[2] The district is located on the Smolensk Upland and is divided between the drainage basins of the Dnieper and the Volga.

Minor areas in the western part of the district drain into the Sozh River, a major left tributary of the Dnieper.

[9] On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Yelninsky District with the administrative center in the town of Yelnya was established on the territories which previously belonged to Yelninsky and Durogobuzhsky Uyezds.

On August 1, 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast.

[11] The main agricultural specializations of the district are cattle breeding with meat and milk production, as well as crops, beans, and potato growing.

[11] The railway connecting Smolensk and Sukhinichi via Spas-Demensk crosses the district from northwest to southeast.

In the selo of Novospasskoye, in the estate where the composer Mikhail Glinka was born, there is a memorial museum.