Krasny

Krasny stood on the Old Smolensk Road southwest of Smolensk. First recorded in the twelfth century, it later passed between the states competing for this western borderland. It became Lithuanian in 1404, passed to Moscow in the sixteenth century, and entered the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1618. Russian rule was restored in 1654. Eighteenth-century administrative reforms made it a district centre in the Smolensk provincial system.

The road brought Krasny directly into the events of 1812. Fighting occurred here during the summer advance of Napoleon's army and again in November during its retreat from Moscow. The later engagements disrupted the retreating French columns and inflicted heavy losses. Krasny's place in this campaign came from its position along the route west from Smolensk: a road serving ordinary communication also channelled armies through the same settlement. Its history links the administration of a small border town with the military geography of the Smolensk corridor.