Gagarin (Russian: Гага́рин), known until 1968 as Gzhatsk (Гжатск), is a town and the administrative centre of Gagarinsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Gzhat River, 240 kilometers (150 mi) northeast of Smolensk, the administrative centre of the oblast.

[2] From the mid-18th century, Gzhatsk was a sloboda, and in 1776, by a decree by Catherine the Great, it was granted uyezd town status[2] and a coat of arms showing "a barge loaded with bread ready for departure, on a field argent", meaning that the town was a good landing stage for grain.

One part paralleled the Gzhat River, another—the road to Moscow, and the base of the triangle connected them.

On August 29, 1812, in the village of Tsaryovo-Zaymishche near Gzhatsk, Mikhail Kutuzov accepted command of the Russian army.

In the course of the war, Gzhatsk was occupied by the German Army from October 9, 1941 until March 6, 1943, when it was liberated by the troops of the Soviet Western Front.