The Novgorod Republic (Russian: Новгородская республика / Novgorodskaya respublika Old Church Slavonic: Новгородская земьля / Novgorodskaya zemlja) was a large mediæval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Mongol invasion of Rus' was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 between Subutai 's reconnaissance unit and the combined force This article refers to the medieval Turkic state For the Irish rock band see The Golden Horde (band. The Grand Duchy of Moscow (Великое княжество Московское was a medieval Russian polity centered on Moscow between 1340 and The Kazan Khanate (Казан ханлыгы|Qazan xanlığı|قازان خانليغى Russian: Казанское ханство tr: Kazanskoe khanstvo The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Romanovcesar 2 and its gratitive sunlithg sundhie compared themselves ina servantly structure from its parative War and peace in Russia 1796-1825 Catherine II died in 1796, and her son Emperor Paul I (r Economic development The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were times of crisis for Russian nuts Radical revolutionary parties During the 1890s, Russia's industrial development led to a significant increase in the size of the urban Bourgeoisie and the working The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The History of the Soviet Union has roots in the Russian Revolution of 1917. See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed This period of the Soviet Union was dominated by Joseph Stalin, who sought to reshape Soviet society with aggressive economic planning in particular a sweeping collectivization of agriculture The Cold War ensued as the USSR and the United States struggled indirectly for influence around the world The Soviet Union 's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985 With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 the Russian Federation became an independent country This is a timeline of Russian history. To read about the background to these events see History of Russia. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages to make sure old Cyrillic letters are displayed properly (For example instead of just Ѣ write Ѣ Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Riphean redirects here For the time period see Riphean stage The Ural Mountains (Ура́льские го́ры Uralskiye The name "feudal republic" has been frequently used in the Soviet-era scholarship, where it was often used by Marxist scholars to place the Novgorodian Republic within the Marxist historiographic periodization (slavery - feudalism - capitalism - socialism - communism)^[1]. Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society economics and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx ( 1818 - 1883 Many scholars today, however, question whether or not Russia ever really had feudalism as the term is used in the medieval West. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed ^[2] The term "Feudal Republic" was never used by the Novgorodians themselves (indeed, feudalism is a seventeenth century scholarly term); rather they referred to their city-state as "His Majesty (or Sovereign) Lord Novgorod the Great" (Государь Господин Великий Новгород = Gosudar' Gospodin Velikiy Novgorod), or more often as "Lord Novgorod the Great" (Господин Великий Новгород = Gospodin Velikiy Novgorod);^[3] The entire region - the city and its vast hinterlands - was known as The Novgorodian Land.

Novgorod has traditionally been seen as largely independent of Kiev, and while the city had a more participatory government than much of the rest of Rus', and it chose its officials locally, it still was very much a part of the Russian political and cultural landscape. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan The Novgorod boyars began to dominate the offices of posadnik and tysyatsky, which up until about the mid-12th century had been appointed by the grand prince in Kiev. This article refers to the aristocratic title of boyar. For the Boyar caste of India, see Boyar (caste. In 1136, the Novgorodians dismissed Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich and over then next century and a half were able to invite in and dismiss a number of princes, although these invitations or dismissals were often based on who the dominant prince in Rus' or Appanage Russia was at the time, and not on any independent thinking on the part of Novgorod. ^[4]

Cities like Staraya Russa, Ladoga, Torzhok and Oreshek, were part of the Novgorodian Land. Staraya Russa (Ста́рая Ру́сса is an old Russian town located 99 km south of Veliky Novgorod. Staraya Ladoga (Ста́рая Ла́дога or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas is a village ( selo) in the Volkhovsky Torzhok (Торжо́к is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, famous for its folk craft of Goldwork Embroidery. Shlisselburg (Шлиссельбу́рг is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated at the head of the Neva River on Lake According to some accounts, a vicar of the archbishop ran the city of Staraya Ladoga in the thirteenth century.

The Land of Novgorod within Kievan Rus in the 11th century

The city of Pskov was initially part of the Novgorodian Land, but had de facto independence from at least the thirteenth century. Pskov (Псков ancient Russian spelling Пльсковъ Pleskov) in Latvian Pleskava, in Estonian Pihkva, is an ancient city located in Several princes such as Dovmont and Vsevolod Mstislavich reigned in Pskov without any deference to or consultation with the prince or other officials in Novgorod. Pskov's independence was acknowledged by the Treaty of Bolotovo in 1348 (see Pskov Republic). The Treaty of Bolotovo (Болотовский договор was concluded in 1348 between the nortwestern Russian cities of Novgorod the Great and Pskov Pskov Republic ( Псковская республика in Russian) was a Russian Medieval state between the second half of the 13th century Even after this, however, the Archbishop of Novgorod headed the church in Pskov and kept the title "Archbishop of Novgorod the Great and Pskov" until 1589. The Archbishop of Novgorod is the head of the eparchy of Novgorod the Great and is one of the oldest offices in the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 12th–15th century, the Novgorodian Republic expanded east and northeast. The Novgorodians explored the areas around Lake Onega, along the Northern Dvina, and coastlines of the White Sea. Lake Onega (also known as Onego, Онежское озеро Onezhskoe ozero, i The Northern Dvina (Се́верная Двина́ is a river in Northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the The White Sea (Бе́лое мо́ре Vienanmeri is an Inlet of the Barents Sea on the northwest coast of Russia. In the beginning of the 14th century the Novgorodians explored the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Kara Sea, and the West-Siberian river Ob.

The Ugric tribes, which inhabited the Northern Urals, had to pay tribute to Novgorod the Great. The term Ugric people is used to describe peoples speaking a Ugric language. Riphean redirects here For the time period see Riphean stage The Ural Mountains (Ура́льские го́ры Uralskiye The lands to the north of the city, rich with furs, sea fauna, salt etc. Fur is a body hair of any non-human Mammal, also known as the Pelage. Fauna is all of the Animal life of any particular region or time Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants , were of great economic importance to the Novgorodians and they fought a protracted series of wars with Moscow beginning in the late fourteenth century in order to keep these lands. Losing them meant economic and cultural decline for the city and its inhabitants. Indeed, the ultimate failure of the Novgorodians to win these wars led to the downfall of the Republic.

Internal organization

Medieval walls of the Novgorodian Kremlin from the late fifteenth century. The Kokui tower (left) dates from the seventeenth century; its name is of Swedish origin.

The precise constitution of the medieval Novgorodian Republic is uncertain, although traditional histories have created the image of a highly institutionalized network of vecha (singular veche- public assemblies) and a government of several posadniks (mayors), tysyatskys ("thousandmen," originally the head of the town militia, but later a judicial and commercial official), other members of aristocratic families, and the archbishops of Novgorod. Veche ( Russian: вече Polish: wiec Ukrainian: віче was a Popular assembly in Medieval Slavic countries Tysyatsky ( tysiatsky, тысяцкий sometimes translated "dux" or "Heerzog" but more correctly meaning "thousandman" - sometimes translated Some scholars argue that the archbishop was the head of the executive branch of the government, although it is difficult to determine the exact competence of the various officials. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Some scholars argue for a "Council of Lords" (Совет Господ) that was headed by the archbishop and met in the archiepiscopal palace (and in the Palace of Facets after 1433),^[5] but more recently Jonas Granberg has called into doubt whether such a body every really existed; he argues it is, in fact, an invention of historians reading too much into sparse sources. ^[6] In fact, the (at least nominal) executives were always the Princes of Novgorod, even when their power waned in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The Prince of Novgorod (Князь новгородский Knyaz novgorodskii) was the chief executive of Novgorod the Great. ^[7] And while the archbishop of Novgorod was not the head of state or chief executive of the Novgorod Republic, he remained an important town official; in addition to overseeing the church in Novgorod, he headed embassies, oversaw certain court cases of a secular nature, and carried out other secular tasks, but the archbishops appeared to have worked with the boyars to reach a consensus and almost never acted alone. They were probably the the richest single land-owner in Novgorod, and also made money off court fees, fees for the use of weights and measures in the marketplace, and through other means. ^[8]

The precise makeup of the veche is also uncertain, although it appears to have comprised members of the urban population, as well as of the free rural population. Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time Whether it was a democratic institution or one controlled by the boyars has been hotly debated. The posadniks, tysiatskys, and even the bishops and archbishops of Novgorod(starting from 1156) (elevated to archiepiscopal status in 1165 were often elected or at least approved by the veche. Posadnik ( Посадник) was the mayor in some East Slavic cities or towns ^[9]

Tradespeople and craftsmen also participated in the political affairs of Novgorod the Great. The traditional scholarship argues that they were organized into five "kontsy" (quarters) - konets (конец; pl. Кontsy (ru концы plural of konets конец literally "ends" were the five boroughs into which medieval Novgorod the Great was divided концы) in Russian - i. e. , the boroughs of the city they lived in); each end was then organized by the streets in which they were living). The ends and streets often bore names indicating that certain trades were concentrated in certain parts of the city (there was a Carpenter's End and a Potters' End for example). The trade groups had sotnyas (сотни, or hundredmen) (see also Ivan’s Hundred, though to have been the first Russian guild although there is no evidence of guilds existing in Rus' such as they were in, say, the Low Countries, Germany, France, or England. Ivan’s Hundred (Иванское сто was the first Russian Guild, which existed in the 12th - 15th centuries in Novgorod. A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers ) Indeed, like much of the rest of Novgorod's medieval history, the precise composition of these trade or crafts organizations is uncertain and they ought not to be confused with the much more organized guilds (or later unions) of Western Europe. It is quite possible that the "ends" and "streets" were simply neighborhood administrative groups rather than guilds or "unions" as some have called them. Street organizations were known to build churches in their neighborhoods and to have buried the dead of their neighborhoods during outbreaks of the plague, but beyond that their activities are uncertain. As for Ivan's Hundred, its exact nature is not known. It was organized around the Church of St. John the Forerunner on the Opoki, just north of the marketplace, and each member had to pay an entrance fee of a bolt of Ypre cloth (from northern France) to the archbishop. The tysyatsky arbitrated disputes between the members. Other than that, the activities of Ivan's Hundred is unknown.

"Streets" and "ends" may have taken part in political decision-making in Novgorod in support of certain boyar factions or to protect their interests. Merchant "elders" are also noted in treaties and other charters, but only about a hundred of these charters exist. A half dozen date from the twelfth century, while most are from after 1262. Thus it is difficult to determine Novgorod's political structure due to the paucity of sources. ^[10]

The prince, while his power was much reduced, remained an important figure in Novgorodian life. Of around 100 princes of Novgorod, perhaps half of them were invited in or dismissed by the Novgorodians, and four of them signed a contract called a riad (ряд) which protected the interests of the Novgorodian boyars and laid out the prince's rights and responsibilities. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law The extant riady are all from the princes of Tver' and so it is uncertain whether this was a common practice (since we have no indication that the princes of Moscow or elsewhere ever signed such contracts), or, if it was, what the features of these other riady were. Again, the few sources available make broader conclusions difficult. ^[11]

First and foremost among the prince's functions, he was a military leader. He also patronized churches in the city issued law codes (apparently this remained a princely prerogative), and held court, although it was often presided over by his namestnik or lieutenant when he was personally absent from the city. According to several riady, the prince couldn’t extradite or prosecute a Novgorodian outside of the Novgorodian Land ^[12]. The princes had two residences, one one the Marketplace (called Yaroslav's Court, after Yaroslav the Wise), and the (Городище / Riurkovo Gorodische) several miles south of the Market Side of the city. Yaroslav's Court ( Yaroslavovo Dvorishche Дворище in Russian was the princely compound in the city of Novgorod the Great. Yaroslav I the Wise (c 978 in Kiev - February 20, 1054 in Kiev) ( East Slavic: Ярослав Мудрый Christian name

Economy

The marketplace in Novgorod.

The economy of the Novgorodian Republic included farming and animal husbandry (e. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture g. , the archbishops of Novgorod and others raised horses for the Novgorodian army), hunting, beekeeping, and fishing were also widespread. Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, Bee) is the maintenance of Honey bee colonies commonly in Hives For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. In most of the regions of the republic, these different "industries" were combined with farming. Iron was mined on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken Staraya Russa and other localities of the NFR were known for their saltworks. Saltern is a word with a number of differing (but interrelated meanings Flax and hop cultivation were also of significant importance. Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum The hop ( Humulus) is a small genus of Flowering plants native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Countryside products, such as furs, beeswax, honey, fish, lard, flax, and hop, were sold on the market and exported to other Russian cities or abroad. For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Lard is pig Fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a Cooking fat or Shortening In Economics, an export is any good or Commodity, Transported from one country to another country in a Legitimate fashion

The real wealth of Novgorod, however, was from the fur trade. The city was the main entrepot for trade between Rus' and Nortwestern Europe. It stood on the northwestern end of the Silk Road from China and at the eastern end of the Baltic Trade network established by the Hanseatic League. From Novgorod's northeastern lands ("The Lands Beyond the Portages" as they were called in the chronicles), the area stretching north of Lakes Ladoga and Onega up to the White Sea and east to the Ural Mountains. ^[13] There was so much fur there that medieval travel accounts tell of furry animals raining from the sky. ^[14] The Novgorodian merchants traded with Swedish, German, and Danish cities. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants In early years, the Novgorodians sailed the Baltic themselves (several incidents involving Novgorodian merchants in Gotland and Denmark are reported in the Novgorodian First Chronicle, and Orthodox churches have been excavated on Gotland). However the Hanseatic League did not allow the Novgorod merchants to carry out sea trade independently and to deliver cargoes in the West-European ports by their own ships. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade

More than a half of all Novgorodian privately owned lands had been concentrated in the hands of some 30–40 noble boyar families by the 14th–15th century. These vast estates served as material resources, which secured political supremacy of the boyars. For other uses see Estate. An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds The House of Holy Wisdom (Дом святой Софии, Dom Svyatoy Sofiy) — the main ecclesiastic establishment of Novgorod — was their chief rival in terms of landownership. The Cathedral of St Sophia (the Holy Wisdom of God) in the Kremlin (or Detinets in Novgorod the Great is the cathedral church of the Archbishop Ecclesiology (from Greek grc ἐκκλησίᾱ ekklēsiā, "congregation church" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the Landlord is the owner of a House, Apartment, Condominium, or Real estate which is rented or Leased to an individual or business Its votchinas were located in the most economically developed regions of the Novgorod Land. Votchina (во́тчина or otchina (о́тчина - from word Father) was an East Slavic land estate that could be inherited The Yuriev Monastery, Arkazhsky Monastery, Antoniev Monastery and some other privileged monasteries are known to have been big landowners. The St George's (Yuriev Monastery (Юрьев монастырь was the main monastery of medieval Novgorod the Great. The Arkazhy Monastery (Russian Аркажский монастырь Monastery of Arcadius) was one of the most important monasteries of medieval Novgorod the Great The Antoniev Monastery (Антониев монастырь was one of the most important monasteries in medieval Novgorod the Great; it stands along the right bank of the There were also the so-called zhityi lyudi (житьи люди), who owned less land than the boyars, and unprivileged small votchina owners called svoyezemtsy (своеземцы, or private landowners). The most common form of labor exploitation — the system of metayage — was typical for the afore-mentioned categories of landowners. The term " exploitation " may carry two distinct meanings The act of utilizing something for any purpose The Metayage system (Fr métayage) is the cultivation of land for a proprietor by one who receives a proportion of the produce as a kind of Sharecropping. Their household economies were mostly serviced by slaves (kholopy), whose number had been constantly decreasing. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many Social, Microeconomic and Government models Kholops (Холопы were Feudally dependent people in Russia between the 10th and early 18th centuries Along with the metayage, monetary payments also gained significant importance by the 2nd half of the 15th century.

13th-century Novgorod as represented in Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky (1938)

Some scholars argue that the feudal lords tried to legally tie down the peasants to their land. Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн January 23, 1898 &ndash February 11, 1948) was Alexander Nevsky (Александр Невский is a Historical drama film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Dmitry Vasiliev and produced A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground Certain categories of feudally dependent peasants, such as davniye lyudi (давние люди), polovniki (половники), poruchniki (поручники), dolzhniki (должники), were deprived of the right to leave their masters. The boyars and monasteries also tried to restrict other categories of peasants from switching their feudal lords. However, there was a tradition in Russia that peasants could leave their land if they had paid all their debts. They were able to leave during the weeks preceding and coming after "St. George's day in the autumn. " This tradition was "temporarily" suspended only by Ivan the Terrible, more than a century after the Muscovite conquest of Novgord; thus full serfdom never existed in the Novgorodian Republic. The temporary suspension was, in fact, never lifted and serfs were formally tied to their land by the Ulozhenie (law code) of 1649.

Marxist scholars (e. g. , Aleksandr Khoroshev) often spoke of "class struggle" in Novgorod (and everywhere else in fact). There were some 80 major uprisings in the republic, which often turned into armed rebellions. The most notable among these took place in 1136, 1207, 1228–29, 1270, 1418, and 1446–47. The extent to which these were based on "class struggle" is unclear. Many were between various boyar factions or, if a revolt did involve the peasants or tradesman against the boyars, it did not consist of the peasants wanting to overthrow the existing social order, but was more often than not a demand for better rule on the part of the ruling class. There did not seem to be a sense that the office of prince should be abolished (it didn't seem to cross the medieval mind to do that) or to let the peasants run the city.

Foreign relations

Novgorod struggled for centuries against Swedish, Danish, and German crusaders. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. During the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars, the Swedes invaded first Finland and then Karelia, lands where some of the population had on previous occasions paid tribute to Novgorod. Karelia ( Karelian and Finnish Karjala, Карелия ( Kareliya) Karelen the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Finnish-Novgorodian wars were a series of poorly documented conflicts that took place between unspecified Finnic groups and the Republic of Novgorod from the 11th The Germans, for their part, had been trying to conquer the Baltic region since the late 12th century. Baltic Seven Islandsgif|right|thumb|330px|A contemporary transnational Euroregion encompasses the islands of the Baltic countries Novgorod had to go to war 26 times with Sweden and 11 times with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Bishop Albert of Riga founded the Military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae Schwertbrüderorden in 1202 The German knights along with the Danish and Swedish feudal lords launched a series of uncoordinated attacks in 1240-1242. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Their campaigns, however, failed after the Battle of the Neva (1240) and Battle on the Ice (1242). Battle of the Neva (Невская битва Nevskaya bitva, slaget vid Neva was fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the The Battle of the Ice (Ледовое побоище Ledovoe poboishche; Schlacht auf dem Eise Jäälahing Ledus kauja also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus On August 12, 1323, the Treaty of Nöteborg, a treaty between Sweden and Novgorod regulating their border, was signed. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as Treaty of Oreshek, is a conventional name for the peace treaty that was signed at Orekhovets (Nöteborg on August 12 This was the first time the border between what was to become Russia and Sweden-Finland was regulated. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Sweden–Finland is a historiographical term used especially in Finland, to refer to the Swedish Kingdom from the Kalmar Union to the

The army of Novgorod successfully repelled subsequent attacks, as well. The Novgorod Republic managed to escape the horrors of the Mongol invasion, not through any feat of arms, but because the Mongol commanders probably did not want to get bogged down in the marshlands surrounding the city and turned back 100 km from Novogorod. The Mongol invasion of Rus' was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 between Subutai 's reconnaissance unit and the combined force In spite of never being formally conquered, the Republic began to pay tribute to the khans of the Golden Horde. This article refers to the medieval Turkic state For the Irish rock band see The Golden Horde (band. In 1259, Mongol tax-collectors and census-takers arrived in the city leading to political disturbances in the city and forcing Alexander Nevsky to punish a number of town officials (he cut off their noses) for defying him as Grand Prince of Vladimir (soon to be the khan's tax-collector in Russia) and his Mongol overlords. In the 14th century, the raids of Novgorod's pirates (or ushkuiniki),^[15] who sowed fear as far as Kazan and Astrakhan, assisted Novgorod in their wars with Muscovy. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering The ushkuiniks (ушкуйники were medieval Novgorodian Pirates who led the Viking -like life of fighting killing and robbery Kazan (Каза́нь Казан tt Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities Astrakhan (А́страхань Ästerxan Persian: حاجی‌ترخان Haji-Tarkhan) is a major city in southern European Russia and

Fall of the Republic

Martha the Mayoress at the Destruction of the Novgorod Veche, by Klavdiy Lebedev

Tver, Moscow, and Lithuania fought over control of Novgorod (and its enormous wealth) since the 14th century. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Veche ( Russian: вече Polish: wiec Ukrainian: віче was a Popular assembly in Medieval Slavic countries Klavdy Vasiliyevich Lebedev (Клавдий Васильевич Лебедев ( October 16 (28 1852 &ndash September 21 ( N Tver (Тверь is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Upon becoming the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver sent his governors to Novgorod. Mikhail Yaroslavich (Михаил Ярославич (1271 &ndash November 22 1318) also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver (from Tver (Тверь is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. A series of disagreements with Mikhail pushed Novgorod towards closer ties with Moscow during the reign of Grand Prince George. Yuriy Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich (Юрий Данилович in Russian) (born 1281 died November 21, 1325) was Prince In part, Tver's proximity (the Tver Principality is contiguous with the Novgorodian Land) threatened Novgorod. It was feared that a Tverite prince would annex Novgorodian lands and thus weaken the Republic. At the time, though, Moscow did not touch Novgorod, and since the Muscovite princes were further afield, they were more acceptable as princes of Novgorod. They could come to Novgorod's aid when needed, but would be too far away to meddle too much in the Republic's affairs.

As Muscovy grew in strength, however, the Muscovite princes became a serious threat to Novgorod. The Grand Duchy of Moscow (Великое княжество Московское was a medieval Russian polity centered on Moscow between 1340 and Ivan Kalita, Simeon Gordiy and other Muscovite monarchs sought to limit Novgorod's independence. Ivan I Danilovich Kalita (Ива́н I Дани́лович Калита́ in Russian) (1288 &ndash March 31, 1340, Moscow) Prince of Simeon Ivanovich Gordyi (the Proud (Семён Иванович Гордый in Russian; ( 7 November 1316 - 27 April 1353) In 1397, a critical conflict took place between Muscovy and Novgorod, when Moscow annexed the Dvina Lands along the course of the Northern Dvina. These lands were crucial to Novgorod's well-being since much of the city's furs came from there. ^[16] This territory was returned to Novgorod the following year.

Resisting the Muscovite oppression, the government of Novgorod sought an alliance with Poland-Lithuania. Most Novgorodian boyars, wishing to maintain the Republic's independence since were Novgorod to be conquered, the boyars' wealth would flow to the grand prince and his Muscovite boyars and the Novgorodians would fall into decline. According to tradition, the proponent of an alliance with Poland-Lithuania to save the Republic, called the Lithuanian party, was led by Marfa Boretskaya, the wife of Posadnik Isak Boretskii. Marfa Boretskaya, also known as Martha the Mayoress (Russian Марфа Посадница was the wife of Isak Boretsky, Novgorod 's Posadnik

According to this legend, Boretskaya invited the Lithuanian princeling Mikhail Olelkovich and asked him to become her husband and the ruler of Novgorod. Mikhail Olelovich, also known as Mikhail Aleksandrovich was a Lithuanian prince the brother of Prince Semen (Simon of Kiev and cousin of Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow She also concluded an alliance with Casimir, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Casimir IV Jagiellon (Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk; Kazimieras Jogailaitis Kazimir Jahajłavič 30 November 1427 &ndash The Title grand duke (in Latin, magnus dux; in Spanish, gran duque; in Russian, Великий Герцог The prospects of changing allegiance in favor of the allied Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania caused major commotion among the commoners. The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Wladislaus II Jagiełło, Grand Duke of Lithuania, to Janet Martin and Gail Lenhoff have recently argued that Boretskaya was scapegoated, probably by Archbishop Feofil (r. 1470-1480) in order to shift the blame from him for his betrayal of the terms of the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy, which forbade Novgorod from conducting foreign affairs without grand princely approval. The Treaty of Yazhelbitsy (Яжелбицкий мирный договор was a peace treaty signed by Vasili II, Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir ^[17]

While the extent of Boretskaya's role in the Lithuanian party is probably exaggerated, Novgorod did, indeed try to turn to the King of Poland. A draft treaty, allegedly found among the loot after the Battle of Shelon River, was drawn up between Casimir and the Novgorodians. The Battle of Shelon (Шелонская битва was a decisive Battle between the Muscovite forces of Grand Prince Ivan III (The Great (r ^[18]

Muscovite authorities saw Novgorod's behavior as a repudiation of the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy and went to war against the city. The army of Moscow won a decisive victory in the Battle of Shelon River in July 1471, which severely limited Novgorod's freedom to act thereafter, although the city maintained its formal independence for the next seven years. In 1478, Ivan III sent his army to take the city. Ivan III Vasilevich (Иван III Васильевич ( 22 January 1440, Moscow – 27 October 1505, Moscow also known as Ivan the Great He committed genocide against the residents, destroyed the veche including veche library and archives. Veche ( Russian: вече Polish: wiec Ukrainian: віче was a Popular assembly in Medieval Slavic countries The Novgorodian Republic then ceased to exist.

See also

• Pskov Republic

References

External links

• Infoplease: Novgorod History
• Swedish Viking role in Novgorod