Smolensk Oblast (Russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, Smolenskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its area is 49,800 square kilometers (19,200 sq mi). Its administrative center is the city of Smolensk. Population: 985,537 (2010 Census).

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Smolensk was one of the most important economic and military centers of the Grand Princedom of Moscow. It was also a major commercial center, and home industry production reached high levels. Construction of the Smolensk fortress wall was an important event in the history of Russia. Smolensk Oblast was formed in September 1937 from the central and western districts of Western Oblast as the result of a reorganization of the latter oblast. The new oblast exceeded present-day Smolensk Oblast in both population and area.

The oblast was founded on September 27, 1937. It borders Pskov Oblast in the north, Tver Oblast in the northeast, Moscow Oblast in the east, Kaluga and Bryansk Oblasts in the south, and Mogilev and Oblasts of Belarus, in the west and northwest.

Smolensk (Russian:  Смоле́нск​ (help·info)) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated 360 kilometers (220 mi) west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk is noted for electronics, textiles, food processing, and diamonds facetting. Population: 326,863 (2010 Census preliminary results); 325,137 (2002 Census); 341,483 (1989 Census).

The name of the city is derived from the name of the Smolnya Rivulet. The origin of the hydronym is less clear. One possibility is the old Slavic word "смоль" (smol) for black soil, which might have colored the waters of the long-derelict Smolnya. An alternative origin could be the Russian word "смола" (smola), which means resin, tar, or pitch. Pine trees grow in the area, and the city was once a center of resin processing and trade. The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII recorded its name as Μιλινισκα.

Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈlɛx alɛkˈsandɛr kaˈt͡ʂɨȷ̃skʲi] ( listen); 18 June 1949 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the Law and Justice party. He was the identical twin brother of the former Prime Minister of Poland and current Chairman of the Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński. On 10 April 2010, he died in the crash of a Polish Air Force Tu-154 while attempting to land at Smolensk-North airport in Russia.

Kaczyński was born in Warsaw, the son of Rajmund (an engineer who served as a soldier of the Armia Krajowa in World War II and a veteran of the Warsaw Uprising), and Jadwiga (a philologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences). As a child, he starred in a 1962 Polish film, The Two Who Stole the Moon (Polish title O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc) with his twin brother Jarosław.