In 1796, the

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

was abolished but it was re-established in 1802. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

, Krasny played an important role, since the French army passed it twice en route to and from Russia. The Battle of Krasnoi was fought here in November 1812. On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Krasninsky District with the administrative center in Krasny was established. The district belonged to

Smolensk Okrug Smolensk is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It ...

of Western Oblast. On August 1, 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On 27 September 1937 Western Oblast was abolished and split between

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

and Smolensk Oblasts. Krasninsky District was transferred to Smolensk Oblast. Between 1941 and 1943, during WWII, the district was occupied by German troops. On 1 February 1963, during the abortive Khrushchyov administrative reform, Krasninsky District was merged into Smolensky District, but in 1965 it was re-established.

Economy

The district's economy is mostly agricultural, specializing in beef and dairy cattle, potatoes, and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

. Industry includes flax and dairy processing, vegetable processing, and manufacture of drainage pipes (all in Krasny and Gusino).

Transportation

The

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– Brest railway line and the M1 "Belarus" Highway both run through the northern part of the district, connecting Smolensk and

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

. Krasny has access to M1 and is additionally connected by paved roads with Smolensk and with Orsha (so called Old Smolensk Road).

Geography

History

Economy

Transportation

Culture and recreation

References

Notes

Sources

Further reading