Kursk (city)

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Kursk oblast (region), western Russian Federation, on the banks of the River Seim, and bordered on the west by Ukraine; population (1996 est) 442,000. It has engineering, chemical, textile, and light industries, and is an important railway junction. Kursk and the surrounding region was the site of a decisive tank battle in July–August 1943 which signalled the ultimate defeat of German forces on the Eastern Front.

Kursk is the oldest city in the central black earth (chernozem) region. The settlement has been known since 1032; it was the capital of a small principality in the 12th century until destroyed by the Tatars in 1238. It was in Lithuanian territory for some 200 years before being annexed by Moscow, and later fortified as part of its southern defence against the Crimean Tatars in the late 16th century. It became the provincial capital in 1797. Kursk was an important commercial centre before the 1930s, when industrial development took place.