The Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God
In the grounds of the Smolensk Cemetery on Vasilevsky Island, a baroque church dates back to the mid 18th century.The stone church, which replaced a wooden church consecrated in 1760, was completed in 1776 to a design by Aleksei Ivanov, Professor of Architecture at the Academy of Arts.
Smolensk icon of Mother of God
The icon after which the church is named is one of the most celebrated in Russian history.Purported to be the work of Luke the Apostle, it originally came to Rus in 1046, it became associated with the defense of the city against the Blue Horde of Batu Khan, and was moved to Moscow in 1812 to lend its powers to the struggle against Napoleon’s forces.SmolenskChurch of St. Michael the Archangel, Smolensk
The name of the city is derived from the name of the Smolnya River. The origin of the river’s name is less clear. One possibility is the old Slavic word смоль (smol) for black soil, which might have colored the waters of the Smolnya.
Isaak Azimov
Azimov was born in Petrovichi, in the governate of Smolensk
Medicine Tribe 