The history of the Novgorod land is, firstly, the history of one of the largest cities of the Middle Ages, which demonstrated proximity to the European type of development, and, secondly, the history powerful state, which stretches from the Baltic to the Arctic Ocean and the Urals.
The oldest core of the Novgorod land was an interethnic confederation of Slavic (Slovenes, Krivichi) and Finno-Ugric (Merya, Chud) tribes. Its political and economic center, the city of Novgorod, was located on both banks of the Volkhov, not far from the source of this river from Lake Ilmen. Volkhov divided the city into two sides: the eastern one - the Trade one and the western one - the Sofia one. By the end of the XIII century. the division of the city into five main administrative districts was finally determined - the ends of Slavensky (in the eastern part of the city), Nerevsky, Lyudin (on the Sofia side), Plotnitsky, Zagorodsky. The territory around Novgorod was divided into five provinces, later called Pyatin. To the northwest of Novgorod, between the rivers Volkhov and Luga, lay the Vodskaya Pyatina; to the northeast, on both sides of Lake Onega to the White Sea - Obonezhskaya; to the south-west, on both sides of the Shelon River - Shelonskaya; to the southeast, between Msta and Lovat - Derevskaya; in the direction of the Volga - Bezhetskaya. Novgorod "colonies" lay to the north and east of the pyatins - Zavolochye on the Northern Dvina, Tre on the Kola Peninsula, Pechora, Perm, Vyatka. Already in the XII century. all these lands paid tribute to Novgorod. To capture the colonies and exploit their wealth, the Novgorod boyars made extensive use of explorers-robbers - "ushkuiniki".
The suburbs of Novgorod were located in the pyatins: Ladoga, Staraya Russa, Torzhok, Izborsk, Koporye. The largest suburb was Pskov, which eventually separated into an independent republic and began to be called the "younger brother of Novgorod."
Agriculture has long been developed in the Novgorod land. However, infertile soils significantly reduced the efficiency of grain production. Therefore, in the event of crop failures, Novgorod depended on neighboring Russian lands. At the same time, natural and climatic conditions favored the development of cattle breeding. Hunting, fishing, beekeeping became widespread. An important source of Novgorod's wealth was the plunder of colonial lands, from where furs, silver, wax and other items of trade came from.
The level of handicraft production in Novgorod was no lower than in the famous centers of Western Europe and the Middle East. Skillful blacksmiths, tanners, jewelers, gunsmiths, weavers, coopers and other specialists worked here. The vast majority of craft workshops were located in rich boyar estates, the owners of which exploited the work of artisans. A large boyar family had an exhaustive set of different industries. Contributing to boyar consolidation, such a system of organizing urban ownership at the same time strongly opposed the consolidation of artisans on professional basis. The participation of artisans of various professions in a single economic organization of the boyar clan became an insurmountable obstacle to their unification into guild organizations.
The foreign trade of Novgorod was largely subordinated to the needs of the craft: handicraft raw materials were imported - non-ferrous metals, precious stones, amber, boxwood, cloth, etc. Salt was imported for a long time until its local deposits were discovered. The main subjects of Novgorod export to Western Europe were furs, walrus tusks, wax, lard, flax, and hemp.
Trade relations between Novgorod and Scandinavia go back to a very early time. Novgorod merchants visited Byzantium, the countries of the East, traded in remote Russian cities. In the XII century. Novgorodians had their own guest house in the city of Visby on the island of Gotland. In Novgorod itself there were two courts of foreign merchants: Gothsky (the inhabitants of the island of Gotland were called Goths) and German. From the second half of the XII century. the intensive trade of Novgorodians with the Baltic German cities begins, which was subsequently formed Hanseatic League. Emperor Frederick II gave Novgorod merchants the right to trade duty-free in Lübeck.
The large Novgorod merchants were organized into hundreds, which somewhat resembled Western European merchant guilds. The most influential and organized was the association of wax merchants (wax merchants) "Ivanovskoe Sto", which existed at the Church of John the Baptist on Opoki.
Large sections of the city were the hereditary property of large boyar families. The owners of neighboring city estates were descended from one common ancestor. It has been established that the city estates of the boyars themselves did not change their borders during the 10th-15th centuries. The emergence of the patrimonial system in the Novgorod land dates back only to the beginning of the 12th century, when the boyars began to actively acquire “villages”. Prior to this, boyar land ownership existed not in a privately owned, but in a corporate form. The fact is that the local aristocracy, which apparently originated from the tribal nobility, took an active part in the collection of state revenues and control over them. This distinguished Novgorod from the southern Russian lands, where undivided princely control over state revenues (the polyudya system) dominated. Turning into a special corporation, the Novgorod boyars separated themselves from the princely retinue organization. It completely retained the collection of state revenues even during the patrimonial period, which consolidated the tops of Novgorod society and gave them the means and opportunities for an effective struggle against princely power.
The socio-political development of the Novgorod land initially had its own specifics. Princely power has always been secondary in relation to Novgorod. Already under Yaroslav the Wise, Novgorodians achieved significant political successes. The memory of the calling of Rurik and the established practice of concluding an agreement (“row”) with the prince ideologically prepared the triumph of the republican order in Novgorod. Around 1117, the Novgorodians became “free in the princes”, that is, they openly declared their right to expel the prince regardless of the will of Kyiv, and in 1126 they themselves chose their own posadnik (before that, the posadnik was either sent from Kyiv or appointed by the prince from squad composition).
An important milestone on the path to the complete independence of Novgorod from Kyiv was the events of 1132-1136. After the death of the great Kyiv prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, his son Vsevolod, who occupied the Novgorod throne, decided to leave Novgorod and take Pereyaslavl. When he, having not achieved success in the south, returned to Novgorod, the Novgorod veche expelled him. In 1136, the Novgorodians took Vsevolod and his entire family into custody. The prince was blamed for “not watching the stink”, he wanted to go to reign in Pereyaslavl, he was the first to flee the battlefield in the war with the Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky.
It is traditionally considered that with the victory of the boyars over the princely power in 1136, the orders of the feudal boyar republic finally triumphed in Novgorod. From that time on, the boyars began to exert a decisive influence on the choice of the prince.
Initially, none of the princely families of Russia managed to gain a foothold in Novgorod for a long time, but from the 30s. 13th century only representatives of the Suzdal branch reigned there. In total, during the XII-XIII centuries. the change of princely power in Novgorod took place about 60 times. The supreme power in Novgorod was in the hands of the city council. It was engaged in legislative activities, concluded and terminated agreements with the prince, elected all senior officials, resolved issues of war and peace, and established the duties of the population. The prince was an integral part of the republican administrative apparatus, but his functions were sharply limited. They boiled down mainly to protecting Novgorod from external danger. The prince was obliged to strictly comply with the conditions of the “row” with the Novgorodians, otherwise he could be “showed the way”. The judicial rights of the prince were limited, he could not subject the Novgorod husbands to repressions "without fault", he was forbidden to acquire land in the volosts, that is, on the outskirts of the Novgorod land. But the princely power often took on intermediary functions and reconciled the warring boyar groups.
From the environment and under the control of the boyars, the veche elected the posadnik, who eventually concentrated all executive power in his hands. He convened the veche and carried out its decisions, concluded agreements with the prince. In addition, the posadnik supervised the activities of all officials, together with the prince led military campaigns, performed judicial functions, and represented in foreign relations.
The next senior official of Novgorod was the thousand. Initially, he was appointed prince, but from the end of the XII century. also became elected. For a long time (until the second half of the 14th century), representatives of the non-Yarsk population were the thousands - lesser people, merchants. Tysyatsky controlled the tax system, watched the order in the city, and in war time led the militia.
Bishop (later Archbishop) played an important role in the life of Novgorod. From the middle of the XII century. the spiritual pastor also began to be chosen by the Novgorodians themselves. Veche named three candidates. After that, on the other side of the Volkhov, in St. Sophia Cathedral, one of the three most authoritative ministers of the church was chosen by lot with the help of a child or a blind man. The hierarch chosen in this way was sent to the metropolitan in Kyiv for consecration. The first Novgorod lord who went through a similar procedure was Arkady. The election took place in 1156.
The Novgorod lord was the keeper of the city treasury, was in charge of state lands, participated in the leadership foreign policy, controlled the standard of measures and weights, had his own regiment. Any land transactions were considered invalid without his sanction. The Novgorod Chronicle was kept at the Bishop's court. The archbishop's position was for life, although it happened that the bishops went to the monastery or were expelled by the decision of the veche.
There were also other officials in Novgorod. At the head of the end were the "Konchansky", at the head of the streets - the "street" elders. They were chosen at the appropriate ("Konchan" and "Ulichan") meetings.
One of the essential issues in the history of Novgorod has always been to identify the degree of democracy in its political system. Many historians of the XIX-XX centuries. saw in the Novgorod Republic an example of “democracy” (N.M. Karamzin, I.Ya. Froyanov), the antithesis of the monarchy. It is widely believed that the entire male population of the city participated in the veche meeting of Novgorod - from the boyars to simple artisans and merchants. However, the real power in the Novgorod Republic belonged to the feudal lords (boyars and lesser) and the richest merchants. There was a clear trend towards an oligarchic form of government (VL Yanin). Over time, the boyars also created a special body - the council of "gentlemen". The meetings of this unofficial government of Novgorod were held in the chambers of the lord on the Sofia side and under his chairmanship. The council prepared the agenda of veche meetings, developed measures to influence the veche, and supervised officials of the republic.
Veche Square of Novgorod, which was located near the Nikolsky Cathedral on the Trade side, did not exceed the size of the boyar estate. There was a tribune ("degree") for the leaders of the republic, as well as benches for the rest of the participants. According to V.L. Yanin, it could accommodate a maximum of 400-500 people, which corresponded to the number of wealthy boyar estates in Novgorod. It is clear that the places on the benches could be occupied primarily by wealthy homeowners. Apparently, the advantages of the republican system and its external democratism were based not on the large number of people in the city council, but on its publicity, as well as on the multi-stage system of the city council. If the city-wide veche was, in fact, an artificial body, the result of the creation of an inter-Konchan confederation, then the lower levels of the veche ("Konchan" and "Ulichan") genetically descended from the most ancient popular assemblies. But they were also the most important means of organizing the internal political struggle of the boyars for power. On them it was easier to kindle and direct the political emotions of all social groups of the end or the street in the right direction.
Under normal conditions, the boyars had no need to convene a veche and appeal to the will of the lower classes. Therefore, the city council was not a daily governing body. Chronicle memories of him are separated by years. Veche assumed full power only in emergency cases: in case of rejection of an unwanted prince, enemy invasion, etc.
The state of emergency in Novgorod was usually accompanied by the arrest of the prince, the posadnik or other representatives of the republican administration, and the robbery of the property of persons outlawed. But the elements of the veche system formed a peculiar mentality of the Novgorodians. If in Southwestern Russia the boyars executed princes, then in Novgorod they were not killed, but the veche did not stand on ceremony with elected officials and dealt with all cruelty.
The internal life of Novgorod was characterized by social tension, which often resulted in urban uprisings (1136, 1207, 1228-1229, etc.). Although the urban rank and file took an active part in movements of this kind, it would be an exaggeration to consider these uprisings a manifestation of the class struggle. In each specific case, some groups of Novgorodians, led by their boyars, fought against other groups with their boyars. It was a struggle of interests, a struggle between "Ulichanskaya" and "Konchanskaya". But the street crowd, "black people" played a decisive role in robberies and pogroms, the victims of which were representatives of any boyar clan.
It can be assumed that the self-assertion of the Novgorod boyars as a member of corporate power, in contrast to the boyars of the southern principalities, led not to centrifugal, but to centripetal consequences in the political and economic spheres. Having achieved the limitation of the princely power, the boyars of Novgorod did not give the princes the opportunity to pull the Novgorod land apart.
Novgorod land
Novgorod the Great and its territory. The political system of Novgorod the Great, i.e. the oldest city in its land, was closely associated with the location of the city. It was located on both banks of the Volkhov River, not far from its source from Lake Ilmen. Novgorod was made up of several settlements or settlements, which were independent societies, and then merged into an urban community. Traces of this independent existence constituent parts Novgorod survived and later in the distribution of the city at the ends. Volkhov divides Novgorod into two halves: on the right - along the eastern bank of the river and on the left - along the western bank; the first one was called Trading because it contained main city sky market, bargaining; the second was called Sofia since the end of the 10th century, after the adoption of Christianity by Novgorod, the cathedral church of St. Sofia. Both sides were connected by a large Volkhov bridge, located not far from the market. Adjacent to the market was a square called Yaroslav's yard, because Yaroslav's farmstead was once located here when he reigned in Novgorod during the life of his father. This square was dominated by degree, a platform from which Novgorod dignitaries addressed speeches to the people who gathered at the veche. Near the degree there was a veche tower, on which a veche bell hung, and below it was placed a veche office. Trade side to the south. Slavensky end got its name from the oldest Novgorod village, which became part of Novgorod, glorious. The city market and Yaroslav's yard were located at the Slavensky end. On the Sofia side, immediately after crossing the Volkhov bridge, there was detinets, a walled place where the cathedral church of St. Sofia. The Sofia side was divided into three ends: Nerevsky to North, Zagorodsky to the west and Goncharsky, or Lyudin, to the south, closer to the lake. The names of the ends of Goncharsky and Plotnitsky indicate the craft character of the ancient settlements from which the ends of Novgorod were formed.
Novgorod, with its five ends, was the political center of a vast territory that was drawn to it. This territory consisted of parts of two categories: from Pyatin and volosts, or lands; the combination of those and others constituted the region, or land, of St. Sofia. According to the Novgorod monuments, before the fall of Novgorod and Pyatina they were called lands, and in more ancient time - rows. The patches were as follows: in the northwest of Novgorod, between the Volkhov and Luga rivers, a patch extended towards the Gulf of Finland Votskaya, which got its name from the Finnish tribe that lived here Vodi or That's; on the NE to the right of Volkhov went far to the White Sea on both sides of Lake Onega Obonezhskaya; to the southeast between the rivers Mstoy and Lovat stretched five Derevskaya; to the SW between the rivers Lovatyu and Luga, on both sides of the Shelon River, was Shelonskaya pyatina; on departure behind the patches of Obonezhskaya and Derevskaya, the patch extended far to the E and SE Bezhetskaya, which got its name from the village of Bezhichi, which was once one of its administrative centers (in the present Tver province). Initially, the pyatins consisted of the most ancient and closest possessions to Novgorod. More distant and later acquired possessions were not included in the fifth division and formed a number of special volosts who had a device somewhat different from Pyatin. So, the cities of Volok-Lamsky and Torzhok with their districts did not belong to any five. Behind the five patches of Obonezhskaya and Bezhetskaya, the volost extended to the NE Zavolochye, or Dvina land. It was called Zavolochye, because it was behind the portage, behind the vast watershed separating the basins of the Onega and the Northern Dvina from the Volga basin. The course of the Vychegda River with its tributaries determined the position Perm land. Beyond the Dvina land and Perm further to the northeast were volosts Pechora along the Pechora River and on the other side of the northern Ural ridge, the volost Yugra. On the northern coast of the White Sea there was a parish Ter, or Tersky coast. These were the main volosts of Novgorod, which were not included in the fifth division. They were early acquired by Novgorod: for example, already in the 11th century. Novgorodians went to Pechora for tribute for the Dvina, and in the 13th century they collected tribute on the Tersky coast.
The attitude of Novgorod to the princes. At the beginning of our history, the Novgorod land was completely similar in structure to other regions of the Russian land. In the same way, the relations of Novgorod to the princes differed little from those in which other older cities of the regions stood. Since the first princes left it for Kiev, tribute has been imposed on Novgorod in favor of the Grand Duke of Kyiv. Upon the death of Yaroslav, Novgorod land was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Kyiv, and Grand Duke he usually sent his son or closest relative there to govern, appointing a posadnik as his assistant. Until the second quarter of the XII century. in the life of the Novgorod land, no political features are imperceptible that would distinguish it from a number of other regions of the Russian land. But since the death of Vladimir Monomakh, these features have been developing more and more successfully, which later became the basis of Novgorod liberty. The successful development of this political isolation of the Novgorod land was helped partly by its geographical position, partly by its external relations. Novgorod was the political center of the region, which constituted the remote northwestern corner of what was then Russia. Such a remote position of Novgorod put it outside the circle of Russian lands, which were the main scene of the activity of the princes and their squads. This freed Novgorod from direct pressure from the prince and his retinue and allowed the Novgorod way of life to develop more freely, on a larger scale. On the other hand, Novgorod lay close to the main river basins of our plain, to the Volga, the Dnieper, the Western Dvina, and the Volkhov connected it by water with the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Thanks to this proximity to the great trade routes of Russia, Novgorod was early drawn into versatile trade turnovers. Being on the outskirts of Russia, surrounded on several sides by hostile foreigners and, moreover, mainly engaged in foreign trade, Novgorod always needed the prince and his squad to defend its borders and trade routes. But it was precisely in the twelfth century, when the prince's tangled accounts dropped the authority of the princes, that Novgorod needed the prince and his retinue much less than it needed before and began to need it later. Then two dangerous enemies appeared on the Novgorod borders, Livonian Order and united Lithuania. In the XII century. there was neither one nor the other enemy: the Livonian Order was founded at the very beginning of the 13th century, and Lithuania began to unite from the end of this century. Under the influence of these favorable conditions, Novgorod's relations with the princes, and the structure of its administration, and its social system were formed.
After the death of Monomakh, Novgorodians managed to achieve important political benefits. Princely strife was accompanied by frequent changes of princes on the Novgorod table. These strife and shifts helped the Novgorodians to bring into their political system two important principles that have become guarantors of their liberties: 1) selectivity of the highest administration, 2) row, i.e. treaty with princes. Frequent changes of princes in Novgorod were accompanied by changes in personnel supreme Novgorod administration. The prince ruled Novgorod with the assistance of assistants appointed by him or the Grand Duke of Kyiv, the posadnik and the thousand. When the prince left the city voluntarily or involuntarily, the posadnik appointed by him usually resigned his position, because the new prince usually appointed his posadnik. But in the intervals between the two reigns, the Novgorodians, remaining without a higher government, got used to electing a posadnik who corrected his position for a while and demanding that the new prince confirm him in office. Thus, by the very course of affairs, the custom of choosing a posadnik began in Novgorod. This custom begins immediately after the death of Monomakh, when, according to the chronicle, in 1126 the Novgorodians "gave posadnichestvo" to one of their fellow citizens. After the choice of the posadnik became a permanent right of the city, which the people of Novgorod greatly valued. The change in the very nature of this position is understandable, which occurred as a result of the fact that it was given not at the prince's court, but at Veche square: from the representative and guardian of the interests of the prince in front of Novgorod, the elected mayor had to turn into a representative and guardian of the interests of Novgorod before the prince. After that, another important position of the thousandth also became elective. The local bishop played an important role in the administration of Novgorod. Until the middle of the XII century. he was appointed and ordained by the Russian metropolitan with a cathedral of bishops in Kiev, therefore, under the influence of the Grand Duke. But from the second half of the 12th century, the Novgorodians themselves began to choose from the local clergy and their lord, gathering "with the whole city" at a veche and sending the chosen one to Kyiv to the metropolitan for ordination. The first such elective bishop was Abbot of one of the local monasteries Arkady, elected by the Novgorodians in 1156. Since then, the Kyiv Metropolitan has only the right to ordain a candidate sent from Novgorod. So, in the second and third quarter of the XII century. the highest Novgorod administration became elective. At the same time, the Novgorodians began to more accurately define their relationship to the princes. The strife of the princes gave Novgorod the opportunity to choose between rival princes and to impose certain obligations on his chosen one, which hampered his power. These obligations are set out in ranks, agreements with the prince, which determined the importance of the Novgorod prince in local government. Indistinct traces of these rows, held together by the kiss of the cross on the part of the prince, appear already in the first half of the 12th century. Later they are more clearly indicated in the chronicler's story. In 1218, the famous Mstislav Mstislavich Udaloy, Prince of Toropetsk, who ruled it, left Novgorod. His Smolensk relative Svyatoslav Mstislavich arrived in his place. This prince demanded the replacement of the elected Novgorod posadnik Tverdislav. "For what? - asked the Novgorodians. What is his fault? “So, without guilt,” the prince replied. Then Tverdislav said, turning to the veche: "I am glad that there is no guilt on me, and you, brothers, are free both in the posadniks and in the princes." Then the veche said to the prince: “Here you are depriving your husband of his position, and yet you kissed the cross for us without fault of the husband of the position, do not deprive him of his position.” So, already at the beginning of the XIII century. the princes with the kiss of the cross sealed the well-known rights of the Novgorodians. The condition not to deprive a Novgorod dignitary of his post without guilt, i.e. without trial, is in later treaties one of the main guarantees of Novgorod liberty.
The political privileges that the Novgorodians had achieved were set out in treaty letters. The first such charters that have come down to us are not earlier than the second half of the 13th century. There are three of them: they set out the conditions under which Yaroslav of Tver ruled the Novgorod land. Two of them were written in 1265 and one - in 1270. Later treaty letters repeat only the conditions set forth in these letters of Yaroslav. Studying them, we see the foundations of the political structure of Novgorod. Novgorodians obliged the princes to kiss the cross, on which their fathers and grandfathers kissed. The main general obligation that fell on the prince was that he ruled, “kept Novgorod in the old days according to duties”, i.e. according to old customs. This means that the conditions set forth in the letters of Yaroslav were not an innovation, but a testament of antiquity. The agreements determined: 1) the judicial and administrative relations of the prince to the city, 2) the financial relations of the city to the prince, 3) the relationship of the prince to Novgorod trade. The prince was the highest judicial and government authority in Novgorod. But he performed all judicial and administrative actions not alone and not at his own discretion, but in the presence and with the consent of the elected Novgorod posadnik. For lower positions, filled not by choice, but by princely appointment, the prince elected people from Novgorod society, and not from his squad. He handed out all such positions with the consent of the posadnik. The prince could not take away a position from an elected or appointed official without a trial. Moreover, he personally performed all judicial and governmental actions in Novgorod and could not dispose of anything, living in his inheritance: “And from the Suzdal land,” we read in the contract, “Novagorod should not be ordered, nor volosts (positions) should be handed out.” In the same way, without a posadnik, the prince could not judge, he could not issue letters to anyone. So all the judicial and government activities of the prince were controlled by the representative of Novgorod. With petty suspicion, the Novgorodians determined their financial relations with the prince, his income. The prince received gift from Novgorod land, going to Novgorod, and could not take it, going from Novgorod land. Tribute was received by the prince only from Zavolochye, a conquered region that was not part of the fifth division of the Novgorod region; and the prince usually paid this tribute at the mercy of the Novgorodians. If he collected it himself, he sent two collectors to Zavolochye, who could not take the collected tribute directly to the prince's inheritance, but first brought it to Novgorod, from where it was transferred to the prince. Since the time of the Tatar invasion, the Horde was also imposed on Novgorod exit- tribute. The Tatars then instructed the collection of this exit, called black forest, i.e. general, head tax, to the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Novgorodians themselves collected black forest and handed it over to their prince, who delivered it to the Horde. In addition, the prince used well-known lands in the Novgorod land, fishing, boards, animal ruts; but he used all these lands according to precisely defined rules, at the appointed time and in conditional sizes. With the same precision, the prince's relations with Novgorod trade were determined. Trade, predominantly foreign, was the vital nerve of the city. Novgorod needed the prince not only to defend the borders, but also to ensure trade interests; he was supposed to give a free and safe way to Novgorod merchants in his principality. It was precisely determined what duties the prince should collect from each Novgorodian boat or merchant cart that was in his principality. German merchants settled early in Novgorod. In the 14th century in Novgorod there were two courts of overseas merchants: one belonged to the Hanseatic cities, the other, Gothic, to merchants from the island of Gotland. At these courtyards there were even two Catholic churches. The prince could participate in the city's trade with overseas merchants only through Novgorod intermediaries; he could not close the courts of foreign merchants, put his bailiffs to them. So it was protected international trade Novgorod from arbitrariness on the part of the prince. Bound by such obligations, the prince received certain food for his military and government services to the city. Let us recall the importance of the prince, the leader of the squad, in the ancient trading cities of Russia in the 9th century: he was a hired military watchman of the city and its trade. The Novgorod prince of specific time had exactly the same meaning. Such a significance of a prince in a free city is expressed by the Pskov chronicle, which calls one Novgorod prince of the 15th century “a governor and a fed prince, about whom he had to stand and fight.” The value of the prince, as a mercenary, Novgorod tried to support by contracts until the end of his liberty. This is how Novgorod's relations with the princes were determined by treaties.
Control. Veche. Novgorod administration was built in connection with the definition of the relationship of the city to the prince. These relations, we saw, were determined by treaties. Thanks to these agreements, the prince gradually stepped out of the local society, losing organic bonds with him. He and his retinue entered this society only mechanically, as a third-party temporary force. Thanks to this, the political center of gravity in Novgorod had to move from the princely court to veche square, into the environment of local society. That is why, despite the presence of the prince, Novgorod in specific centuries was actually a city republic. Further, in Novgorod we meet the same military system, which, even before the princes, had developed in other older cities of Russia. Novgorod was thousand- an armed regiment under the command of a thousand. This thousand was divided into hundreds- military parts of the city. Each hundred, with its elected sotsky, represented a special society that enjoyed a certain degree of self-government. In wartime it was a recruiting district, in peacetime it was a police district. But the hundred was not the smallest administrative part of the city: it was subdivided into streets, of which each with its own elective street the headman was also a special local world, which enjoyed self-government. On the other hand, hundreds formed into larger alliances - ends. Each city end consisted of two hundred. At the head of the end was the elected Konchansky the headman, who conducted the current affairs of the end under the supervision of the Konchan gathering or veche, which had administrative power. The union of the ends constituted the community of Veliky Novgorod. Thus, Novgorod represented a multi-stage combination of small and large local worlds, of which the latter were composed by adding the former. The combined will of all these allied worlds was expressed in the general council of the city. The veche was sometimes convened by the prince, more often by one of the chief city dignitaries, a posadnik or a thousand. It was not a permanent institution, it was convened when there was a need for it. There has never been a fixed time limit for its convening. The veche met at the ringing of the veche bell, usually in the square called Yaroslav's Court. It was not a representative institution in its composition, it did not consist of deputies: anyone who considered himself a full-fledged citizen fled to Veche Square. Veche usually consisted of citizens of one senior city; but sometimes residents of the younger cities of the earth appeared on it, however, only two, Ladoga and Pskov. The questions to be discussed by the veche were proposed to him by degree senior dignitaries, a sedate posadnik or a thousand. These questions were legislative and constituent. The veche decreed new laws, invited the prince or expelled him, elected and judged the main city dignitaries, sorted out their disputes with the prince, resolved issues of war and peace, etc. At the meeting, by its very composition, there could be neither a correct discussion of the issue, nor a correct vote. The decision was drawn up by eye, or rather by ear, rather by the strength of the cries than by the majority of votes. When the veche was divided into parties, the verdict was worked out by force, through a fight: the side that overpowered was recognized by the majority (a peculiar form fields, the judgment of God). Sometimes the whole city was divided, and then two meetings were convened, one at the usual place, on the Trade side, the other on the Sofia side. As a rule, the discord ended with the fact that both vechas, moving against each other, converged on the Volkhov bridge and started a fight if the clergy did not manage to separate the opponents in time.
Posadnik and thousand. The executive bodies of the veche were two highest elected dignitaries who conducted the current affairs of administration and the court, - posadnik and thousand. While they held their positions, they were called power, i.e. standing on a degree, and upon leaving the post they entered the category of posadniks and thousandths old. It is rather difficult to distinguish between the departments of both dignitaries. It seems that the posadnik was a civil governor of the city, and the thousandth one was a military and police officer. That is why the Germans in specific centuries called the posadnik burggrave, and the thousandth - duke. Both dignitaries received their powers from the council for an indefinite period of time: some ruled for a year, others for less, others for several years. It seems, not before the start 15th century a fixed term was set for them to hold their positions. At least one French traveler, Lannoy, who visited Novgorod at the beginning of the 15th century, speaks of the posadnik and the thousandth that these dignitaries were replaced annually. Posadnik and tysyatsky ruled with the help of a whole staff of inferior agents subordinate to them.
council of gentlemen. Veche was a legislative institution. But by its nature, it could not correctly discuss the questions proposed to it. A special institution was needed that could preliminarily develop legislative questions and propose ready-made draft laws and decisions to the council. Such a preparatory and administrative institution was the Novgorod Council of Masters, Herrenrath, as the Germans called it, or gentlemen, as it was called in Pskov. The lords of the free city developed from the ancient boyar duma of the prince with the participation of the elders of the city. The chairman of this council in Novgorod was the local lord - the archbishop. The council consisted of the princely governor, of the sedate posadnik and the thousand, of the elders of Konchan and Sotsk, of the old posadniks and the thousand. All these members, except for the chairman, were called boyars.
Regional Administration. The regional administration was closely connected with the central administration. This connection was expressed in the fact that each fifth of the Novgorod land in the administration depended on the city end to which it was assigned. A similar relationship of parts of the territory to the ends of the city existed in the Pskov land. Here, the old suburbs have long been distributed between the ends of the city. In 1468, when many new suburbs had accumulated, it was decided at a council to also divide them by lot between the ends, two suburbs at each end. Pyatina, however, was not an integral administrative unit, did not have one local administrative center. It broke up into administrative districts, called in Moscow time halves, subdivided into counties; each county had its own special administrative center in a well-known suburb, so that the Konchan administration was the only link connecting the pyatina into one administrative whole. The suburb with its district was the same local self-governing world as the Novgorod ends and hundreds were. Its autonomy was expressed in the local suburban council. However, this evening was led by a posadnik, who was usually sent from the older city. The forms in which the political dependence of the suburbs on the older city was expressed are revealed in the story of how Pskov became an independent city. Until the middle of the 14th century it was a suburb of Novgorod. In 1348, under an agreement with Novgorod, he became independent from him, began to be called younger brother his. According to this agreement, the Novgorodians renounced the right to send a posadnik to Pskov and summon the Pskovites to Novgorod for civil and ecclesiastical court. This means that the main city appointed a posadnik to the suburbs and the highest court over the suburbs was concentrated in it. However, the dependence of the suburbs on Novgorod was always very weak: the suburbs sometimes refused to accept posadniks sent by the main city.
Classes of Novgorod society. In the composition of Novgorod society, it is necessary to distinguish between urban and rural classes. The population of Novgorod the Great consisted of boyars, living people, merchants and black people.
The boyars were at the head of the Novgorod society. It was composed of wealthy and influential Novgorod families, whose members were appointed by the princes who ruled Novgorod to the highest positions in local government. Occupying positions by appointment of the prince, which in other areas were given to princely boyars, the Novgorod nobility assimilated the meaning and title of boyars and retained this title even after, when they began to receive their government powers not from the prince, but from the local council.
The second class does not appear so clearly in the Novgorod monuments. living, or living, of people. It can be seen that this class stood closer to the local boyars than to the lower strata of the population. The living people were, apparently, middle-class capitalists who did not belong to the paramount government nobility. The merchant class was called merchants. They were already standing closer to the urban common people, weakly separated from the mass of urban black people. They worked with the help of the boyars' capital, or borrowed money from the boyars, or conducted their business as clerks. black people there were small artisans and workers who took work or money for work from the upper classes, boyars and living people. Such is the composition of society in the main city. We meet the same classes in the suburbs, at least the most important ones.
In the depths of rural society, as well as urban, we see serfs. This class was very numerous in the Novgorod land, but invisible in Pskov. The free peasant population in the Novgorod land consisted of two categories: from the smerds, who cultivated the state lands of Novgorod the Great, and ladles who rented land from private owners. Ladles got their name from the usual in ancient Russia terms of land lease - to cultivate the land halfway through, from half of the harvest. However, in the Novgorod land of specific time, ladles rented land from private owners and on more favorable terms, from the third or fourth sheaf. Ladles were in the Novgorod land in a more humiliated state compared to free peasants in princely Russia, they stood in a position close to serfs. This humiliation was expressed in two conditions that the Novgorodians included in the agreements with the princes: 1) not to judge a serf and a ladle without a master, and 2) to give back the Novgorod serfs and ladles who fled to the prince's inheritance. In this respect, Pskov land differed sharply from Novgorod. In the first isorniki, as they called there peasants who rented private land, usually with a loan, steep, were free cultivators who enjoyed the right to transfer from one owner to another. There, even a promissory note did not attach the isornik to the landowner. According to Russkaya Pravda, a purchase that fled from the owner without retribution became his complete slave. According to Pskovskaya Pravda, a monument that received its final form in the second half of the 15th century, an izornik who ran away from the owner without retribution was not punished with imprisonment when he returned from the run; the owner could only with the participation local authorities sell the property abandoned by the fugitive and thus reward himself for the unpaid loan. If the property of the fugitive was not enough for this, the master could look for additional payments on the isornik when he returned. Peasants in princely Russia of specific centuries also had similar attitudes towards their masters. This means that in the free Novgorod land, the rural population, who worked on the master's lands, was made more dependent on the landowners than anywhere else in contemporary Russia.
Another feature of Novgorod, as well as Pskov land ownership, was the class of peasant proprietors, which we do not meet in princely Russia, where all the peasants worked either on state or private master lands. This class was called zemtsamu, or natives. These were generally small landowners. Own landowners either cultivated their lands themselves, or rented them out to peasant ladles. In terms of occupation and size of the economy, the natives did not differ in any way from the peasants; but they owned their lands on the rights of full ownership. This rural class of natives was formed mainly from the townspeople. In the Novgorod and Pskov lands, the right to land ownership was not a privilege of the highest service class. Urban dwellers acquired small rural plots as property not only for arable farming, but also for the purpose of their industrial exploitation, planting flax, hops and forest boards, catching fish and animals. Such was the composition of society in the Novgorod land.
Political life of Novgorod the Great. The forms of political life in Novgorod, as in Pskov, were of a democratic nature. All free inhabitants had equal votes at the veche, and the free classes of society did not differ sharply in political rights. But trade, which served as the basis of the national economy in these free cities, gave actual dominance to those classes that possessed commercial capital - the boyars and the living people. This is the domination of the commercial aristocracy under democratic forms state structure it was revealed both in the administration and in the political life of Novgorod, causing a lively struggle of political parties; but in different time the nature of this struggle was not the same. In this regard, the internal political life of the city can be divided into two periods.
Until the 14th century, princes often changed in Novgorod, and these princes competed with each other, belonging to hostile princely lines. Under the influence of this frequent change of princes, local political circles were formed in Novgorod, which stood for different princes and were led by the heads of the richest boyar families in the city. One can think that these circles were formed under the influence of trade relations between the boyar houses of Novgorod and one or another Russian principality. Thus, the first period in the history of the political life of Novgorod was marked by the struggle of the princely parties, more precisely, the struggle of the Novgorod trading houses that competed with each other.
From the 14th century the frequent change of princes on the Novgorod table stops, along with this, the nature of the political life of Novgorod also changes. From the death of Yaroslav I to the Tatar invasion, the Novgorod chronicle describes up to 12 troubles in the city; of these, only two were not associated with princely changes, i.e. were not caused by the struggle of local political circles for one or another prince. From the Tatar invasion to the accession of John III to the grand prince's table, more than 20 troubles are described in the local chronicle; of these, only 4 are associated with princely changes; everyone else had a completely different source. This new source of political struggle, opening up since the 14th century, was social strife - the struggle of the lower poor classes of Novgorod society with the upper rich. Since then, Novgorod society has been divided into two hostile camps, of which in one stood best, or elders, people, as the Novgorod chronicle calls the local rich nobility, and in another people younger, or smaller, i.e. black. So since the XIV century. the struggle of trading firms in Novgorod was replaced by the struggle of social classes. This new struggle also had its roots in the political and economic structure of the city. Sharp property inequality between citizens is a very common occurrence in large trading cities, especially with republican forms of organization. In Novgorod, this inequality of property, given political equality, under democratic forms of organization, was felt especially sharply, and produced an irritating effect on the lower classes. This action was intensified by the heavy economic dependence of the lower working population on the capitalist boyars. Thanks to this, an irreconcilable antagonism against the higher classes developed in the lower classes of Novgorod society. Both of these social parties were headed by wealthy boyar families, so that even young people in Novgorod acted under the leadership of certain noble boyar houses, who became at the head of the Novgorod common people in the struggle against their boyar brethren.
So the Novgorod boyars remained the leader of local political life throughout the history of the free city. Over time, all local government fell into the hands of a few noble houses. Of these, the Novgorod veche chose posadniks and thousands; their members filled the Novgorod government council, which, in fact, gave direction to local political life.
The peculiarities of the economic situation and political life of Novgorod helped to take root in its system of important shortcomings, which prepared the easy fall of its liberty in the second half of the 15th century. These were: 1) the lack of internal social unity, the strife of the classes of Novgorod society, 2) the lack of zemstvo unity and government centralization in the Novgorod region, 3) economic dependence on the lower princely Russia, i.e. central Great Russia, from where Novgorod with its non-grain-bearing region received grain, and 4) the weakness of the military structure of the trading city, the militia of which could not stand against the princely regiments.
But in all these shortcomings one must see only the conditions for the ease with which Novgorod fell, and not the reasons for its fall itself; Novgorod would have fallen even if it had been free from these shortcomings: the fate of its liberty was decided not by this or that weak side of its system, but by a more general cause, a wider and more oppressive historical process. By the middle of the fifteenth century the formation of the Great Russian people had already been completed: it lacked only political unity. This nation had to fight for its existence in the east, south and west. She was looking for a political center around which she could gather her forces for a hard struggle. Moscow became such a center. The meeting of the specific dynastic aspirations of the Moscow princes with the political needs of the entire Great Russian population decided the fate of not only Novgorod the Great, but also other independent political worlds that still remained in Russia by the middle of the 15th century. The destruction of the peculiarity of the zemstvo units was a sacrifice demanded by the common good of the whole earth, and the Moscow sovereign was the executor of this requirement. Novgorod, with a better political system, could have waged a more stubborn struggle with Moscow, but the result of this struggle would have been the same. Novgorod would inevitably fall under the blows of Moscow. From the book Faces of the Epoch. From origins to Mongol invasion[anthology] author Akunin Boris
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The territory of the Novgorod land took shape gradually. Its center was the ancient region of the settlement of the Slavs, located in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the rivers - Volkhov, Lovat, Meta and Mologa. The extreme northern point was the city of Ladoga - a strong fortress at the mouth of the Volkhov. In the future, this ancient region was overgrown with new territories, some of which organically merged with the original core of the Novgorod land, others constituted a kind of colony of Novgorod.
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The Novgorod lands proper were divided into five large areas of pyatins, corresponding to the five ends (districts) of Novgorod. To the north-west of Novgorod, towards the Gulf of Finland, there was the Vodskaya Pyatina, it covered the lands of the Finnish tribe of Vod; to the south-west, on both sides of the Shelon River - the Shelon Pyatina; to the southeast, between the rivers Dostoyu and Lovatio - Derevskaya pyatina; to the northeast (From the White Sea but both sides of Lake Onega - Onega Pyatina; behind Derevskop and Onega Pyatina, to the southeast, lay Bezhetskaya Pyatina.
In addition to the pyatins, a huge space was occupied by Novgorod volosts - Zavolochye, or Dvina land - in the area of the Northern Dvina. Perm land - along the Vychegda and its tributaries, on both sides of the Pechora - the Pechora region, to the east of the Northern Urals - Yugra, to the north, within the Onega and Ladoga lakes - Korela, finally, on the Kola Peninsula - the so-called Tersky coast.
The population of the Novgorod land was mainly engaged in agriculture, primarily agriculture, which formed the basis of the Novgorod economy. The Novgorod boyars and the clergy had extensive estates. Merchant land ownership was also developed here.
In the agriculture of the Novgorod spots, the plow system prevailed, the undercut was preserved only in the extreme northern regions. Due to unfavorable soil and climatic conditions, the yields were not high, therefore, despite the widespread use of agriculture, it still did not cover the needs of the Novgorod population in bread. Part of the grain had to be imported from other Russian lands, mainly from Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan. In lean years, which were not uncommon in the life of the Novgorod land, the import of grain acquired decisive importance.
Along with agriculture and cattle breeding, the population of the Novgorod land was engaged in various crafts: hunting for fur and sea animals, fishing, beekeeping, and the development of salt in Staraya Russa and on Vychegda, mining of iron ore in Votskaya Pyatina. Craft and trade flourished in the center of the Novgorod land - Novgorod and its suburbs - Pskov. Novgorod has long been famous for its artisans, carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, in addition, shoemakers, leather workers, felt workers, bridge workers and many other artisans of various specialties lived in it. Novgorod carpenters were discharged to work in Kyiv and became so famous for their art that the term "Novgorod" often meant - "carpenter".
Domestic and foreign trade was of great importance in the economy of Novgorod. The most important trade routes of that time from Northern Europe to the Black Sea basin and from Western countries to Eastern Europe passed through Novgorod. This has long contributed to the development of crafts and trade in it.
Entrepreneurial Novgorod merchants already in the 10th century. sailed in their fragile boats on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks", reaching the shores of Byzantium. A wide exchange existed between Novgorod and the European states. At first, Novgorod was connected with the island of Gotland, a major trading center in North-Western Europe. In Novgorod itself, there was a Gothic court - a trading colony, surrounded by a high wall, with barns and houses for living foreign merchants. In the second half of the XII century. close trade ties were established between Novgorod and the union of North German cities (Hanse). A new German trading yard was built in Novgorod, and a new trading colony grew up. On the territory of these trading colonies, foreign merchants were inviolable. A special charter "Skra" regulated the life of the trading colony.
Cloth, metals, weapons and other goods were sent to Novgorod from abroad. From Novgorod to different countries they carried linen, hemp, flax, lard, wax, etc. The role of Novgorod as an intermediary in the exchange between the West and the East was significant. Eastern goods for Europe went along the Volga to Novgorod, and then to Western countries. Only the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the rule of the Golden Horde undermined this intermediary significance of Novgorod.
An equally important role for Novgorod was played by trade within the Novgorod Republic itself and with North-Eastern Russia, from where it received the bread it needed. The need for bread always made Novgorod cherish its relations with the Vladimir-Suzdal princes.
Numerous and strong Novgorod merchants had their own organizations similar to Western European merchant guilds. The most powerful of them was the so-called "Ivanovo Sto" which had great privileges. It elected five elders from its midst, who, together with the thousandth, were in charge of all commercial affairs and the merchant court in Novgorod, established weights, measures of length and observed the correctness of the trade itself.
The structure of the Novgorodian economy determined its social and political system. The ruling class in Novgorod were secular and spiritual feudal lords, landowners and wealthy Novgorod merchants. In the hands of the Novgorod boyars and the church were extensive land holdings. One of the foreign travelers - Lalua - testifies that in Novgorod there were such seigneurs who owned lands for hundreds of miles. An example is the boyar surname Boretsky, who owned vast territories along the White Sea and the Northern Dvina.
In addition to the boyars and the church, there were also large landowners in Novgorod who were engaged in various trades. These are the so-called "living people".
The owners of estates exploited the labor of feudal dependent people - "ladles", "guarantors", "old people". The main form of exploitation of the feudal-dependent population in the Novgorod land was the collection of dues.
Large feudal lords were masters of the situation not only in their estates, but also in the city. Together with the merchant elite, they formed an urban patriciate, in whose hands was the economic and political life of Novgorod.
The features of the socio-economic development of Novgorod led to the establishment in it of a special political system, different from other Russian lands. Initially, the governor-princes sent by the great Kievan princes sat in Novgorod. They appointed posadniks and thousands. But the strong Novgorod boyars and wealthy townspeople were more and more reluctant to submit to the henchmen of the Kyiv prince. In 1136, the Novgorodians rebelled against Prince Vsevolod and, says the chronicler, “setting Prince Vsevolod in the episcopal court with his wife and children, with his mother-in-law and guards Strezhakh day and night. 30 husband for a day with weapons. Then Vsevolod was sent to Pskov. Since that time, a new political order has been established in Novgorod.
Veche, the people's assembly, became the supreme body in Novgorod. The veche was usually convened by a posadnik or a thousand. It was convened on the trading side of the Yaroslavl courtyard by the ringing of the veche bell. Biryuchi and Podvoi people were sent to the ends to call the people to the veche meeting. All free people, men, could participate in the veche. Veche had great powers. It elected the posadnik, the tysyatsky, who had previously been appointed prince, the bishop of Novgorod, declared war, made peace, discussed and approved legislative acts, tried the posadniks, tysyatsky, sotsky, for the crimes, concluded agreements with foreign powers. The veche, finally, invited the prince, and sometimes expelled him (“showed him the way”), replacing him with a new one.
Executive power in Novgorod was concentrated in the hands of the posadnik and the thousand. The posadnik was elected for an indefinite period, he controlled the prince, monitored the activities of the Novgorod authorities, in his hands was the supreme court of the republic, the right to dismiss and appoint officials. In case of military danger, the posadnik went on a campaign as an assistant to the prince. By order of the posadnik, the veche, which he headed, gathered by ringing the bell. The posadnik received foreign ambassadors and, in the absence of the prince, commanded the Novgorod army. Tysyatsky was the first assistant to the posadnik, commanded separate detachments during the war, and in peacetime he was in charge of commercial affairs, a merchant court.
In favor of the posadnik and the thousandth there was the so-called poralie, i.e. known income from the plow; this income served the posadnik and the thousandth as a certain salary.
The Novgorod bishop had a great influence on the political life of Novgorod, and since 1165 - the archbishop. In his hands was the church court, he was in charge of relations between Novgorod and foreign states, and most importantly, he was the largest of the Novgorod feudal lords.
With the expulsion of Prince Vsevolod from Novgorod in 1136, the Novgorodians did not completely eliminate the prince, but the significance and role of the prince in Novgorod changed dramatically. The Novgorodians now elected (invited) this or that prince for themselves at a veche, concluding a “row” agreement with him, which severely limited the rights and scope of the prince’s activities. The prince could not declare war or make peace without an agreement with the veche. He did not have the right to acquire land in Novgorod possessions. He could collect tribute, but only in certain volosts assigned to him. In all his activities, the prince was controlled by the posadnik. In short, the Novgorod prince was a "fed" prince. He was only a military specialist who was supposed to be at the head of the Novgorod army during a military danger. Judicial and administrative functions were taken away from him and transferred to the initial people - townsmen and thousands.
The Novgorod princes, as a rule, were the Vladimir-Suzdal princes, the most powerful of the Russian princes. They persistently sought to subjugate Veliky Novgorod to their power, but the latter resolutely fought for its liberties.
The defeat of the Suzdal troops in 1216 on the Lipitsa River ended this struggle. Novgorod finally turned into a feudal boyar republic.
Formed in Novgorod and separated from it in the XIV century. The Pskov veche system lasted until they were annexed to Moscow.
It should be noted that the veche system in Novgorod was by no means a rule of the people. In fact, all power was in the hands of the Novgorod elite. Next to the veche, the Novgorod leaders created their own aristocratic body - the council of gentlemen. It included sedate (i.e. acting) posadnik and thousand, former posadniks and thousand, elders of the Novgorod ends. The archbishop of Novgorod was the chairman of the council of gentlemen. The council of gentlemen met in the chambers of the archbishop and preliminarily decided all the cases that were submitted to the veche meeting. Gradually, the council of masters began to replace the decisions of the veche with their decisions.
The people protested against the violence of the masters. Veche life of Novgorod knows more than one example of a clash between the feudal nobility and the general population.
The territory of the Novgorod principality increased gradually. The Novgorod principality began with the ancient region of the settlement of the Slavs. It was located in the basin of Lake Ilmen, as well as the rivers Volkhov, Lovat, Msta and Mologa. From the north, Novgorod land was covered by the fortress-city of Ladoga, located at the mouth of the Volkhov. Over time, the territory of the Novgorod principality increased. The principality even had its own colonies.
Novgorod principality in XII - XIII centuries in the north, it owned lands along Lake Onega, the basin of Lake Ladoga and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. The outpost of the Novgorod principality in the west was the city of Yuryev (Tartu), which was founded by Yaroslav the Wise. This was the Chudskaya land. The Novgorod principality expanded very quickly to the north and east (northeast). So, lands that stretched to the Urals and even beyond the Urals went to the Novgorod principality.
Novgorod itself occupied a territory that had five ends (districts). The entire territory of the Novgorod Principality was divided into five regions in accordance with the five districts of the city. These areas were also called pyatinas. So, to the north-west of Novgorod was the Vodskaya Pyatina. It spread towards the Gulf of Finland and covered the lands of the Finnish Vod tribe. The Shelon Pyatina spread to the southwest on both sides of the Shelon River. Between the rivers Msta and Lovat, southeast of Novgorod, there was Derevskaya Pyatina. On both sides of Lake Onega to the northeast to the White Sea, there was the Obonezh Pyatina. Beyond the Derevskaya and Obonezhskaya pyatinas, to the southeast, was the Bezhetskaya pyatina.
In addition to the indicated five pyatins, the Novgorod principality included Novgorod volosts. One of them was the Dvina land (Zavolochye), which was located in the area of the Northern Dvina. Another volost of the Novgorod principality was the Perm land, which was located along the Vychegda, as well as along its tributaries. The principality of Novgorod included land on both sides of the Pechora. It was the region of Pechora. Yugra was located to the east of the Northern Urals. Within the Onega and Ladoga lakes was the land of Korela, which was also part of the Novgorod principality. The Kola Peninsula (Tersky Coast) was also part of the Novgorod Principality.
The basis of the Novgorod economy was Agriculture. The land and the peasants working on it provided the main income for the landowners. These were the boyars and, of course, the Orthodox clergy. Among the large landowners were merchants.
On the lands of the Novgorod pyatins, the arable system prevailed. In the extreme northern regions, the undercut was preserved. Lands at these latitudes cannot be called fertile. Therefore, part of the bread was imported from other Russian lands, most often from the Ryazan principality and the Rostov-Suzdal land. The problem of providing bread was especially relevant in lean years, which were not uncommon here.
It was not only the earth that fed. The population was engaged in hunting for fur and sea animals, fishing, beekeeping, salt mining in Staraya Russa and Vychegda, iron ore mining in Vodskaya Pyatina. Trade and crafts were widely developed in Novgorod. Carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, shoemakers, tanners, felters, bridge workers and other artisans worked there. Novgorod carpenters were even sent to Kyiv, where they carried out very important orders.
Trade routes from Northern Europe to the Black Sea basin, as well as from Western countries to Eastern Europe passed through Novgorod. Novgorod merchants in the 10th century sailed on their ships along the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." At the same time, they reached the shores of Byzantium. The Novgorod state had very close trade and economic ties with the states of Europe. Among them was Gotland, a large trading center of North-Western Europe. In Novgorod there was a whole trading colony - the Gothic court. It was surrounded by a high wall, behind which there were barns and houses with foreign merchants living in them.
In the second half of the 12th century, trade relations between Novgorod and the union of North German cities (Hansa) were strengthened. All measures were taken to ensure that foreign merchants feel completely safe. Another merchant colony and a new German trading yard were built. The life of the trading colonies was regulated by a special charter ("Skra").
Novgorodians supplied linen, hemp, linen, lard, wax and the like to the market. Metals, cloth, weapons and other goods went to Novgorod from abroad. Goods went through Novgorod from the countries of the West to the countries of the East and in the opposite direction. Novgorod acted as an intermediary in such trade. Goods from the East were delivered to Novgorod along the Volga, from where they were sent to Western countries.
Trade within the vast Novgorod Republic developed successfully. Novgorodians also traded with the principalities of North-Eastern Russia, where Novgorod bought primarily bread. Novgorod merchants were united in societies (like guilds). The most powerful was the trading company "Ivanovskoye hundred". Members of society had great privileges. From among its midst, the trading society again chose the elders according to the number of districts of the city. Each starosta, together with the thousandth, was in charge of all commercial affairs, as well as the merchant court in Novgorod. The head of the trade established measures of weight, measures of length, etc., supervised the observance of accepted and legalized rules for conducting trade. The dominant class in the Novgorod Republic were large landowners - boyars, clergy, merchants. Some of them owned lands that stretched for hundreds of miles. For example, the boyar family Boretsky owned lands that stretched over vast territories along the Northern Dvina and the White Sea. Merchants who owned large areas of land were called "living people". Landowners received their main income in the form of dues. The landowner's own farm was not very large. Slaves worked on it.
In the city, large landowners shared power with the merchant elite. Together they made up the city patriciate and managed the economic and political life Novgorod.
The political system that developed in Novgorod was distinguished by its originality. Initially, Kyiv sent governor-princes to Novgorod, who were subordinate to the Grand Prince of Kyiv and acted in accordance with instructions from Kyiv. The prince-viceroy appointed posadniks and thousands. However, over time, the boyars and large landowners more and more evaded submission to the prince. So, in 1136, this resulted in a rebellion against Prince Vsevolod. The annals say that "the vadish of Prince Vsevolod in the episcopal court with his wife and children, with his mother-in-law and the guard guard day and night 30 a husband for a day with weapons." It ended with the fact that Prince Vsevolod was sent to Pskov. And in Novgorod, a people's assembly, the veche, was formed.
The posadnik or the tysyatsky announced the meeting of the people's assembly on the trading side in the Yaroslavl courtyard. Everyone was summoned by the ringing of the veche bell. In addition, birgochis and Podveiskys were sent to different parts of the city, who invited (clicked) the people to the veche meeting. Only men participated in the decision-making. Any free person (male) could take part in the work of the veche.
The powers of the veche were wide and weighty. Veche elected a posadnik, a thousand (previously they were appointed prince), bishop, declared war, made peace, discussed and approved legislative acts, tried the posadniks, thousand, sotskys for crimes, concluded agreements with foreign powers. Veche invited the prince to rule. It also "showed him the way" when he did not justify his hopes.
Veche was the legislative power in the Novgorod Republic. The decisions made at the meeting had to be implemented. This was the responsibility of the executive in power. The head of the executive power was the posadnik and the thousand. The posadnik was elected at the veche. The term of his office was not determined in advance. But the veche could withdraw it at any time. The posadnik was the highest official in the republic. He controlled the activities of the prince, ensured that the activities of the Novgorod authorities were consistent with the decisions of the veche. The supreme court of the republic was in the hands of the townsman. He had the right to remove and appoint officials. The prince headed the armed forces. The posadnik went on a campaign as an assistant to the prince. In fact, the posadnik headed not only the executive branch, but also the veche. He received foreign ambassadors. If the prince was absent, then the armed forces were subordinate to the posadnik. As for the thousandth, he was an assistant to the posadnik. He commanded separate detachments during the war. In peacetime, the tysyatsky was responsible for the state of trade affairs and the merchant court.
The clergy in Novgorod were headed by a bishop. Since 1165, the archbishop became the head of the Novgorod clergy. He was the largest of the Novgorod landowners. The ecclesiastical court was in charge of the archbishop. The archbishop was a kind of foreign minister - he was in charge of relations between Novgorod and other countries.
Thus, after 1136, when Prince Vsevolod was expelled, the Novgorodians elected a prince at a veche. Most often he was invited to reign. But this reign was severely limited. The prince did not even have the right to buy this or that piece of land with his own money. All his actions were observed by the posadnik and his people. The duties and rights of the invited prince were stipulated in the contract, which was concluded between the veche and the prince. This agreement was called "next". Under the treaty, the prince had no administrative power. In fact, he was supposed to act as commander-in-chief. At the same time, he personally could not declare war or make peace. The prince for his service was allocated funds for his "feeding". In practice, it looked like this - the prince was allocated an area (volost), where he collected tribute, which was used for these purposes. Most often, Novgorodians invited the Vladimir-Suzdal princes, who were considered the most powerful among the Russian princes, to reign. When the princes tried to break the established order, they received a fitting rebuff. The danger to the liberties of the Novgorod Republic from the Suzdal princes passed after in 1216 the Suzdal troops suffered a complete defeat from the Novgorod detachments on the Lipitsa River. We can assume that since that time Novgorod land has become a feudal boyar republic.
In the XIV century, Pskov spun off from Novgorod. But in both cities, the veche order lasted until they were annexed to the Moscow principality. One should not think that an idyll was realized in Novgorod, when the power belongs to the people. There can be no democracy (power of the people) in principle. Now there is not a single country in the world that could say that the power in it belongs to the people. Yes, the people take part in the elections. And that is where the power of the people ends. So it was then, in Novgorod. The real power was in the hands of the Novgorod elite. The cream of society created a council of gentlemen. It included former administrators (posadniks and thousand star osts of the Novgorod districts-ends), as well as current posadnik and thousand. The Novgorod archbishop headed the council of gentlemen. In his chambers, a council gathered when it was necessary to decide matters. At the meeting, ready-made decisions were made, which were developed by the council of gentlemen. Of course, there were cases when the veche did not agree with the decisions proposed by the Council of Masters. But there were not so many such cases.
During the period of state fragmentation of Russia, completely the city of Novgorod passed a special way. While the foundations of state power were being laid in the main territory of the former country at that time, tendencies towards democracy were spreading in Novgorod. A different political culture that developed there, as well as other value orientations of the inhabitants, was very different from the collective values and traditions of the central government of Muscovite Russia.
Novgorod, located in the northwest, was relatively protected from the attacks of the Tatar-Mongols in the thirteenth - fourteenth centuries. It is this, according to researchers, that allowed the city to form a special version of the development of Russian civilization.
Territory of the Novgorod Principality
Novgorod land in its scale (13-15 centuries) was a huge state that could compete in territory with any European kingdoms. In addition to Novgorod itself, the Novgorod principality included the Pskov lands, Ladoga, Yuryev, Torzhok and many other territories. Through Novgorod, access was provided along the Neva to the Baltic Sea and along the Northern Dvina to the White. In the south, the lands extended to Torzhok, Velikiye Luki and Volokolamsk. In the northeast, the Novgorod principality included the Urals. In these territories, cities such as Vyatka, Vologda, Pskov, and others arose. Novgorod differed from other principalities (central and southern) in that it was turned to face Europe, protecting Russian borders from the aggression of Swedish and German feudal lords.
In the thirteenth century, the city of Novgorod already had its own rich legal and political culture. At the beginning of the ninth century, Yaroslav the Wise, refusing to pay tribute to Kyiv, laid the foundation for the independence and isolation of Novgorod.
In 1136 Novgorod experienced a popular uprising., the purpose of which was the removal of the prince with the restriction of his rights, as well as the consolidation of power for the posadnik, who was to be elected at the veche. In addition, the people of Novgorod demanded the right to remove and appoint princes at their own will. By a special agreement, the prince was forbidden to give out volosts, judge the people of Novgorod, trade with European countries (in addition to the Novgorodians themselves), distribute immunities (special privileges), and even hunt outside a certain urban area. The income of the princes was also limited. And finally, as happened before in Europe, the entire princely court was evicted from the city to the “Rurik's settlement”. This was done in order to limit the possibility of seizing city power by military means. The independence of the Novgorod principality came to an end in 1478, when it finally became part of the Muscovite state.
