 69% of the district area is forested.In the Middle Ages, the area was located on the border between Lithuanian and Russian lands, and intermittently changed affiliation between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (later Poland) and a number of Russian principalities, including the Grand Duchy of Moscow, until in the 17th century it finally went to Moscow.In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Smolensk Governorate and remained there until 1929, with the exception of the brief periods between 1713 and 1726, when it belonged to Riga Governorate, and between 1775 and 1796, when Smolensk Governorate was transformed into Smolensk Viceroyalty.