On a large territory of Russia, the period of feudal fragmentation coincided with the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. In this regard, in this period there was no independent state power as such. The exception was the Novgorod feudal republic. It was here, as nowhere else in the country, that the importance of the veche as a powerful legislative body was manifested. In the 11-13 centuries. it was the veche that possessed the greatest number of features that made it vaguely similar to the legislative body in the parliamentary system of government.
The Novgorod Republic was formed over a long period. Before the establishment of the state system at different historical stages, the power of the posadnik, prince and veche organs had their own characteristics. Only by the 15th century did statehood become final. At the same time, however, there was a crisis in democratic institutions.
A trade and craft republic, as a type of organization of power in a state, is considered an unstable and short-lived structure. In this regard, this type of formation of legislative bodies, according to historians, despite a fairly high democratic level, is a dead end. This does not allow us to consider this form of state power as a regularity for the whole country.
The Novgorod Republic was formed under the influence of several factors. Historians distinguish two main reasons that are caused by the specific alignment of political and social forces.
Firstly, Ancient Novgorod was not the hereditary possession of the Rurikovich. Princes engaged in the struggle against the invasions of the nomads were interested in tribute from the city. In Novgorod, power was in the hands of either a posadnik or a prince. The situation of the city was weakened by the ability to often change the ruler. By the end of the 11th century, the political elite of Novgorod began an active struggle for "pleasing princes." In some cases, "dual power" was even established in some way. In connection with the frequent change of princes, princely land ownership, a system of vassalism, slowly developed. In 1126, the Novgorodians got the right to choose independent posadniks from city citizens. After the unrest in 1136 - they began to elect the princes. Thus, the administration previously subordinate to the princes turned into an elected body.
Secondly, Novgorod was distinguished by strong trading and entrepreneurial strata. The city economy contributed to the creation of favorable conditions for foreign and domestic trade. In this situation, quite powerful social strata of owners (from large to small) were formed. In particular, the boyars stood out. This class concentrated political and economic potential in its hands, thus pushing back the princes. As a result, the Novgorod boyar republic was distinguished by the presence of power oligarchic bodies.
Of no small importance in the socio-political formation of the system of government was the geographical position of the region. The Novgorod Republic was located in a relatively unfavorable natural zone with severe climatic conditions. This greatly impeded the development of arable farming (traditional in Russia). The production of bread was poorly developed. Most of the agricultural products (including bread) Novgorod had to be purchased in neighboring areas, exchanging them for handicrafts and goods imported from the West. Thus, the geographical position contributed to the development of trade and craft relations in the region. This, in turn, led to greater (than the Kiev state) economic independence, the social significance of merchants and artisans, and the development of infrastructure in cities.
The main economic factor was capital, not land. Thus, a special social structure of society and an unusual (for medieval Russia) form of government in the state were formed.
The Novgorod Republic developed trade with western cities and with other Russian principalities.