ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will explore the effect of Baltic trade on the institutional development of Pskov in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Today a regional centre in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation, Pskov (Pleskau in Hanseatic sources) played a much more prominent role in the later Middle Ages and early modern period when it was one of the biggest Russian and East European cities. Situated far from the sea, it nevertheless participated in Baltic trade through the river network that connected the city with the main trade routes. For example, a trade ship could get to Dorpat (120 km to the northwest) or Narva (190 km to the north) in just three or four days along the Velikaia river and Lake Peipus. Moreover, a land route connected Pskov with Reval (271 km to the northwest) and Riga (273 km to the southwest). The aforementioned cities (with the exception of Narva) were members of the Hanse. Thus being geographically one of the western-most Russian cities, Pskov became a centre of transit trade between Russian principalities and the Latin world.
