Smorgon, a place of Napoleon’s bivouac, WWI ‘dead town’On the banks of the Oksna River (the left tributary of the Vilia) and the Gervyatka flowing into it, in the north-west of Belarus stands the town of Smorgon. It has been known since the early 16th century and has been owned by the influential families of Zenovichis, Radziwills, Przezdzieckis. In the 17th century, it earned fame for an unusual educational institution - "a bear academy", the most famous bear training school not only in the Belarusian lands but also in Europe...