The prerequisites for the peculiar development of the northwestern territories of ancient Russia were formed in the process of the formation of statehood among the Slavic tribes of Priilmenye.
In the Dnieper lands, power was concentrated in the hands of representatives of the military aristocracy. In Priilmenye there were no necessary conditions for its elevation. The priority position in these territories was occupied by the tribal nobility.
The beginning of the formation of the Novgorod-Pskov Republic
After the emergence of the Old Russian state, the center of which was Kiev, land management, including the Novgorod territories, was carried out by the Kiev prince. However, by the XII century. the situation began to change.
Novgorod is considered one of the oldest centers of the Russian state. The Principality occupied vast lands. However, they were poorly suited for agriculture. Over time, Novgorod land began to turn into a center of trade with Western European states. Enormous wealth was concentrated in the hands of the local nobility, which strengthened it in the struggle for independence from Kiev.
It is worth saying that Novgorod for a long time tried to get rid of the influence of the Kiev princes. According to sources, Yaroslav the Wise has already attempted to stop paying tribute to Kiev. In the XII century. the Novgorod Republic is emerging. And in the XIV century. independence was received by the Pskov feudal republic . Prior to this, its lands were part of the Novgorod principality. Pskov itself was a suburb of Novgorod and was dependent on the latter. The independence of the Pskov Republic was recognized by the prince in exchange for assistance in the war with the Swedes.
The Novgorod Republic lasted for more than 300 years. Internal contradictions and the aggravation of class opposition led to weakening. In 1478, the Novgorod Republic officially ceased to exist, and its territory was included in the Moscow state. In 1510, Pskov was also annexed.
Pskov feudal republic
Despite the fact that the territory was isolated from the Novgorod Republic, it did not become an exact copy of it. The specifics of the location, geographical conditions significantly influenced the political and social system of the Pskov Republic .
The strengthening of princely power was due to the proximity of rather aggressive neighbors. The absence of boyar tenure was due to the scarcity of land.
The social system in the Novgorod and Pskov republics had some common features. So, in the principalities there were spiritual and secular feudal lords. The first included monasteries and their abbots, bishop and archbishop.
A characteristic feature of the social system in the Novgorod and Pskov feudal republics was that the church did its best to become the patroness of trade. Vast territories made it possible to obtain significant revenues that were used in trade. The church was the keeper of scales and standards, fastened the contract. Broad powers made her an influential force.
Secular feudal lords included living (prosperous) people, boyars. In the Pskov Republic, as, in fact, in Novgorod, the princely domain was absent; owned by the urban community.
Boyars
They were the descendants of the tribal nobility. Boyars in the Pskov Republic were considered the most influential group of feudal lords. Their power was based on wealth. At first they used the income received from public Novgorod lands. Novgorod acted as a collective feudal lord. But by the fourteenth century. began the formation of individual land ownership of the boyars. This was due, inter alia, to the desire of Novgorod boyars to protect their economic interests. They actively participated in trade, engaged in usury.
Novgorod boyars very zealously defended their rights to elective posts (Konchansky headman, posadnik). Living people, in some cases having greater wealth, could not count on higher posts.
Due to the fact that large land ownership in the Pskov Republic was not widespread, the economic superiority of the boyars was not as strong as, for example, in Novgorod. Accordingly, the importance of the prince and the role of the veche in Pskov were stronger.
Living people
There are references to them in the judicial certificate of Novgorod. Living people also owned the lands on which the peasants lived. However, at the same time, they, like the boyars, remained townspeople. Actively living people participated in trade. The key sign of their status was, however, land ownership.
After the fall of the Novgorod Republic, people were registered as servants with a local salary, rather than urban settlements, like merchants. Despite the fact that they were feudal lords, their rights, in comparison with the boyars, were significantly limited. As mentioned above, people could not be elected to the highest state posts. Until the XIV century. Thousands were chosen from among them, but later the boyars usurped this position.
Merchants
Merchants united in societies, corporations. Their centers were usually churches. Corporations had their own charters. One of them was included in the Manuscript of Prince Vsevolod in the 13th century. It spoke of a corporation formed around the Church of St. John the Baptist in Novgorod. Quite prosperous merchants united in it. The contribution was 5 hryvnias of silver (approximately 10 kg of silver). The charter determined the procedure for managing the organization.
Since the merchants united around the church, the elders were elected, and three at once: one was from the living and "black", two from merchants.
In the Novgorod and Pskov feudal republics, it is difficult to separate the feudal lords and the townspeople, merchants, and fiefs. However, the merchants on these lands had considerable weight. Basically, it was engaged in domestic and foreign trade. But, like any other city dweller, the merchant could own land.
Ladle
They called people who worked from half the crop. Quite a lot of attention is paid to the ladies of the Charter of the Pskov Republic .
Ladles were divided into isorants and nomads. The former included gardeners and plowmen, and the latter, fishermen. Their place of residence united - they did not live on their lands, but "in the village of the sovereign."
In the laws in force at that time, the procedure for the departure of the plow from the master was determined. It was possible to leave in late autumn, once a year, if all debts were paid. The sovereign was not entitled to expel the isornik at another time.
Slaves
As historical sources indicate, they were in Pskov and Novgorod. According to historical documents, runaway slaves needed to be returned to the owners.
The judicial certificate of Novgorod speaks of the responsibility of the lord for the commission of a crime by his slave. In such cases, the master had to pay a fine. A pecuniary sanction was imposed even if the crime took place before entering the servitude.
Political system
After recognition of independence from princely rule, the territories began to be called Mr. Veliky Novgorod and Mr. Pskov.
The political system of the Pskov Republic was significantly different from the management system established in other territories of Russia.
The main authority was considered veche. It was a collection of representatives of urban communities. Peasants could not participate in the veche. Representatives of other cities were deprived of a decisive vote, although they often attended meetings in Pskov and Novgorod.
The description of the composition of the veche and the list of resolved issues are presented in different sources in different ways. According to the traditional point of view, only men could participate in meetings. They converged at the veche at the sound of the bell.
In Novgorod, the meeting was organized on Sophia Square or the Yaroslavl Courtyard, in Pskov - on the square near the Trinity Cathedral.
Justice
The veche actively participated in resolving disputes. However, over time, its impact on the justice system has decreased significantly.
According to the annals, the veche participated in cases of especially dangerous crimes. Sometimes an inquiry was conducted.
Princes neither in Pskov, nor in Novgorod had the right to adjudicate alone. This was specifically stipulated in agreements with them. The princes were tried along with the posadniks, representatives of living people and boyars.
Legal system
It can be judged mainly by court certificates, agreements with other states. It is worth saying that a number of the most important documents have not been fully preserved to this day. For example, only an excerpt of 42 articles was left of the Novgorod letter. In the Pskov letter, which has been fully preserved, many inaccuracies are revealed. The issue of dating these historical monuments remains controversial. Traditionally, they are attributed to the XV century.
In Pskov and Novgorod, other regulations were also used. First of all, in the republics acted the Russian truth, the helmsman book, the righteous measure. Russian truth is a collection of criminal and procedural laws. The Pskov letter contained mainly civil law, which was due to the formation of mainly commodity-money relations.
In Western Europe, Roman law was actively used. In Russia, on the contrary, it was unknown. Therefore, they developed their own specific legal institutions based on the vital needs of the population.
In civil law, the norms of property law were enshrined. Key provisions related to ownership. Among the ways of its acquisition in the Pskov letter indicated the prescription of ownership. It could be applied to fishing areas of water bodies and arable land. However, at the same time, certain conditions are fixed in the law, without which observance of the right of ownership by prescription cannot be obtained.
The key way to acquire legal property was through inheritance and contracts.
Due to the fact that the commodity-money circulation was developing very actively, a lot of attention in the laws was paid to the law of obligations.