For other uses, see Kursk (disambiguation).

Kursk (Russian: Курск; pronounced as KOORSK), a city in Central Russia, an administrative center of Kursk Oblast.

The population of the city is 412,442 (2002).

The city lies in the Southeastearn part of Central Russia, at the confluence of Kura and Seym rivers. The first written record of Kursk is dated 1032. It was mentioned as a flourishing city with developed infrastructure and stone buildings. It's known that a Slavic fortified settlement existed there at least since 8th century CE, and other settlements since 4-5th century BCE.

The city was raided by nomads in 12th and 13th centuries. Batu Khan destroyed the city and killed a significant part of the population around 1237. The city was rebuilt by no later than 1283. Kursk joined the centralized Russian state in 1508 becoming the southern border province of the state.

City is famous for rich deposits of iron ore. It is one of the major railroad hubs in the Russian Southwest.

A village of Prokhorovka near Kursk was the center of Battle of Kursk during the World War II.