Izborsk (; ; ) is a rural locality (

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

) in Pechorsky District of

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

es of Western Russia. The village lies to the west of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

and just to the east of the Russian-Estonian border.

History

According to the '' Russian Primary Chronicle'', the town was the seat of

Rurik Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik; ; ; died 879) was a Varangians, Varangian chieftain of the Rus' people, Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in the year 862. The ''Primary Chronicle' ...

's brother Truvor from 862 to 864. Although his burial mound is still shown to occasional tourists, archaeological excavations of

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

s abounding in the vicinity did not reveal the presence of the

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Krivichs The Krivichs or Kryvichs ( rus, кри́вичи, p=ˈkrʲivʲɪtɕɪ, krivichi, links=y; , ) were a tribal union of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 12th centuries. It is suggested that originally the Krivichi were native to the area a ...

. The next mention of the town in Slavonic chronicles dates back to 1233, when the place was captured by the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

. In 1330, the Pskov

posadnik A posadnik (, ) was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod (from 1136) and Pskov (from 1308). In the early 12th century, Novgorod won the right to ...

Sheloga constructed the Izborsk fortress on the top of Zheravya hill. In 1348, the

Pskov Republic The Pskov Republic () was a city-state in northwestern Russia. It is traditionally considered to have won its formal independence from the Novgorod Republic in 1348. Its capital city was Pskov and its territory was roughly equivalent to modern-d ...

, which included Izborsk, separated from

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

. In 1399, it became a

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

In the later 16th century, Izborsk was one of the smaller but strategically-important fortresses that protected the northwestern Russian borders from invasion. The fortress was supposed to be impregnable and so the seizure of it in 1569 by a small Lithuanian regiment came as such a shock to

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

. The relative ease and the suspicious circumstances of the seizure of the fortress deeply troubled the already-paranoid Ivan. In the dead of night, Teterin, a Russian turncoat disguised as an '' oprichnik'', ordered the gates of the town be opened in the name of the ''

oprichnina The oprichnina (, ; ) was a state policy implemented by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Russia between 1565 and 1572. The policy included mass repression of the boyars (Russian aristocrats), including public executions and confiscation of their land ...

'', which allowed the enemy regiment to enter and overtake the fortress (the town of Izborsk, however, was never listed as territory in which ''oprichnina'' governance applied). Though Ivan managed to retake the city with little difficulty, the treachery and the conspiracy involved in the original seizure led him to order the executions of the assistant crown secretaries of Izborsk, as well as the secretaries of the surrounding fortresses. With rumours of disaffection and growing discontent throughout the country on the rise, Ivan feared that other cities would soon follow the treasonous example of Izborsk. The proximity of the town to the cities of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

and

, coupled with the questionable implication of Novgorod's chancery administration in Teterin's plot, threw suspicion of treachery and defection onto the already-distrusted city. During the Siege of Pskov (1581), Izborsk was captured by the Lithuanian troops, but after the Truce of Yam-Zapolsky (1582) handed over to the Tsardom of Russia. After the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

, Izborsk ceased to be a western borderline fortress of Russian. In 1708, it joined the newly-established Governorate of Saint-Petersburg (until 1710 called Ingermanland Governorate), where it was listed as the centre of

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

in the Pskov Province. In 1727, all of Pskov Province was transferred to the

Novgorod Governorate Novgorod Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1727 to 1776 and from 1796 to 1927. Its administrative cent ...

and was later transformed into a part of the larger

Pskov Governorate Pskov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed in 1772–1777 and 1796–1927. Its seat was located in Opochka b ...

, where Izborsk was listed as a town until 1920. In 1920, according to the Treaty of Tartu, the Russian–Estonian state boundary went east of Izborsk and so the town became part of Estonia. From 1940 to 1945, the town remained within the

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

(1941–1944 under Nazi occupation). In 1945, the Russian-Estonian border was redefined to resemble the pre-1918 borders between the

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

and Pskov Governorate, leaving Izborsk with the

of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, now the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Fortress

Truvor's gorodishche is a settlement about half a kilometer north from the fortress that came about in the late 7th and early 8th century, and proceeded to grow twice in size in the 10th and 11th centuries. It was the predecessor of the Izborsk Fortress, protected by an oakwood wall which was later upgraded to stone, 3 meters in height by 3 meters in width in the 12th century. To accommodate a larger capacity, the Izborsk Fortress was moved to its present location on the summit of Zheravya ("Crane") Hill in the year 1303, and the Lukovka Tower was built from stone on the outer edge, standing at 13 meters in height, and 9.5 meters in diameter. First wooden fortress on the current site was built in early XIV century. The most ancient extant structure is the Tower Lukovka (literally, "Onion Tower"). At that time it was the only stone building west of Pskov and adjoined a wooden wall. The walls surrounding the fortress were modified from wood to stone soon after, in 1330. After seven other stone towers and the new stone wall were completed, Lukovka became a watch-tower and an armory. The Nativity church within the fortress was built in the 16th century. The walls were yet again thickened in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the towers were now compatible with cannons. The side that was most prone to attack was designed thicker than the others, at 5 meters in width, while the rest range from 2.5 to 3.7 meters. The towers were built at a maximum of 60 meters apart for reinforcement. There were two entrances to the fortress, both constructed with a barbican. The Nikolski gate, which is the larger of the two, has an inner gate with a tower and a portcullis, and is 90 meters long and 5 meters wide. The Talavski entrance is 36 meters long and 4 meters wide. The fortress' southeast side was equipped an underground stone hallway that provided access to a spring well. Early XVIII century the fortress lost its borderline status and was abandoned. Due to the inclement weather and climate of the region, the fortress faced deterioration. First renovations of the deserted fortress were carried out in 1842 after the order approved by

Nicolas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

. Recent restoration of the fortress, completed in 2012, was accompanied by gross embezzlement of money, and the fortress was severely damaged. On 15 March 2016, Grigory Pirumov, deputy minister of culture of Russia, and two other offices of the Ministry of Culture, were arrested on criminal charges related to the embezzlement. The repair and archaeological works are still in process. Near the fortress there is a museum of stone crosses. Though Truvor's gorodishche is mostly destroyed, a small part of the wall remains today. In 2002, the Izborsk Fortress was nominated to be a part of Russia's World Heritage Tentative List.

Cultural references

Izborsk is the namesake of the Eurasian think tank Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by Alexander Prokhanov.

Notable people

* Sergei Shtsherbakov (1871–1937), Estonian farmer and politician. * Valentin Strukov, Estonian politician, was born in Izborsk.

References

External links

Izborsk and Petsery

Legends Izborsk

Izborsk Fortress project summary
at

Global Heritage Fund Global Heritage Fund is a non-profit organization that operates internationally. Founded in California in 2002, its mission is to "transform local communities by investing in global heritage." To date, it has partnered with over 100 public and ...

Izborsk – Photo
{{Authority control Rural localities in Pskov Oblast Pskovsky Uyezd Defunct towns in Russia Rus' settlements Museums-Reserves of Russia