Velikiye Luki
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Velikiye Luki (Russian: Вели́кие Лу́ки), also transliterated as Velikie Luki, is a city on the meandering Lovat River in Russia, in Pskov Oblast. Population: 104,979 (2002 Census). The city is located at .
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 and evolved into an important railway hub following the construction of the railway between Moscow and Riga.
During the World War II intensive fighting took place in the vicinity between German and Soviet forces in 1941 and 1942. In the Battle of Velikiye Luki (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.
Velikiye Luki is the birth place of Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Matrosov is buried in this city.
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Cities and towns in Pskov Oblast |  |
| Administrative center: Pskov Dno | Gdov | Nevel | Novorzhev | Novosokolniki | Opochka | Ostrov | Pechory | Porkhov | Pustoshka | Pytalovo | Sebezh | Velikiye Luki |
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