Pskov (English) Псков (Russian)
-  City[1]  -
Krom (or Kremlin) in Pskov
Location of Pskov Oblast in Russia
Pskov Location of Pskov in Pskov Oblast
Coordinates: 57°49′N 28°20′E / 57.817°N 28.333°E / 57.817; 28.333Coordinates: 57°49′N 28°20′E / 57.817°N 28.333°E / 57.817; 28.333
Coat of arms	Flag
City Day	July 23[citation needed]
Administrative status (as of February 2009)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Pskov Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to	City of Pskov[1]
Administrative center of	Pskov Oblast,[citation needed] Pskovsky District,[citation needed] City of Pskov[1]
Municipal status (as of February 2005)
Urban okrug	Pskov Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of	Pskov Urban Okrug[2]
City Head[citation needed]	Ivan Tsetsersky[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Area	95.5 km2 (36.9 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	203,281 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010	91st
Population (2002 Census)	202,780 inhabitants[4]
- Rank in 2002	90th
Density	2,129 /km2 (5,510 /sq mi)[5]
Time zone	MSK (UTC+04:00)[6]
First mentioned	903[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	180xxx[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 8112[citation needed]
Official website
Pskov on WikiCommons

Pskov (Russian: Псков; IPA: [pskof] ( listen), ancient Russian spelling "Плѣсковъ", Pleskov) is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about 20 kilometers (12 mi) east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: 203,281 (2010 Census preliminary results);^[3] 202,780 (2002 Census);^[4] 203,789 (1989 Census).^[7]

History[link]

Early history[link]

View of the Pskov kremlin from the Velikaya River

The name of the city, originally spelled "Pleskov", may be loosely translated as "[the town] of purling waters". Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, St. Olga. 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.

The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Great's younger son Sudislav. Once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latter's death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic. In 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 movie.

In order to secure their independence from the knights, the Pskovians elected a Lithuanian prince, named Daumantas, 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 at Rakvere and overran much of Estonia. His remains and sword are preserved in the local kremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of "Dovmont's town".

Pskov Republic[link]

By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de-facto sovereign republic. Its most powerful force was the merchants who brought the town into the Hanseatic League. Pskov's independence was formally recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Several years later, the veche promulgated a law code (called the Pskov Charter), which was one of the principal sources of the all-Russian law code issued in 1497.

For Russia, the Pskov Republic was a bridge towards Europe. For Europe, it was a western outpost of Russia and a subject of numerous attacks throughout its history. The Pskov 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 of icon-painting flourished, and local masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features of Russian architecture were first introduced in Pskov.

Siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory, by Karl Brullov

Finally, in 1510, the city fell to Muscovite forces.^[8] The deportation of noble families to Moscow is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Pskovityanka (1872). As the second largest city of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Pskov still attracted enemy armies. Most famously, it withstood a prolonged siege by a 50,000-strong Polish army during the final stage of the Livonian War (1581–1582). The king of Poland Stefan Batory 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. "It's amazing how the city reminds me of Paris", wrote one of the Frenchmen present at Batory's siege.

Modern history[link]

Peter the Great's conquest of Estonia and Latvia during the Great 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 has served as a seat of separate governorate since 1777. It was here that the last Russian Tsar abdicated in March 1917.

During World War I, Pskov became the center of much activity behind the lines, and after the Russo-German Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference (December 22, 1917–March 3, 1918), the Imperial German Army invaded the area. Pskov was also occupied by the Estonian army between February 1919 and July 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence.

The medieval citadel provided little protection against modern artillery, and during World War II Pskov suffered substantial damage during the German occupation from July 9, 1941 until July 23, 1944. However, many ancient buildings, particularly churches, suffered destruction before the Wehrmacht could occupy the city. Though a huge portion of the population died during the war, Pskov has since struggled to regain its traditional position as a major industrial and cultural center of Western Russia.

Administrative and municipal status[link]

Administratively, it is incorporated as the City of Pskov—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[1] Municipally, the City of Pskov is incorporated as Pskov Urban Okrug.^[2]

Landmarks and sights[link]

The mid-12th century cathedral of St. John. Dozens of similar quaint little churches are scattered throughout Pskov.

Pskov still preserves much of its medieval walls, built from the 13th century on. Its medieval citadel is called either the Krom or the Kremlin. Within its walls rises the 256-foot (78 m)-tall Trinity Cathedral, founded in 1138 and rebuilt in the 1690s. The cathedral contains the tombs of saint princes Vsevolod (died in 1138) and Dovmont (died in 1299). Other ancient cathedrals adorn the Mirozhsky Monastery (completed by 1152), famous for its 12th-century frescoes, St. John's (completed by 1243), and the Snetogorsky monastery (built in 1310 and stucco-painted in 1313).

A Russian coin commemorating Pskov's 1,100th anniversary

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 merchant mansions, such as the Salt House, the Pogankin chambers, and the Trubinsky mansion.

Among the sights in the vicinity of Pskov are Izborsk, a seat of Rurik's brother in the 9th century and one of the most formidable fortresses of medieval Russia; the Pskov Monastery of the Caves, the oldest continually functioning monastery in Russia and a magnet for pilgrims from all over the country; the 16th-century Krypetsky Monastery; Elizarovo Monastery, which used to be a great cultural and literary center of medieval Russia; and Mikhaylovskoye, a family home of Alexander Pushkin where he wrote some of the best known lines in the Russian language. The national poet of Russia is buried in the ancient cloister at the Holy Mountains nearby. Unfortunately, the area presently has only a minimal tourist infrastructure, and the historic core of Pskov requires serious investments to realize its great tourist potential.

Climate[link]

The climate of Pskov is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with maritime influences due to the city's relative proximity to the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland; with relative soft but long winter (usually 5 months per year) and warm summer. Summer and fall have more precipitation than winter and spring.

Economy[link]

• JSC "AVAR" (AvtoElectroArmatura). Electric equipment production for cars, lorries buses and tractors (relays, switches, fuses, electronic articles)
• Pskov is served by Pskov Airport which was also used for military aviation.

Notable people[link]

• Sergei Fedorov, hockey player
• Oxana Fedorova, Miss Universe 2002
• Mikhail Golitsyn, statesman
• Isaak Kikoin, physicist
• Veniamin Kaverin, writer
• Yury Tynyanov, writer

International relations[link]

Twin towns and sister cities[link]

Pskov is twinned with the following cities:^[10]

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• 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, 2009 On 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, 2005 On the Borders and Status of the Municipal Formations Existing on the Oblast Territory. Effective as of the official publication date.).

External links[link]

• Official website of Pskov (Russian)
• Nortfort.ru. Pskov fortress
• Some paintings from the Pskov State Museum's Picture Gallery (links #4 and #3 from above) (Russian)
• The Pskov Power. Archive of the Pskov area of regional studies
• Poets of Pskov: An Anthology of Poems

Photographs[link]

• Pskov in modern and old photos
• Pskov at night
• A tower of the kremlin
• Assumption church at the Ferryside (1521)
• 12th-century Mirozhsky abbey
• Alexander Nevsky monument

v t e Administrative divisions of Pskov Oblast Administrative center: Pskov Cities and towns Dno Gdov Nevel Novorzhev Novosokolniki Opochka Ostrov Pechory Porkhov Pskov Pustoshka Pytalovo Sebezh Velikiye Luki Districts Bezhanitsky Dedovichsky Dnovsky Gdovsky Krasnogorodsky Kunyinsky Loknyansky Nevelsky Novorzhevsky Novosokolnichesky Opochetsky Ostrovsky Palkinsky Pechorsky Plyussky Porkhovsky Pskovsky Pushkinogorsky Pustoshkinsky Pytalovsky Sebezhsky Strugo-Krasnensky Usvyatsky Velikoluksky

v t e Major fortresses of Western Russia Brest-Litovsk fortress Gdov Ivangorod Izborsk Kirillov Koporye Korela Kronstadt Ladoga New Dvina Fort Novgorod Oreshek Porkhov Pskov Smolensk Solovki St. Petersburg Trångsund Vyborg Yamburg 19th-century fortifications

v t e World Heritage Sites in Russia by federal district Central Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye Moscow Kremlin and Red Square Novodevichy Convent Trinity Sergius Lavra White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal Historic Centre of Yaroslavl Southern Western Caucasus Northwestern Curonian Spit1 Ferapontov Monastery Kizhi Pogost Virgin Komi Forests Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Surroundings Solovetsky Islands Struve Geodetic Arc2 Far Eastern Volcanoes of Kamchatka Central Sikhote-Alin Wrangel Island Siberian Golden Mountains of Altai Lake Baikal Putorana Plateau Uvs Nuur Basin3 Volga Kazan Kremlin North Caucasian Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent 1 Shared with Lithuania 2 Shared with nine other countries 3 Shared with Mongolia

vep:Pskov

Saint Alexander Nevsky
An icon of Alexander Nevsky
Born	(1220-05-30)30 May 1220 Pereslavl-Zalessky, Vladimir-Suzdal (now Russia)
Died	14 November 1263(1263-11-14) (aged 43) Gorodets, Vladimir-Suzdal (now Russia)
Honored in	Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	1547 by Russian Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Vladimir; Pereslavl-Zalessky, Saint Petersburg
Feast	23 November (Repose) 23 May (Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl 30 August (Translation of relics)
Attributes	Robed as a Russian Great Prince, often wearing armor.
Patronage	Soldiers, Borders of Russia

Alexander Nevsky (Russian:  Алекса́ндр Яросла́вич Не́вский​ (help·info), Aleksandr Yaroslavich Nevskiy; pronounced [ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪrɐˈslavʲɪtɕ ˈnʲefskʲɪj]; 30 May 1220 – 14 November 1263, proclaimed Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church by Metropolite Macarius in 1547^[1]) was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military victories over the German and Swedish invaders while employing collaborationist policies towards the powerful Golden Horde.

Great victories[link]

From Tales of the Life and Courage of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander found in the Second Pskovian Chronicle, circa 1260–1280, comes one of the first known references to the Great Prince:

"By the will of God, prince Alexander was born from the charitable, people-loving, and meek the Great Prince Yaroslav, and his mother was Theodosia. As it was told by the prophet Isaiah: 'Thus sayeth the Lord: I appoint the princes because they are sacred and I direct them.' "... He was taller than others and his voice reached the people as a trumpet, and his face was like the face of Joseph, whom the Egyptian Pharaoh placed as next to the king after him of Egypt. His power was a part of the power of Samson and God gave him the wisdom of Solomon ... this Prince Alexander: he used to defeat but was never defeated ..."^[2]

Monument in Ust-Izhora, traditional site of the Battle of the Neva.

Born in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Alexander was the fourth son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and seemed to have no chance of claiming the throne of Vladimir. In 1236, however, he was summoned by the Novgorodians to become kniaz' (or prince) of Novgorod and, as their military leader, to defend their northwest lands from Swedish, German and Muslim invaders. After the Swedish army had landed at the confluence of the rivers Izhora and Neva, Alexander and his small army suddenly attacked the Swedes on 15 July 1240 and defeated them. The Neva battle of 1240 saved Rus' from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North. Because of this battle, 19-year-old Alexander was given the sobriquet "Nevsky" (which means of Neva). This victory, coming just three years after the disastrous Mongol invasion of Rus, strengthened Nevsky’s political influence, but at the same time it worsened his relations with the boyars. He would soon have to leave Novgorod because of this conflict.

After Pskov had been invaded by the crusading Livonian Knights, the Novgorod authorities sent for Alexander. In spring of 1241 he returned from his exile, gathered an army, and drove out the invaders. Alexander and his men faced the Livonian heavy cavalry led by the master of the Order, Hermann, brother of Albert of Buxhoeveden. Nevsky faced the enemy on the ice of the Lake Peipus and defeated the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights during the Battle of the Ice on 5 April 1242.

Alexander’s victory was a significant event in the history of the Middle Ages. Foot soldiers of Novgorod had surrounded and defeated an army of knights, mounted on horseback and clad in thick armour, long before Western Europeans learned how foot soldiers could prevail over mounted knights. Nevsky's great victory against the Livonian Brothers apparently involved only a few knights killed rather than hundreds claimed by the Russian chroniclers; decisive medieval and early modern battles were won and lost by smaller margins than is seen in contemporary conflicts. Strategic considerations aside, Alexander's victory was an important milestone in the development of Muscovite Russia.

Politician[link]

After the Livonian invasion, Nevsky continued to strengthen Russia’s Northwest. He sent his envoys to Norway and, as a result, they signed a first peace treaty between Russia and Norway in 1251. Alexander led his army to Finland and successfully routed the Swedes, who had made another attempt to block the Baltic Sea from the Russians in 1256.^[3]

The envoys of the Roman Pope attend Alexander Nevsky

Nevsky proved to be a cautious and far-sighted politician. He dismissed the Roman Curia’s attempts to cause war between Russia and the Golden Horde, because he understood the uselessness of such war with the Tatars at a time when they were still a powerful force. Historians seem to be unsure about Alexander’s behavior when it came to his relations with Mongols. He may have thought that Catholicism presented a more tangible threat to Russian national identity than paying a tribute to the Khan, who had little interest in Russian religion and culture. It is also argued that he intentionally kept Russia as a vassal to the Mongols in order to preserve his own status and counted on the befriended Horde in case someone challenged his authority (he forced the citizens of Novgorod to pay tribute). Nevsky tried to strengthen his authority at the expense of the boyars and at the same time suppress any anti-Mongol and anti-Muscovite uprisings in the country (Novgorod uprising of 1259).

According to the most plausible version, Alexander’s intentions were to prevent scattered principalities of what would become Russia from repeated invasions by the Mongol army. He is known to have gone to the Horde himself and achieved success in exempting Russians from fighting beside the Tatar army in its wars with other peoples.

Some historians see Alexander's choice of subordination to the Golden Horde and refusal of co-operating with western countries and church as an important turn to the east for the Russians.^[4]

Grand Prince of Vladimir[link]

Thanks to his friendship with Sartaq Khan, Alexander was installed as the Grand Prince of Vladimir (i.e., the supreme Russian ruler) in 1252. A decade later, Alexander died in the town of Gorodets-on-the-Volga on his way back from Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. Prior to his death, he took monastic vows and was given the religious name of Alexis.

From the Second Pskovian Chronicle:

"Returning from the Golden Horde, the Great Prince Alexander, reached the city of Nizhniy Novgorod, and remained there for several days in good health, but when he reached the city of Gorodets he fell ill ... Great Prince Alexander, who was always firm in his faith in God, gave up this worldly kingdom ... And then he gave up his soul to God and died in peace on 12 November, [1263] on the day when the Holy Apostle Philip is remembered ...

Burial of Alexander Nevsky

At this burial Metropolitan Archbishop Cyril said, 'My children, you should know that the sun of the Suzdalian land has set. There will never be another prince like him in the Suzdalian land.'

And the priests and deacons and monks, the poor and the wealthy, and all the people said: 'It is our end.' "^[2]

Though he died in Gorodets, Alexander was laid to rest in the city of Vladimir, in the Great Abbey at The Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God.

Marriage and children[link]

According to the Novgorod First Chronicle, Alexander married first a daughter of Bryacheslav Vasilkovich, Prince of Polatsk and Vitebsk, in 1239. Her name is not given in the chronicle. Genealogies name her as Paraskeviya or Alexandra (possibly birth and marital names respectively). They had at least five children:

• Vasily Aleksandrovich, Prince of Novgorod (c. 1239–1271). He was betrothed to Princess Kristina of Norway in 1251. The marriage contact was broken. Kristina went on to marry Felipe of Castile, a son of Ferdinand III of Castile and Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen.
• Eudoxia Aleksandrovna. Married Konstantin Rostislavich, Prince of Smolensk.
• Dmitry of Pereslavl (c. 1250–1294).
• Andrey of Gorodets (c. 1255 – 27 July 1304
• Daniel of Moscow (1261 – 4 March/5 March 1303).

He married a second wife named Vasilisa shortly before his death. They had no known children.

Alexander's legacy[link]

Decoration of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Some of Alexander's policies on the Western border were continued by his grandson-in-law, Daumantas of Pskov, who was also beatified in the 16th century.

In the late 13th century, a chronicle was compiled called the Life of Alexander Nevsky (Житие Александра Невского), in which he is depicted as an ideal prince-soldier and defender of Russia.

Veneration of Alexander Nevsky as a saint began soon after his death. The remains of the prince were uncovered in response to a vision, before the Battle of Kulikovo in the year 1380, and found to be incorrupt. He was glorified (canonized) by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547. His principal feast day is 23 November. By order of Peter the Great, Nevsky’s relics were transported to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg where they remain to this day. A second feast day was instituted on 30 August in commemoration of this event. He is also commemorated in common with other saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl on 23 May.

Military Order[link]

On 21 May 1725, the empress Catherine I introduced the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky as one of the highest decorations in the land. During the Great Patriotic War, on 29 July 1942, the Soviet authorities introduced an Order of Alexander Nevsky to revive the memory of Alexander's struggle with the Germans. There was also a Bulgarian Order dedicated to Saint Alexander which was founded on 25 December 1881 and then ceased to exist when a People's Republic was declared on 16 September 1946.

Sergei Eisenstein's envisioning of Alexander Nevsky forms the background of this Soviet poster from World War II.

In 1938, Sergei Eisenstein made one of his most acclaimed films, Alexander Nevsky, on Alexander's victory over the Teutonic Knights. The soundtrack for the film was written by Sergei Prokofiev, who also reworked the score into a concert cantata. At Joseph Stalin's insistence,^{[citation needed]} the film was rushed into theaters and the resulting sound recording was notably disappointing, while the visual images were quite impressive, especially the spectacular battle on the ice. In the film, Nevsky used a number of Russian proverbs, tying Nevsky firmly to Russian tradition ^[5]

Alexander's proverbial phrase (actually, paraphrased Math.26:52) "Whoever will come to us with a sword, from a sword will perish," has become a slogan of Russian patriots. There is a long tradition of Russian naval vessels bearing Nevsky's name, such as the nineteenth century screw frigate Alexander Neuski and a nuclear submarine currently being built for the Russian Navy.

Alexander Nevsky's fame has spread beyond the borders of Russia, and numerous churches are dedicated to him, including the Patriarchal Cathedral at Sofia, Bulgaria; the Cathedral church in Tallinn, Estonia; a church in Belgrade, Serbia; and a church in Tbilisi, Georgia.

On 24 September 2008, Alexander Nevsky was declared the main hero of Russia’s history by popular vote, as reported by the Kommersant Newspaper.

In December 2008, Alexander was voted the greatest Russian in the Name of Russia television poll.^[6]

See also[link]

• Alexander Nevsky Cathedral—an incomplete listing of Eastern Orthodox cathedrals which bear his name.
• Nevsky Avenue
• Famous military commanders
• Rulers of Russia family tree

References[link]