PSKOV, pskof, or PLESKOV, Russia. (1) town, capital of the government, on the right bank of the Velikaya, which here receives the Pleskova, 165 miles south-southwest of Petrograd, with which, as also with a num ber of other cities, it is connected by rail roads. There is also a steamship line between Pskov and Dorpat. It is walled, flanked with towers, all in a very delapidated state, as are also many of the houses. It consists of the Kremlin, the Central city, the Great city and a considerable suburb. All the private houses and the far greater part of the public edifices are of wood. The finest buildings are in the Kremlin. The principal manufacture is Rus sian leather; and there is a considerable trade in hemp, flax, tallow, hides, etc. Pskov is the see of an archbishop and possesses a theological seminary, a well-managed hospital, an ancient cathedral and other old churches and monas teries, most of the latter being in ruins. It is said to have been the birthplace of the Princess Olga toward the end of the 10th century. Dur ing the Middle Ages it possessed great im portance as a trading centre and for a long time.maintained its freedom as a city republic, which it lost in 1509 when it came under the rule of Moscow. It went through a number of sieges and gradually deteriorated, though with the coming of railroads, it regained some of its former mercantile prosperity. Pop. 38,300.
(2) A government of Russia, bounded north by Petrograd, northeast by Novgorod, east by Tver, southeast by Smolensk, south by Vitebsk, west by Livonia; area, 16,678 square miles. The surface toward the southeast is traversed by the Valdai Hills, but sinks gradually down near the centre, having only a gentle slope toward the north and west. The soil is through out of poor quality and can only be made to yield tolerable crops by fertilization. Wheat is seldom grown, and the principal crops are flax, oats and barley, which are raised in con siderable quantities, so as to leave a surplus for export. Forests are extensive; but the wood is not of the best quality. The only other manufacture of importance is leather. There are more than 800 lakes in the govern ment, covering about 390 square miles. The largest of these is Lake Pskov (300 square miles). Over 1,200 square miles are covered by marshes. Pskov is divided into eight districts. The majority of its population are Great Rus sians. Pop. 1,447,000.