Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. It was part of the Vilna Governorate-General and Northwestern Krai. The governorate included almost the entire Lithuanian region of Samogitia and the northern part of Aukštaitija.