Novgorod land in the Middle Ages was considered the largest center of trade. From here it was possible to get to the Western European countries and to the Baltic Sea. Relatively close were Volga Bulgaria, the Principality of Vladimir. A waterway ran along the Volga to eastern Muslim countries. In addition, there was a road "from the Varangians to the Greeks." To the marinas on the river. The Volkhov moored ships that arrived from various cities and countries. Merchants from Sweden, Germany and other countries came here. In Novgorod itself, Gothic and German trading yards were located. Abroad, local residents brought leather, honey, flax, furs, wax, walrus fangs. From other countries, tin, copper, wine, jewelry, cloth, weapons, sweets and dried fruits were brought here.
Organization of the territory
Until the 12th century, Novgorod land was part of Kievan Rus. The administrative education used its own money, laws were in force that the population obeyed, without taking into account the rules established in other areas of the country, their army was present. The Grand Dukes of Kiev planted their most beloved sons in Novgorod. Along with this, their power was greatly limited. Veche in the Novgorod feudal republic was considered the highest governing body. It was a meeting of the entire male population. It was convened by the ringing of a bell.
Novgorod Republic: veche
The meeting addressed the most important issues of public life. They touched on completely different areas. A sufficiently wide political scope, which the Novgorod Chamber possessed, could contribute to the formation of its more organized forms. However, according to the annals, the meeting was more arbitrary and noisy than elsewhere. There were many gaps in his organization. Sometimes the meeting was convened by Rurik, Prince of Novgorod. However, most often this was done by one of the dignitaries of the city. During the party struggle, the assembly was convened by private individuals. The Novgorod veche was not considered permanent. It was convened and carried out only if necessary.
Composition
The Novgorod veche was usually convened in the Yaroslavl yard. The election of the lord of the city took place on the square near St. Sophia Cathedral. By its composition, the Novgorod Chamber cannot be called a representative body, since no deputies participated in it. Everyone who considered himself a citizen could come to the square and call a meeting. As a rule, people representing one senior city participated in it. However, sometimes there were also residents of the younger settlements - Pskov and Ladoga. As a rule, suburban deputies were sent to resolve issues in a given territory. Participated and random visitors from among the townspeople. So, for example, in 1384, people of Korela and Orekhov arrived in Novgorod. They complained about the feedman Patricius (Prince of Lithuania). Two meetings were convened on this issue. One was for the prince, the other - for the fence. In this case, it was an appeal of offended people to the sovereign capital.
The activities of the Novgorod veche
The assembly was in charge of all legislation, issues of domestic and foreign policy. At the Novgorod veche, a trial was held on various crimes. At the same time, serious punishments were imposed on the attackers. For example, the perpetrators were sentenced to death or property was seized from them, and they themselves were expelled from the settlement. The citywide chamber decreed laws, invited and banished the ruler. At a meeting dignitaries were selected and judged. People solved issues of war and peace.
Features of participation
As for the right to be a member of the assembly and the order of its convocation, the sources do not have any specific data. Active participants could be all men: both poor and rich, and boyars, and black people. At that time, qualifications were not established. However, it is not entirely clear whether only residents of Novgorod had the right to participate in solving pressing management issues, or whether this also applied to the people around. From the popular classes that are mentioned in the letters, it becomes clear that merchants, boyars, peasants, artisans and others were members of the meeting. In the veche necessarily posadniki participated. This is because they were dignitaries and their presence was taken for granted. The members of the meeting were the landowner boyars. They were not considered representatives of the city. Boyarin could live on his estate somewhere on the Dvina and from there come to Novgorod. Similarly, merchants formed their class not by place of residence, but by occupation. At the same time, they could be located geographically in the surrounding settlements, but they were also called Novgorodians. Living people took part in meetings as representatives of the ends. As for the black people, they were also necessarily members of the veche. However, there is no indication of exactly how they took part in it.
Diplomas
In the old days they were written with the name of the prince acting at a particular moment. However, the situation changed after the recognition of the supreme primacy of the great ruler. Since that time, the prince’s name was not put in letters. They were written on behalf of black and living people, dignitaries, a thousand, boyars and all inhabitants. The seals were lead and were attached to the letters with snitches.
Private collections
They were held independently of the Great Novgorod Chamber. Moreover, each end had to convene its meetings. They had their own letters, seals. In case of misunderstanding, the ends negotiated with each other. The veche also took place in Pskov. The bell, calling for a meeting, hung on a tower near St. Trinity.
Power sharing
In legislative activity, besides the people, the prince also participated. However, in this case, it is difficult for the authorities to draw a clear distinction between actual and legitimate relations. According to existing treaties, the prince could not go to war without the consent of the assembly. Although the protection of external borders belonged to its jurisdiction. Without a posadnik, he was not allowed to distribute profitable posts, feeds and volosts. In practice, this was carried out by the assembly without the consent of the ruler. It was also not allowed to take away "without fault" positions. The prince was supposed to declare guilty faces at the meeting. It, in turn, held a disciplinary court. In some cases, the veche and the ruler changed roles. For example, a meeting could bring to the court an objectionable regional feedman. The prince had no right to give letters without the consent of dignitaries.
Disagreement between people
The Novgorod Chamber itself could not have presupposed either a proper discussion of any problem or a corresponding vote. The solution of this or that issue was carried out "by ear", by the strength of the screams. Veche was often divided into parties. In this case, the issue was resolved with violence, through a fight. The side that won was considered the majority. The congregations acted as a kind of divine court, just as dropping convicts from a bridge by a sentence was a surviving form of a water test. In some cases, the whole city was divided between the opposing parties. Then two meetings took place simultaneously. One was convened on the Trade side (the usual place), and the other on Sofia Square. But such meetings were rather internecine rebellious gatherings, rather than normal evenings. It happened more than once that two meetings moved towards each other. Gathering on the Volkhov bridge, people began a real battle. Sometimes the clergy managed to separate the people, and sometimes not. The significance of the large bridge as a witness to urban confrontations was subsequently expressed in poetic form. In some ancient chronicles and in a note by a foreigner, Baron Herberstein, who visited at the beginning of the 16th century. In Russia, there is a legend about such clashes. In particular, according to the story of a foreign guest, when under Vladimir the Novgorodians threw the idol of Perun into the Volkhov, the angry god, reaching the shore, threw a stick at him, saying: "Here is the memory of you, Novgorodians." From that moment, people in class converge on the bridge and begin to fight.
Marfa Posadnitsa
This woman has a scandalous glory in history. She was the wife of Isaac Boretsky, a Novgorod posadnik. Information about the initial stage of her life is quite small. Sources indicate that Martha came from the Loshinsky boyar family and was married twice. Isaac Boretsky was the second husband, and the first died. Martha's formally could not be a rival. She received this nickname from Muscovites. So they scoffed at the original system of the Novgorod Republic.
Activity Boretskaya
Marfa Posadnitsa was the widow of a large landowner, whose allotments passed to her. In addition, she herself had vast territories along the shores of the Freezing Sea and the river. Dvins. For the first time in political life, she began to participate in the year 1470. Then, at the Novgorod veche, the elections of the new archbishop were held. A year later, she and her son advocated independence from Moscow. Martha acted as an informal leader of the boyar opposition. She was supported by two more notable widows: Euphemia and Anastasia. Martha had significant cash savings. She conducted secret negotiations with Casimir IV, king of Poland. Its goal was the entry of Novgorod into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on autonomous rights with the preservation of political independence.
The power of Ivan III
The Grand Duke of Moscow learned about negotiations with Casimir. In 1471, the Battle of Shelons took place. In it, the army of Ivan III defeats the army of Novgorod. The son of Boretskaya Dmitry was executed. Despite the victory in the battle, Ivan retained the right to self-government in Novgorod. Boretskaya, in turn, after the death of her son, continued negotiations with Casimir. As a result, a conflict broke out between Lithuania and Moscow. In 1478, Ivan III undertook a new campaign against Novgorod. The latter is deprived of the right to arbitrariness. The destruction of the Novgorod veche was accompanied by the removal of the bell, the confiscation of the lands of Boretskaya, the sentencing of representatives of influential classes.
Conclusion
The Novgorod veche had a special political significance in the life of the population. It was a key governing body, which was responsible for all the vital issues of life. The assembly adjudicated and promulgated laws, invited the rulers, drove them out. It is noteworthy that all the men participated in the veche, regardless of belonging to a particular class. It is believed that meetings were one of the first manifestations of democracy, despite all the specifics of decision-making. Veche was an expression of the will of the people not only of Novgorod itself, but also of the surrounding area. His power was superior to the ruler. Moreover, the latter in certain matters depended on the decision of the meeting. This form of self-government distinguished Novgorod land from other regions of Russia. However, with the spread of the autocratic power of Ivan III, it was abolished. Novgorod land itself became subordinate to Moscow.