Novgorod Republic

On a significant territory of Russia, the period of feudal disintegration coincided with the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. In this regard, in this period there was no independent state power as such. An exception was the Novgorod feudal republic. It was here, as nowhere else in the country, the importance of the veche was manifested as a powerful legislative body. In the 11-13 centuries. The veche possessed the greatest number of features that made it remotely 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 various historical stages, the power of the posadnik, the prince and the veche organs had its own peculiarities. Only by the 15th century the statehood became final. At the same time, however, there was a crisis in democratic institutions.

The craft and trade republic, as a type of organization of power in the state, is considered an unstable and short-lived structure. In this regard, this type of formation of legislative bodies, in the opinion of historians, despite a rather high democratic level, is a dead end. This does not allow us to consider this form of state power as a pattern for the whole country.

The Novgorod Republic was formed under the influence of several factors. Historians identify two main causes, which are due to the specific arrangement of political and social forces.

First, Ancient Novgorod was not the hereditary possession of the Rurik. Princes engaged in combating the invasions of 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 possibility of frequently changing the ruler. By the end of the 11th century, the political elite of Novgorod began an active struggle for "pleasing princes." In some cases, even a "dual power" was established in some way. In connection with the frequent change of princes, the princely landownership, the system of vassalage, slowly developed. In 1126 the Novgorodians had the right to choose independent citizens from city citizens. After the unrest in 1136, the princes began to elect. Thus, the administration, subordinated to the princes earlier, was transformed into an elected body.

Secondly, Novgorod was distinguished by strong trading and entrepreneurial layers. The economy of the city contributed to the formation 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 were distinguished. This class has concentrated political and economic potential in its hands, thus pushing away the princes. As a result, the Novgorod boyar republic was distinguished by the presence of powerful oligarchic bodies.

The geographical position of the region played an important role in the social and political development of the system of state government. The Novgorod Republic was located in a relatively unfavorable natural zone with severe climatic conditions. This greatly hampered the development of plowed agriculture (traditional in Russia). The production of bread was also poorly developed. Most of the agricultural products (including bread) Novgorod had to buy in neighboring areas, exchanging them for crafts and goods imported from the West. Thus, the geographical situation contributed to the development of trade and handicraft relations in the region. This, in turn, led to greater (rather than the state of Kyiv) economic independence, the social importance of merchants and artisans, the development of infrastructure in the cities.

Capital was the main economic factor, not land. Thus, a special social structure of society was formed and an unusual (for medieval Russia) form of government in the state.

The Novgorod Republic developed trade with Western cities and with other Russian principalities.