Pskov, city, capital of Pskov Oblast, northwestern Russia, on the Velikaya River. The city is an important railroad junction and the trade center of a flax-growing region. Manufactures include machinery, linen, and building materials. Notable historic structures include a 13-century kremlin (citadel) and churches dating from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Pskov was a dependency of Novgorod from 903 to 1348, when it became the seat of an independent and democratically governed state. An important center for trade and crafts, it was annexed by Moscow in 1510. During World War II the city was occupied (1941-44) by the German army and suffered extensive damage. Population (1995) 273,831.
