Krasny, Smolensk Oblast

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1780 coat of arms of Krasny

Krasny (Russian: Кра́сный) is an urban-type settlement in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Svinaya and Mereya Rivers 67 km^[1] south-west of Smolensk. It is the administrative center of Krasninsky District. Population: 4,714 (2002 Census); 5,087 (1989 Census).

The settlement was first mentioned in 1165. It was granted town status in 1776, but did not retain it during Soviet times.

During Napoleon's invasion of Russia, in 1812, Krasny was the place of two noted battles, one when Napoleon's army entered Russia and another one on its return.

The Battle of Krasnoi in August 1812 was a lesser action of Murat's avant guard against the small retreating Russian rearguard of Dmitri Neverovsky, notable by unexpectedly heavy resistance by the Russians. De Ségur in his Napoleonic history wrote that Neverovsky retreated "like a lion".

At the Battle of Krasnoi in November 1812, the Russian army inflicted heavy losses on the remnants of the French Grande Armée. There are two monuments in Krasny commemorating that event, both erected in 1912. The settlement also houses a museum of local lore, whose three exhibits include materials on the Patriotic War of 1812, Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, and on modern life at the settlement.