Introduction

Abstract

Novgorod, among the oldest cities in Russia, enjoyed a unique position in the medieval period. During the twelfth century Novgorod became autonomous of the grand princes of Russia. Lacking a dynasty of local princes, the city developed a republican form of government reminiscent of the Italian city-states of the same period. Novgorod's wealth, like that of its Italian counterparts, was derived from international trade, primarily with the Hanseatic cities of the Baltic. Although subordinate to the Mongols from the mid-thirteenth century, Novgorod escaped pillage through timely capitulation and payment of tribute, and its trade prospered under Mongol suzerainty. The primary product for commerce was fur, collected from the scattered settlements and tributary native tribes to the north and east of the city. Novgorodian expansion into this region and down the Volga brought the city into conflict with the growing northeastern Russian principalities of Tver' and Moscow. The vital commercial nexus at Torshok also became a point of violent contention among rival cities. Novgorod maintained its autonomy, but only by precariously balancing the competing forces threatening its interests: first Tver'and Moscow, then Moscow and Lithuania. In 1471, Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow inflicted a serious defeat upon the Novgorodian militia, forcing the city to surrender. Although much of the aristocracy was exiled and replaced by Muscovite servitors, Novgorod continued to prosper as a major commercial center into the seventeenth century.