Already during the battle, the press clamoured for promoting him to general and commander-in-chief, and contrasted his capable performance during the war with the general ineffectiveness of the military and political leadership. On 19 May he received a field promotion to major general and was placed in command of the 1st Infantry Division. He was decorated with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer, and was propelled to the status of a national hero. Already in 1897, the Municipality of Athens gave his name to a street, and he received honorary citizenships from several Greek cities. Medals and lithographs with his portrait were in widespread demand and prominently displayed for several years thereafter. This popularity was quickly used to launch his political career: Smolenskis was twice elected Member of the Hellenic Parliament for the Attica and Boeotia Prefecture, and he served twice as Minister for Military Affairs, in the 1897 Alexandros Zaimis cabinet, and in the 1903 Georgios Theotokis cabinet.