[ Adapted from _A History of Russia_ (Nicholas Rasianovsky) ]

Novgorod, after the fall of Kiev, rose as the capital of northern
Russia, as well as its greatest trading center. Previously often ruled
by the sons of the Grand Princes of Kiev (who not infrequently later
ascended the Kievan throne), by 1136 it had managed to refuse the
Prince appointed to it by Kiev, and by 1156, it managed to seize the
right to elect its own Archbishop. Thus, by the time of the Mongol
invasion, it was already firmly established as an independent
principality.

Prince Alexander Nevsky, considered the greatest of the Princes of
Novgorod, was faced with defeating a number of outside threats, 
including the Swedes, the Finns, and the Teutonic Knights. However,
he viewed resisting the Mongols as a hopeless endeavour, and thus,
instituted a policy of cooperation with the Khan, thus becoming a
favorite of the Khan and Grand Prince of Russia until his death
in 1263.

Novgorod itself is located on the river Volkhov, in a lake district.
The Volkhov flows from Lake Ilmen to Lake Ladoga, opening the way
to the Baltic Sea, and connecting well with the Volga and the trade
routes going east. Its location made the city virtually inaccessible
to the enemy, during much of the year. The walls were wooden, with
stone towers, and there were three defensive perimeters, roughly
two-and-a-half, seven, and twelve miles from the city; they had
monasteries as strong points, and they skillfully utilized the
difficult terrain. The Novgorodians were excellent hydraulic 
engineers, capable of diverting water against an advancing enemy.

The Volkhov divided the city into two halves: a commercial side,
where the main market was located, and the side of St. Sophia, where
the cathedral and the kremlin (citadel) stood. Despite the crowding
typical of medieval cities, there was fire protection, streets were
paved with wood, and there was a wooden water pipe system, based on
principles learned from the Byzantines.

Local initiative, organization, and autonomy distinguished Novgorod.
The rich families and their servants lived in large houses built
in solid blocks; the poorer inhabitants used whatever area they
could obtain. Several block houses in the city composed a street,
which had the status of a self-governing unit with its own elected
elder. Several streets formed a 'sotnia' (a hundred). The sotnia
combined into five quarters (or 'kontsy'). Each kontsy governed
itself thorugh its own veche (council) and officials, and possessed
separately a part of the 'piatina' lands, a large area outside the
city limits and subject to Novgorod. Because of the autonomy of
the kontsy, formal Novgorodian documents had to be confirmed with
as many as eight seels (one for each of the five kontsy, and three
for central authorities).

The chief central official was the Prince, who commanded the army 
and played a major role in justice and administration. There were,
however, severe and minute resetrictions on his power and activities.
The Prince promised to follow ancient Novgorodian custom in his
government, to appoint only Novgorodians as administrators of the
city's lands, not to dismiss officials without court action, and
not to hold court without the posadnik (an elected official) or
the posadnik's delegate, to represent the city. Furthermore, the
Prince had to establish his headquarters outside the city limits;
he and his druzhina (retainers) could not own land in Novgorod
or trade with the Germans; his renumeration as well as his rights to
hunt and to fish were all regulated in great detail.

The posadnik, and the tysiatskii, elected by the veche, shared
executive duties with the Prince, and if need be, protected the
interests of the city with the Prince. The posadnik served as the
Prince's main associate and assistant. The tysiatskii commanded
the town regiment of a thousand, and he settled commercial disputes.

The archbishop also played a leading role in political affairs,
presiding over the Council of Notables, advising secular authorities,
reconciling antagonistic factions, and sometimes heading Novgorodian
embassies abroad. It should also be noted that the Russian Church,
unlike the Roman Catholic Church, conducted its services not in Latin,
but in "Church Slavonic", a language spoken by the common people.

The Novgorian veche (the main city council, as opposed to the veche
for the various smaller units of the city) invited and dismissed the
Prince, elected the posadnik and the tysiatskii, and determined the
selection of the archbishop by electing three candidates for that
position. It decided the issues of war and peace, mobilized the army,
proclaimed laws, raised taxes, and acted in general as the supreme
authority in Novgorod.

The veche could be called together by the Prince, an official, the
people, or even a single person, through ringing the veche bell.
The veche, composed of all free householders, did settle many 
important matters, but it also frequently bogged down in violent
factional quarrels promoted by its practices of direct democracy
and unanimity of decision.

The Council of Notables was also prominent, both because the veche
could not conduct day-to-day business efficiently, and as a reflection
of the actual distribution of wealth and power in the principality.
Presided over by the archbishop, it included a considerable number
of influential boyars (aristocratic landholders), notably present
and past city officials, and the heads of the kontsy and sotnia.
The Council elaborated the legislative measures discussed or enacted
by the veche and often could control the course of Novgordian politics.

The justicial system was elaborate, carefully organized, and complex.
The Prince, the posadnik, the tysiatskii, and the archbishop, all
had their own courts. A system of dokladchiki (jurymen) functioned
in the high court prosided over by the posadnik; the ten jurymen
consisted of one boyar and one commoner from each of the five kontsy.
People were often asked to resort to mediators first; the contending
persons were asked to nominate two mediators, and only if the four
failed to reach an agreement did court action follow. Judicial combat
was also used to settle dubious cases. Punishments were usually mild,
in contrast to the common practice of torture in the rest of Russia.

Novgorod was a great trading state. It exporrted furs, wax, and honey
to foreign lands, and imported manufactured goods, wine, beer, and
herring. While merchants, particularly the prosperous ones engaged in
foreign trade, were an important element in Novgorod, landed wealth
was extremely significant, and there was significant tension between
these two groups of the upper class.

Novgorod remained sufficiently wealthy to continue Kievan cultural
traditions after the Mongol devastation. The literature emphasizes an
attachment to the city, and is realistic, pragmatic, and businesslike;
its heroes are businessmen, travelers, and adventurers. Novgorod retained
close contacts with the non-Russian world, and its commerce and prominent
middle class resulted in a lessening of the autocratic and aristocratic
influence which was prominent in the rest of Russia.