POLOTSK, a town of White Russia, at the confluence of the Polota and Dvina, in 55° 29' N., 28° 49' E. Pop. (1926) It is on a railway junction and has saw-milling and timber indus tries and a flour-mill. Its position between central Russia and the west made it a storm centre, and little of the ancient town re mains; both the upper castle, which had seven towers, and the lower one are in ruins and its 12th century cathedral fell in ruins in the 18th century.
Polotesk or Poltesk is mentioned in 862 as one of the towns given by the Scandinavian Rurik to his men. In 98o it had a prince of its own, Ragvald (Rogvolod or Rognvald), whose daughter is the subject of many legends. It remained an independent prin cipality until the 12th century, resisting the repeated attacks of the princes of Kiev; those of Pskov, Lithuania, and the Livon ian Knights, however, proved more effective, and Polotsk fell under Lithuanian rule in 132o. About 1385 its independence
was destroyed by the Lithuanian prince Vitovt. It was five times besieged by Moscow in 5oo-18, and was taken by Ivan the Terrible in 1563. Recaptured by Stephen Bathory, king of Poland, 16 years later, it became Polish by the treaty of 1582. It was then a large and populous city, and carried on an active commerce. Pestilences and conflagrations were its ruin ; the plague of 1566 wrought great havoc among its inhabitants, and that of 1600 destroyed 15,000. The castles, the town and its walls were burned in 1607 and 1642. The Russians continued their attacks, burning and plundering the town, and twice, in 1633 and 1705, taking possession of it for a few years. It was not definitely annexed to Russia until 1772, after the first dismem berment of Poland. In 1812 its inhabitants resisted the French invasion, and the town was partially destroyed.