Author: alez

Each small town counts itself to be something special. It is, as a person, unique even by its external modesty. Besides, the town is more than 840 years old on the most modest calculations and is located just in the middle between two Russian capitals-Moscow and St.Petersburg. Being from the very beginning frontier district of Russia and important trade item of a famous way “from Scandinavia to Greeks”, that small town mustn’t complain of the lack of attention. On the contrary, the glory of Russia was created by tiny pieces of small and large achievements of such towns as
VELIKIYE LUKI.

Velikiye Luki,2008.

Pskov Oblast.
Velikiye Luki.

Tatyana Lesnikova,
Gymnasium,
English teacher.

The Past and The Present of Velikiye Luki.

The city of Velikiye Luki was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1166. After the construction of a fortress in 1211, Velikiye Luki turned into a city of strategic importance, defending the approaches to Pskov and Novgorod.
It was incorporated into Muscovy by Ivan the Great in 1478. At the beginning of the 20th century, it evolved into an important railway hub following the construction of the railway connecting Moscow with Riga.

During the World War II, in 1941 and 1942, intensive fighting took place in the vicinity between German and Soviet forces. During the Battle of Velikiye Luki (in late 1942) a German force of about 7,000 was surrounded in the town which had been turned into a fortress. After months of heavy fighting, the German defenders were finally wiped out in January 1943. As a result of this siege, the city suffered almost total destruction.

The town brought to Motherland seafarers brothers Laptevs, national enlightener D.Lavrov, mathematicians S.Kovalevskaya and N.Vinogradov, historian M.Semevski, composer M.Musorgski, marshal K.Rokossovski and musician V.Troyanovski.
Here, in 1812 the contract between Russia and Spain of joint struggle against Napoleon was signed.
Just in Velikiye Luki the composer S.Kaidan-Deshkin-the author of a legendary pioneer hymn “Soar Up By Fires, Dark Blue Nights”has ended his days.
A grammar school teacher F.Teternikov
(Sollogub) wrote his famous novel”Fine
Demon”on materials he had gathered in Velikiye Luki.

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