The Kovno Governorate ( or Kovenskaja Gubernija; ) or Government of Kovno was a governorate (guberniya) of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by tsar Nicholas I from the western part of the Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. It used to be a part of Northwestern Krai. The governorate included almost entire Lithuanian region of Samogitia and northern Aukštaitija.