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. The population of the town is 4,714 according to the 2002 Census; it was 5,087 according in the 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 advance guard against the small retreating Russian rearguard of Dmitri Neverovsky. The French ran into unexpectedly strong resistance from the Russians. In his Napoleonic history, De Ségur 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. It was occupied by Germany between 1941-1943 during World War II.
On September 27, 2009, the "Walk of Heroes" history museum opened in Krasny.