View of the Pskov Kremlin from the Velikaya River in 2014
Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia. The name of the city, originallyPleskov (historic Russian spellingПлѣсковъ,Plěskov), may be loosely translated as "[the town] ofpurling waters". It was historically known in English asPlescow.[10]
Its earliest mention comes in 903,[11] which records thatIgor of Kiev married a local lady,Olga (later Saint Olga of Kiev).[12] Pskovians sometimes take this year as the city's foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskov's 1,100th anniversary.
In order to secure their independence from the knights, the Pskovians elected aLithuanian prince, namedDaumantas, a Roman Catholic converted to Orthodox faith and known in Russia as Dovmont, as their military leader and prince in 1266. Having fortified the town, Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights atRakvere and overran much of Estonia. His remains and sword are preserved in the localkremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of "Dovmont's town".
By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of ade facto sovereign republic. Its most powerful force was the merchants who traded with theHanseatic League. Pskov's independence was formally recognized by Novgorod in 1348.[13] Several years later, theveche promulgated a law code (called thePskov Charter), which was one of the principal sources of theall-Russian law code issued in 1497.
Already in the 13th century German merchants were present inZapskovye area of Pskov and theHanseatic League had a trading post in the same area in the first half of 16th century which moved toZavelichye after a fire in 1562.[14][15] The wars withLivonian Order, Poland-Lithuania and Sweden interrupted the trade but it was maintained until the 17th century, with Swedish merchants gaining the upper hand eventually.[15]
The importance of the city made it the subject of numerous sieges throughout its history. ThePskov Krom (or Kremlin) withstood twenty-six sieges in the 15th century alone. At one point, five stone walls ringed it, making the city practically impregnable. A local school oficon-painting flourished, and the local masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features ofRussian architecture were first introduced in Pskov.
Finally, in 1510, the city was annexed by theGrand Duchy of Moscow.[17] Three hundred families were deported from Pskov to central Russia,[13] and merchants and military families from Muscovy were settled in the city. At this time Pskov had at least 6,500 households and a population of more than 30,000; it was one of the three biggest cities of Muscovy, alongside Moscow and Novgorod.[18][19]
The deportation of noble families toMoscow under Ivan IV in 1570 is a subject ofRimsky-Korsakov'soperaPskovityanka (1872). Pskov still attracted enemy armies and it withstooda prolonged siege by a 50,000-strongPolish-Lithuanian army during the final stage of theLivonian War (1581–1582). The king of PolandStephen Báthory undertook some thirty-one attacks to storm the city, which was defended mainly by civilians. Even after one of the city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack. "A big city, it is like Paris", wrote Báthory's secretary about Pskov.[20]
The estimates of the population of Pskov land in the middle of 16th century range from 150 to 300 thousand. Famines, epidemics (especially the epidemic of 1552) and the warfare led to a five-fold decrease of the population by 1582–1585 due to mortality and migration.[21][22]
The city withstood asiege by the Swedish in 1615. The successful defence of the city led to the peace negotiations culminating in theTreaty of Stolbovo.
Peter the Great's conquest ofEstonia andLivonia during theGreat Northern War in the early 18th century spelled the end of Pskov's traditional role as a vital border fortress and a key to Russia's interior. As a consequence, the city's importance and well-being declined dramatically, although it served as a seat of separatePskov Governorate since 1777. In 1897, the ethnic make-up, by mother tongue, was 80.0% Russian,5.7% Polish, 4.7% Jewish, 4.3% German, 2.4% Latvian, 2.1% Estonian.[16]
Pskov was also occupied by theEstonian army between 25 May 1919 and 28 August 1919 during theEstonian War of Independence when theWhite Russian commanderStanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz became the military administrator of Pskov. He personally ceded most of his responsibilities to a democratically elected municipal duma and focused on both cultural and economical recovery of the war-impoverished city. He also put an end to censorship of press and allowed for creation of several socialist associations and newspapers.
Under the Soviet government, large parts of the city were rebuilt, many ancient buildings, particularly churches, were demolished to give space for new constructions. DuringWorld War II, in June 1940, theSoviet 8th Army invaded Estonia andLatvia from the city.[24] The medieval citadel provided little protection against modern artillery of the Wehrmacht, and Pskov suffered substantial damage during theGerman occupation from 9 July 1941 until 23 July 1944. The Germans operated aforced labour camp forJewish men and women.[25] In February 1944, thousands of people were killed during Russian bombings of the city.[26] A huge portion of the population died during the war, and Pskov has since struggled to regain its traditional position as a major industrial and cultural center of western Russia.
Pskov still preserves much of its medieval walls, built from the 13th century on. Its medievalcitadel is called either the Krom or the Kremlin. Within its walls rises the 256-foot-tall (78 m)Trinity Cathedral, founded in 1138 and rebuilt in the 1690s. The cathedral contains the tombs of saint princesVsevolod (died in 1138) andDovmont (died in 1299). Other ancient cathedrals adorn theMirozhsky Monastery (completed by 1152), famous for its 12th-centuryfrescoes, St. John's (completed by 1243), and the Snetogorsky monastery (built in 1310 and stucco-painted in 1313).
Church of Saint Basil of Caesarea on the Hill
Pskov is exceedingly rich in tiny, squat, picturesque churches, dating mainly from the 15th and the 16th centuries. There are many dozens of them, the most notable being St. Basil's on the Hill (1413), St. Kozma and Demian's near the Bridge (1463), St. George's from the Downhill (1494), Assumption from the Ferryside (1444, 1521), and St. Nicholas' from Usokha (1536). The 17th-century residential architecture is represented by merchantmansions, such as the Salt House, the Pogankin Palace, and the Trubinsky mansion.
Among the sights in the vicinity of Pskov areIzborsk, a seat ofRurik's brother in the 9th century and one of the most formidable fortresses of medieval Russia; thePskov Monastery of the Caves, the oldest continually functioning monastery in Russia (founded in the mid-15th century) and a magnet for pilgrims from all over the country; the 16th-centuryKrypetsky Monastery;Yelizarov Convent, which used to be a great cultural and literary center of medieval Russia; andMikhaylovskoye, a family home ofAlexander Pushkin where he wrote some of the best known lines in theRussian language. The national poet of Russia is buried in the ancient cloister at the Holy Mountains nearby. Unfortunately, the area presently[when?] has only a minimaltouristinfrastructure, and the historic core of Pskov requires serious investments to realize its great tourist potential.
Vehicle emissions reach 83% of total emissions from stationary and mobile sources. The volume of emissions of atmospheric pollutants from stationary sources in 2007 amounted to 16.5 thousand tons, including 7.1 thousand tons (43.2%) of carbon monoxide and 2.6 thousand tons (15.8%) of solids. The largest source of air pollution in Pskov is Pskov Poultry Farm LLC (1365.92 tons of pollutants were emitted) and the Pskov Heating Networks SE (478.12 tons). All rivers flowing through the territory of the Pskov Oblast, including the city of Pskov, are characterized by increased concentrations of totaliron, copper ions, and hardly oxidizable organic compounds in the water.
The following indicators characterize air pollution in Pskov:
annual average and maximum one-time concentration of sulfur dioxide – below 1 MPC
the annual average concentration of nitrogen dioxide – 1.5 MPC; the maximum single concentration – 3.4 MPC
annual average and maximum one-time concentration of carbon monoxide – below 1 MPC
average annual concentration of suspended solids – below 1 MPC; the maximum single concentration – 2.2 MPC
the degree of air pollution in general for Pskov is approximately low and is determined by the API value – 2.81[28]
Since the late 1990s, the Clean Water project officially registered byUnited Russia in 2006 has been implemented.[29] Improving the quality of drinking water is planned to be carried out by gradually abandoning surface water intake from theVelikaya River and transitioning to the extraction of water from underground sources.[30] However, underground water intake leads to the clogging of hot water supply systems (up to complete obstruction) in those facilities where this water enters[31][32][33] due to its increased hardness.[34][35]
Theclimate of Pskov ishumid continental (Köppen climate classificationDfb) with maritime influences due to the city's relative proximity to theBaltic Sea andGulf of Finland. Compared to the climate of Central Russia, the city's climate is slightly less continental with cold winters and warm summers. Summer and fall have more precipitation than winter and spring.
Climate data for Pskov (1991-2020, extremes 1874–present)
In February 2023, it was announced thatRoanoke, United States was officially pausing its sister city affiliation with Pskov due to the continuingRussian invasion of Ukraine.[40]
^Esmark, Kim; Hermanson, Lars; Orning, Hans Jacob (2020). "Early Scandinavian power centers in the east".Nordic Elites in Transformation, c. 1050–1250, Volume II: Social Networks. Routledge.ISBN9781000037340.
^abcdSłownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom IX (in Polish). Warszawa. 1888. pp. 249–250.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Зимин, А.А. "Глава 6. Псков".Россия на пороге Нового времени (Очерки политической истории России первой трети XVI в.) (in Russian). Мысль. pp. 112–21.Ведь в 1510 г. в одном Среднем городе Пскова насчитывалось 6500 дворов
^de Madariaga, Isabel (2006). "Peace Negotiations".Ivan the Terrible. Yale University Press. p. 526.ISBN978-0-30014376-8.
^Горская, Наталья Александровна (1994).Историческая демография России эпохи феодализма: итоги и проблемы изучения (in Russian). Москва: Наука. pp. 94–97.ISBN978-502009750-6.
^Massie, Robert (1967).Nicholas and Alexandria. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 412–417.ISBN9780345438317.
^Eestlased vene sõjaväes 1940–1945. Raamat 12 (in Estonian and English). Tallinn: Estonian Repressed Persons Records Bureau. 2016. p. 33.ISBN978-9985-9914-5-9.
^"Общая информация".pskovgorod.ru (in Russian). Pskov. Retrieved1 February 2020.
^Hunter, Molly. "Sister City ties on hold Roanoke's relationship with Russian city paused, flag to be removed."Roanoke Times, The (VA), February 22, 2023: 1A.
Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №833-оз от 5 февраля 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Псковской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №20, 10 февраля 2009 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #833-oz of February 5, 2009On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast. Effective as of the official publication date.).
Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №419-оз от 28 февраля 2005 г. «О границах и статусе действующих на территории области муниципальных образований». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №41–43, 4 марта 2005 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #419-ы. of February 28, 2005On the Borders and Status of the Municipal Formations Existing on the Oblast Territory. Effective as of the official publication date.).
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