Where is it? Pskov Oblast, or region, is located in the northwest corner of Russia about 12 miles from the border of Estonia. Latvia and Belarus are also on its borders. It is in the same time zone as Moscow.

What's the biggest city? Pskov, which accounts for 202,000 of the region's 760,810 people. Other major cities are Velikie Luki, Ostrov and Nevel.

Who lives here? Overwhelmingly ethnic Russians. Pskov was an independent republic in the Middle Ages, but it was annexed by Moscow in 1510 and served as a vital frontier outpost until Peter the Great added Estonia and Latvia to Russia. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Pskov Oblast is once again border territory. Aleksandr Puskin lived and worked in Pskov, and is buried in the region.

What do they do here? Farming, lumber, peat, building materials, manufacturing. Pskov city has become a hub for trading between Russia and Belarus, Germany, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine since the Soviet Union was dissolved.

Does it have any English-language news sources? None that I have found.

How do I see what it looks like? Pskov has a wealth of small medieval churches and monasteries. You can see them on Flickr and Fotki

How do I get here? By plane, bus or train from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Which adoption agencies work here? None that I have found. But Lisa and Hythem Salem, the Pennsylvania couple featured in the Dateline NBC report adopted their children from Pskov, and in June are returning with a church group to aid the orphans still living there. You can send donations to the Russian Orphan Service Team, c/o Souderton Mennonite Church, 105 W. Chestnut Street, Souderton, PA 18964. Phone: (215) 723-3088.

Which Russia bloggers have been here? There is "Jeffrey's and Myra's Space" and this report about a family from Minnesota that adopted four teenagers. There is also a Yahoo! group, Pskov_adopt.

Truly trivia: There is a type font named after Pskov. You can download it here.

Need more information? Try Kommersant's guide to Pskov, or the region's own Web site. The region's tourism authority has a Web site partially in English. Weather Underground has the current weather info.

Image Credit: Andrei S