 In the 14th century, it was included into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.In the 16th century, it went to the Grand Duchy of Moscow.In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Belsky Uyezd of 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.