Pskov: Encyclopedia II - Pskov - Pskovian Republic

Pskov - Pskovian Republic

By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de-facto sovereign republic. Its most powerful force were 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 subject of numerous attacks throughout the history. Unbelievably, the kremlin (called by Pskovians the Krom) withstood 26 sieges in the 15th century only. 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.

Finally, in 1510, the city fell to Muscovite forces. The deportation of noble families to Moscow is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Pskovityanka (1872). As the second largest city of Muscovy, Pskov still attracted enemy armies. Most famously, it withstood a prolonged siege by 50,000-strong Polish army during the final stage of the Livonian War (1581–1582). The Polish king Stefan Batory undertook some 31 attacks to storm the city, which was defended mainly by civilians. Even after one of city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Pskovian Republic", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki