Rudnya, Russia

Not far from the border with Belarus, 68 km northwest of Smolensk, is the city of Rudnya. It originated near mining sites in the 19th century. In the city, the guards mortar “Katyusha”, the monument “Grieving Mother”, installed at the mass grave, where the prisoners shot by the Nazis are buried, the house-museum of M.A. Egorova and the Historical Museum. Mikhail Yegorov is a native of the Rudnya land, he went through the entire Great Patriotic War and in 1945 hoisted the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag in Berlin. The Historical Museum was opened in 1980. It has 4 halls – Peasant life, Rudnyansky district under Soviet rule, Rudnya during the Great Patriotic War and a hall dedicated to M.A. Egorov.

15 km southwest of Rudnya in the village of Lyubavichi the church of the Assumption of the Mother of God of the middle of the 18th century, which was once rebuilt from the Uniate church into the Orthodox one, has been preserved.

82 km southeast of Smolensk in the upper reaches of the Desna River is the city of Yelnya . The first mention of Yelnya dates back to the 12th-13th centuries. The Elninsk operation of 1941 brought special fame to the city, during which 10 German divisions were defeated. 4 Soviet divisions that participated in this operation were the first to receive the title of guards. In memory of this event, a memorial to the first guards divisions and busts of Marshal Zhukov and the commanders of the first guards divisions were erected on the central square of the city in 1971. In Yelnya on the left bank of the Desna River, on a low hill, the remains of the settlements of the 12th century – Gorodok and Ostrozhek have been preserved. The Elninsk Local History Museum was opened in 1969. Its expositions tell about the events of the Great Patriotic War in this area, about the ancient crafts and crafts of the region.

According to DEFINITIONEXPLORER.COM, 21 km south of Yelnya is the village of Novospasskoye. This place is the birthplace of the great Russian composer M.I. Glinka. In memory of this man, in 1982, the Memorial Museum-Estate of M.I. Glinka, which is a branch of the Smolensk Museum-Reserve. A two-story manor house of the early 19th century, a family church of the late 18th century, and many small manor buildings were restored on the territory of the museum. An extensive landscape park with a cascade of ponds, bridges and greenhouses was arranged here. By visiting the museum, you will feel the atmosphere of the noble life of the 19th century and see Glinka’s personal belongings. Dorogobuzh is located 30 km north of Yelnya.. The fortress, which was located on the site of the modern city, has been mentioned in historical sources since 1150. It was an important trading center, located not far from the Smolensk fortress. Dorogobuzh was destroyed more than once – in the 13th century it was burned down by Batu Khan, in the 15th-17th centuries it was often attacked by Lithuania and Poland, in 1812 it was burned down by Napoleon’s troops and badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War. In 1942, Dorogobuzh was the center of the partisan movement in the Smolensk region. On a small city hill, the remains of an ancient fortress and a commemorative column with a 12 m high cross, erected in 1912 in honor of the Russian victory, have been preserved. over Napoleon. Of the historical sights of Dorogobuzh, one can single out the Church of Peter and Paul built in 1885, which houses the exposition of the local history museum. Here are objects of archeology, peasant life, samples of weapons from the period of the Great Patriotic War, personal belongings of war veterans, photographs of those times and collections of works by local artists. The village of Boldino is located 19 km east of Dorogobuzh. The ruins of the Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery are of interest here. The monastery was founded in the 16th century by the monk Gerasim. A little to the south in the village of Aleksino the manor ensemble of the 18th-19th centuries, which previously belonged to the Vyazemsky merchant Baryshnikov, is interesting. The ensemble includes many parks with ponds, the Church of Michael the Archangel of the late 18th century, a manor house of the 19th century and a museum. Pochinok is located 50 km southeast of Smolensk. Not far from him, the poet A.T. Tvardovsky. In 2000, on the occasion of the poet’s birthday, a local history museum was opened in Pochinka, which tells about the history of the region, the Great Patriotic War and the famous natives of this land. In the southern part of the Smolensk region, 123 km southeast of Smolensk, is the city of Roslavl. It was founded in 1137 by the Smolensk prince Rostislav on the occupied lands of the Radimichi and was called Rostislavl. Rostislavl was far from trade routes and was a stronghold of princely power. Today the old town of Roslavl declared a protected area. Here you can see the remains of earthen fortifications of the 12th century, which have been preserved on the site of the ancient settlement, and many churches – the Baroque Assumption Church (end of the 18th century), the Resurrection Church of the early 19th century, the Ascension Church (1821-1832), the Peter and Paul Fortress (mid-19th century), Kazan-Pyatnitskaya Church (mid-19th century). The five-domed cathedral in the classical style of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, founded in the 16th century on the banks of the Oster River, is very beautiful. The ensemble of the monastery is surrounded by three-meter walls with gates. From the architecture of the late 19th century, the buildings of the former City Duma and the Assembly of Nobility have been preserved in the city center. The Roslavl Historical and Art Museum is especially popular among tourists. It was founded in 1918 and is now located in a two-story 19th century mansion. The exhibition hall of the museum is located in the Kazan-Pyatnitskaya church. The Historical and Art Museum tells about the history and culture of the region. Here are collected archaeological materials from excavations at local settlements of the 12th century, an ethnographic collection with samples of peasant costume, household items, utensils and tools, materials about the course of the Second World War – trophies, personal belongings of battle participants and front-line newspapers, as well as an art collection that has more than 1.5 thousand objects of painting, graphics, sculpture and arts and crafts masters of the Smolensk region.