ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on every territorial unit of the Russian Federation, its local government structure, regional politics and electoral history through the spring 2000 elections and the summer 2000 reorganization of the Pskov Oblast. Pskov oblast is located on the northwestern Russian plain and borders Novgorod, Leningrad, Smolensk, and Tver oblasts as well as Belarus, Estonia, and Latvia. The region is rich in peat, sands, clays, timber, and fish. The two largest cities, Pskov and Velikie Luki, are home to two-thirds of the major industry. Mikhailov hopes to establish an economic model similar to that of Moscow Oblast, centered on regional economic sustainability and lower taxes. Until 1997 Latvia refused to agree to any border with Russia that did not recognize the 1920 Riga Peace Treaty that gave Latvia 463 square miles of territory currently belonging to Pskov Oblas.
