Pskov Oblast is in Northwestern Russia, which borders Latvia to the west, Estonia to the northwest, Leningrad Oblast to the north, Novgorod Oblast to the northeast, Tver Oblast to the east, Smolensk Oblast to the southeast, and Belarus to the south.
Despite the proximity of the border with Latvia, Estonia and Belarus, in socio-economic terms, the Pskov Oblast is the most underdeveloped among all the Oblasts of Russia (only among the Oblasts), and the most backward region of Central Russia. There is practically no industry here, and agriculture is poorly developed.
An ancient region of Russia which once constituted its own republic, Pskov Oblast is a great weekend trip or longer from Saint Petersburg. Tourist infrastructure is at best rudimentary, although one would expect this will change in the near future, but the region has lots to see for an adventurous traveler or a traveler with a good guide. Pskov, the capital, is without a doubt the principal attraction and likely the only stop for most travelers, but it might be a good plan to get out of the city and check out nearby Izborsk.
See Russian phrasebook.
Two daily buses depart for Pskov from Novgorod at 08:30 and 16:00.
Trains from Saint Petersburg are unfortunately very inconvenient—they leave around 03:00 and arrive in Pskov four hours later. A better option is to hop on a bus from Petersburg's Vitebsky Vokzal; there are 15 buses bound for Pskov daily and they take about 5 hours to get there.
There is a daily overnight train from Moscow which leaves around 20:00 and arrives in Pskov around 08:00.
Pskov Airport (IATA: PKV) from Moscow and Sochi.
Pskov is a common last stop in Russia for visitors traveling overland to the Baltic states.