Smolensk Governorate

1796–1929 unit of Russia

Smolensk Governorate

Смоленская губерния

Governorate of Russian Empire
1796–1929

Coat of arms

Location within the Russian Empire
Capital| Smolensk
Population|

• 1897

| 1,525,279
History|

• Established

| 1796

• Disestablished

| 14 January 1929

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Smolensk Voivodeship

|

| Western Oblast |

|

Smolensk Governorate (Russian: Смоленская губерния, romanized: Smolenskaya guberniya) 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 other governorates, was established on December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, by an edict from Tsar Peter the Great.[1] As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Smolensk Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities, and section of lands adjacent to those cities.[2]

## History

[edit]

On July 28 [O.S. July 17], 1713, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was divided between Moscow and Riga Governorates. Smolensk Province was created as a result. The governorate was re-established in 1726, and Smolensk Province was re-incorporated into the Governorate. In 1775, it was included, along with parts of Moscow and Belgorod Governorates, into Smolensk Viceroyalty. The governorate was again restored in 1796.

After the October Revolution, Smolensk Governorate was base of independent Western Oblast/Western Commune, Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus, Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Litbel), and finally incorporated into the Russian SFSR.

Eventually, on January 14, 1929, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was incorporated into Western Oblast.

## Subdivisions

[edit]

Smolensk Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, by Tsar Peter the Great's edict.[1] As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Smolensk Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities.[2]

At the time of establishment, the following thirty cities were included into Smolensk Governorate,[1]

Cities included into Smolensk Governorate at the time of its establishment  # | City | # | City | # | City

|
|
|
|
|

1\.  | Smolensk | 7\.  | Meshchevsk | 13\.  | Serpeysk
2\.  | Belyaya | 8\.  | Mosalsk | 14\.  | Staritsa
3\.  | Borisovo Gorodishche | 9\.  | Odoyev | 15\.  | Vorotynsk
4\.  | Dorogobuzh | 10\.  | Peremyshl | 16\.  | Vyazma
5\.  | Kozelsk | 11\.  | Pogoreloye Gorodishche | 17\.  | Zubtsov
6\.  | Likhvin | 12\.  | Roslavl

In 1713, when Smolensk Governorate was abolished and merged into Riga Governorate, the following five uyezds were established in the area formally occupied by the governorate (the administrative centers are given in parentheses),[3]

* Belsky Uyezd (Bely);
* Dorogobuzhsky Uyezd (Dorogobuzh);
* Roslavlsky Uyezd (Roslavl);
* Smolensky Uyezd (Smolensk);
* Vyazemsky Uyezd (Vyazma).

After Smolensk Governorate was re-established in 1726, it was subdivided into these five uyezds.

In 1775, Smolensk Viceroyalty was subdivided into 12 uyezds, which remained when it was transformed back to a governorate in 1802 (the administrative centers, which all had the town status, are in parentheses),[3]

* Belsky Uyezd (Bely);
* Dorogobuzhsky Uyezd (Dorogobuzh);
* Dukhovshchinsky Uyezd (Dukhovshchina);
* Gzhatsky Uyezd (Gzhatsk);
* Krasninsky Uyezd (Krasny);
* Porechsky Uyezd (Porechye);
* Roslavlsky Uyezd (Roslavl);
* Smolensky Uyezd (Smolensk);
* Sychyovsky Uyezd (Sychyovka);
* Vyazemsky Uyezd (Vyazma);
* Yelninsky Uyezd (Yelnya);
* Yukhnovsky Uyezd (Yukhnov).

## Demography

[edit]

### Language

[edit]

* Population by mother tongue according to the Imperial census of 1897.

Language  | Number  | percentage (%)  | males  | females

|
|
|
|

Russian | 1,397,875  | 91.6  | 655,460  | 742,415
Belarusian | 100,757  | 6.6  | 48,663  | 52,094
Jewish | 10,903  | 0.7  | 6,049  | 4,854
Polish | 7,314  | 0.5  | 4,855  | 2,459
Latvian | 3,485  | 0.2  | 1,770  | 1,715
German | 1,727  | 0.1  | 879  | 848
Ukrainian | 1,374  | 0.0  | 1,247  | 127
Gypsy | 661  | 0.0  | 338  | 323
Estonian | 301  | 0.0  | 158  | 143
Tatar | 291  | 0.0  | 281  | 10
Lithuanian | 255  | 0.0  | 226  | 29
Other  | 336  | 0.0  | 190  | 146
Total  | 1,525,279  | 100.0  | 720,116  | 805,163

### Religion

[edit]

* According to the Imperial census of 1897.[4]

Religion  | Number  | percentage (%)  | males  | females

|
|
|
|

Pravoslavs[5] | 1,480,110  | 97.0  | 696,506  | 783,604
Old Believers and others split from Pravoslavs  | 20,728  | 1.4  | 9,164  | 11,564
Judaism | 11,144  | 0.7  | 6,186  | 4,958
Roman Catholic | 8,487  | 0.6  | 5,631  | 2,856
Lutherans | 4,303  | 0.3  | 2,218  | 2,085
Islam | 294  | 0.0  | 283  | 11
Reformed | 83  | 0.0  | 50  | 33
Karaites | 41  | 0.0  | 25  | 16
Armenian Gregorians | 11  | 0.0  | 7  | 4
Anglicans | 9  | 0.0  | 3  | 6
Armenian Catholic Church | 3  | 0.0  | 1  | 2
Mennonites | 2  | 0.0  | 1  | 1
Other: Christian denominations  | 50  | 0.0  | 30  | 20
Other: non-Christians  | 6  | 0.0  | 6  | 0
Total  | 1,525,279  | 100.0  | 720,116  | 805,163

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Указ об учреждении губерний и о росписании к ним городов (in Russian)
2. ^ a b С. А. Тархов (2001). "Изменение административно-территориального деления России за последние 300 лет". Электронная версия журнала "География".
3. ^ a b Список населенных мест 1904 года (in Russian). «Край Смоленский». Retrieved 25 May 2018.
4. ^ Religion Statistics of 1897 (in Russian)
5. ^ Eastern Orthodox, including Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Georgian Orthodox

## Further reading

[edit]

* Голубовский П. В. (1895) История Смоленской земли до начала XV столетия (History of the Smolensk land prior to the beginning of the 15th century) (in Russian)

* v
* t
* e

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¹ Italics indicates renamed or abolished governorates, oblasts, etc on 1 January 1914.
² An asterisk (+) indicates governorates formed or created with renaming after 1 January 1914.
³ Ostsee or Baltic general-governorship was abolished in 1876.

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