Novgorod is an ancient Russian city: history, sights, culture, architecture, photo. Who controlled ancient Novgorod?

Mister Veliky Novgorod - so respectfully called this northern city all the Eastern Slavs. The first Novgorodians chose a place for settlement very successfully - in a few decades a small settlement becomes a busy intersection of trade routes. What is remarkable about the history of ancient Novgorod, how this city was formed, and why, in the end, lost its significance? Let's try to understand.

A look into the past

What are the historians guided by studying the past of such an education as Novgorod? The ancient city did not appear in an empty place - and before that, nameless villages, various towns and small towns arose and disappeared on the moist channels of Ladoga. Historians take into account both architectural excavations and analysis of folklore works. All information collected on crumbs becomes the basis for the birth of historical hypotheses.

So there was Novgorod. The ancient city was mentioned in chronicles dating from the year 859. The emergence of the settlement is associated with the name of Prince Rurik, who came from the northern lands to rule the eastern territories. At first Rurik even made Novgorod his capital. But after taking Kiev, he left Novgorod for the title of a border point - a fortress guarding the borders of the northern lands.

origin of name

Ancient Novgorod was not always ancient. The very name of this settlement indicates that it was created with the already existing city. According to one hypothesis, Novgorod arose on the site of three small townships. Having united, they fenced their new settlement and became a New City - Novgorod.

Another hypothesis indicates the presence of another, more ancient settlement. Such a settlement was found on a hill not far from the place where Novgorod now stands. The ancient hill is called the Gorodische. Excavations have shown that on the hillside there were compact settlements (possibly the local nobility and pagan priests). But neither one nor the other hypothesis can provide answers to the numerous questions that have accumulated over the millennial history of the existence of this city.

The first centuries

At first, ancient Novgorod was a small wooden village. Because of frequent floods, residents built their houses at some distance from the lake, along the river bank. Later, there were "breakdown" streets, connecting various parts of the city. The first Kremlin in Novgorod was an unremarkable wooden structure. Such small fortresses in Russia were called detintsami because of their small size and apparent strength.

Detinets occupied the entire north-western part of the village. This sight of ancient Novgorod was limited. The opposite shore was occupied by the prince's mansion and the cottages of a rich Slovene village.

First trips

No matter how small the information obtained from the annals might seem to us, it is still possible to add down the history of Novgorod. For example, in the chronicles of the late 9th century it is said about Prince Oleg 's hike to Kiev. The result of this was the unification of two Slavic tribes - glades and ilmen Slavs. In the annals of the tenth century it is said that the Novgorodians were tributaries of the Varangians and paid them 300 hryvnia a year. Later, Novgorod began to obey Kiev, and Princess Olga herself established the size of the tribute from the Novgorod land. Chronicles tell us about the large amount of tribute that could be collected only from a rich and prosperous village.

Expansion of Novgorod lands

It is impossible to tell about ancient Novgorod without mentioning the peculiarities of its foreign and domestic policy. Novgorod lands were constantly growing with new territories - in the period of greatest prosperity the influence of this city stretched from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to Torzhok. Part of the land was captured as a result of military operations. For example, a campaign against the Chud tribe, who lived in the north of modern Estonia, brought a rich tribute to the treasury of the city, and in the original Chudsk lands appeared Slavic Yuryev, founded by Yaroslav the Wise.

The certificate handed over to Prince. Svyatoslav Olegovich, listed several small pogosts located far to the north, but if they are mentioned in the census, then the tribute went to the prince from there. For several centuries, the territory of the Novgorod lands grew and peacefully - Russian farmers in search of fertile land contributed a lot to the peaceful colonization of non-Slavic tribes.

Territorial separation of land

Such a large territory needed administration, so it was divided into five districts (five hectares), governed by ancient Novgorod. The pentas were arranged like this:

• The Obonezhskaya Pyatina stretched to the shores of the White Sea.
• Vodskaya Pyatina - occupied part of modern Karelia.
• Shelonsky Pyatina is an area to the south and south-west of Novgorod.
• Derevskaya Pyatina - stretched to the southeast.
• Bezhetskaya Pyatina - the only one, whose borders did not touch the city limits, this pyatina was located between the territories of the Derevskaya and Obonezhskaya Pyatiny.

The population of the heptas was mainly engaged in the processing of land, hunting, fishing. Managed the five-member representatives sent from Novgorod by officials. More remote lands were visited annually by tribute collectors who reached even the places of residence of the Mansi and Khanty tribes - far to the northeast. The tribute was paid mainly by furs, which were then successfully sold to Europe. Thanks to fur-bearing taxes and active trade in a short time Novgorod became one of the richest cities of Kievan Rus.

Managing the city

Novgorod, the ancient city of Russian lands, had a unique form of government for the Middle Ages - the republic. Throughout the IX-XI centuries, the Novgorod lands did not differ from other possessions of Kievan Rus. But in the XII century the main form of government became a city council. Who ruled the ancient city? How did Novgorod become a republic?

You can search for the answer in the letters of the beginning of the XII century. In the lists of 1130, we find the standard orders of Prince Mstislav to his son Vsevolod. All right - in the princely lands so it should be. But in the charter of 1180 Prince Izyaslav requests from Novgorod to take the land to the nearest monastery. Apparently, at the end of the 12th century the princes were not at all full bishops, and they had to seek permission from the city authorities.

The turning point was the Novgorod uprising of 1136. During this period, the rebels arrested Prince Mstislav along with his family and were held captive for six weeks, after which they were allowed to leave ancient Novgorod. Briefly about this period we can say this: the Slavic assembly was revived and turned into a powerful legislative body. The first elected posts appeared - the posadniki, who conducted an independent policy. This form of government has successfully survived in the Novgorod lands for more than three hundred years. Only after the bloody annexation of the Novgorod lands to the Muscovite principality of the Novgorod freemen came to an end.

The posadniki ruled the city?

There is an opinion that ancient Novgorod was ruled by posadniks. Yes or no? There is no definite answer to this question. Formally, the posadniki ruled the work of the veche, convened and dissolved the city council. In their hands were the keys to the arsenal and the city treasury. They regulated the work of the veche and approved the decisions made there.

So ancient Novgorod was ruled by posadniks? Yes or no? We approach the problem from the other side. The form of decision-making in those days differed from that adopted in the modern world. Decisions on the Veche were taken not by a simple majority in a voice, but in favor of those who shouted loudest. The cunning posadniki hired such hooters in their districts and promoted them to the veche in order to adopt the necessary statutes. It can be said that formally Novgorod was headed by all residents. But in fact, power was in the hands of elected posadniks.

Princes in Novgorod

The princes in Novgorod did not have any rights. Only in time of war, by decree, the Veche could invite them to command the defense of the city. Hired princes were forbidden to own their lands and take part in the management of the city. They with their families and households settled in Gorodische - there they were equipped with special mansions.

But the princes were the only ones who ruled ancient Novgorod during the war. The special council considered the candidatures of the neighboring princes and decided which of them to call for help. The chosen settled in Gorodishche, gave all powers in their hands, collected the city militia under his leadership. And after the liquidation of the military threat, he was simply expelled, as they say in the ancient annals, pointing the way to him. At the same time, from all the princes Novgorodians sought firm observance of the clauses of the treaty:

• Do not interfere in the inner life of the Novgorod lands;
• To be content with collecting tribute;
• To conduct military operations.

Those princes, who did not observe the conditions, were simply expelled from the Novgorod possessions. The exception, perhaps, was only the reign of Alexander Nevsky. A firm hand and a tough policy combined with an impending danger temporarily reconciled the Novgorodians with princely orders. He was the only one who ruled ancient Novgorod as a prince and ruler. But, after Nevsky took the Grand Duke's throne, the Novgorodians did not ask for any relatives of the prince, nor his governors.

Novgorod military

Many centuries of independence of Novgorod obliged him to conduct a completely independent foreign policy. At first, the main goal of military expansion was to expand the borders of the Novgorod Republic, later it was about preserving existing borders and protecting the sovereignty of the state. To fulfill these tasks Novgorod had to accept foreign delegations, join political unions and break them, hire troops and armies and mobilize among the local population.

The backbone of the Novgorod army was the militia. It included peasants, artisans, boyars and civilians. Slaves and representatives of the clergy did not have the right to be in the militia. Elite troops were the retinue of the invited prince, and the military commander himself was the prince, chosen by the decision of the veche.

The main protective armor of the Novgorodians was a shield, chain armor and a sword. Many of the samples of this armament were discovered during later excavations, and the best examples are now kept in museums and in the photo of ancient Novgorod.

For the head used a variety of metal helmets. Swords and rogatins were used for the attack, kisteni and maces were used in hand-to-hand combat. For long-range combat, bows and crossbows were actively used. Crossbows yielded to the rate of fire, but the heavy points of such arrows could penetrate any, even the most solid armor of the enemy.

The culture of ancient Novgorod, the tradition of choice

The concept of Orthodox Christianity became the foundation for the moral, moral and ideological life of Novgorod society. The temples of ancient Novgorod collected a lot of people and were ruled by bishops. The post of bishop, like the post of posadnik, was elective in Novgorod. The process of electing a spiritual pastor was also conducted by the veche.

It is interesting that even in such distant times there was a procedure for choosing secular and spiritual rulers. At the place of the veche meetings, the names of the three candidates were announced, they were put on parchment and sealed by the posadnik. Then the Novgorodians went out under the walls of St. Sophia's temple, where the honor to draw lots was given to a blind man or a child. The chosen option was immediately announced, and the elected bishop received congratulations.

In the 11th century, the procedure changed somewhat. It began to be considered that not the one who leaves is the winner, but the one who remains and becomes the ruler. The Protopop of St. Sophia Cathedral took lots, read out the names, and the winner's name was announced at the very end. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the bishops and archbishops of the Novgorod churches became priors of nearby monasteries and representatives of the white clergy.

But there were cases when the elect did not even have a spiritual rank. Thus, in 1139, this high post was taken by the parish priest Aleksei, who was chosen for righteousness and piety. The authority of the archbishops was very great among the Novgorodians. More than once they prevented strife, made peace with the quarreled, blessed to the war. Without the blessing of the lord, neither economic nor military contracts of the rulers of Novgorod with visiting princes and representatives of foreign states were recognized.

Architecture of ancient Novgorod

The art of ancient Novgorod occupies a separate place in the history of Russian culture. In the second half of the 12th century Novgorod architects built buildings according to their own pattern, decorate the walls of religious buildings with their own, original frescoes. Initially, the bishops and archbishops, who were fortunate enough to occupy high posts in the church hierarchy, did not spare money for the temples and cathedrals of ancient Novgorod. The power of the church was generously supported by revenues from extensive land, private donations, a system of duties and fines.

Unfortunately, few masterpieces of wooden architecture survived to the present day. The early temples of Novgorod in many respects copy the famous Kiev Christian shrines, but already at the dawn of the new millennium specific features of Novgorod appear in the outlines of the cathedrals. For example, St. Sophia Cathedral of ancient Novgorod was copied from a similar church in Kiev's capital.

Its walls are crowned with heavy, leaden domes, and only the tallest, the fifth, shines with gilding. Originally the Novgorod church of St. Sophia was made of wood, like all architectural structures of that time. But the original building, after standing for about fifty years, burnt down to a great extent in a big fire.

Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, conceived the idea of erecting a new, stone cathedral, similar to the famous Kiev temple. For this the prince had to call masons and architects from Kiev - in Novgorod there were no builders who can work with a stone. The cathedral was very popular among Novgorodians and inhabitants of the heights - during the great feasts of its walls it was not visible because of the large crowd of people. The city treasury was kept in the temple, and the walls of this building concealed a lot of hiding places with treasures. Perhaps some of them have not been discovered to this day.

In the second half of the 12th century, the customers of temples and structures are no longer the church, but the rich clerks and boyars. Other famous examples of Novgorod architecture - the temple of Peter and Paul in Kozhevniki, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilin, the church of Feodor Stratilat on the Stream - are built on boyar donations. The boyars did not stint on the interior decoration of the church - all divine services were conducted using gold and silver vessels. The walls of the temples were decorated with bright murals of local artists, and Novgorod icons, written at that time, do not cease to amaze even today.

Modern sights of Novgorod

Tourists of our time will be able to find in Novgorod today a lot of historical monuments of this city. In the list of mandatory attractions - the famous Detinets, repeatedly burnt to the ground and reborn in the 13th century, only in stone form. Church of Paraskeva Friday and the Church of the Assumption in Volotovo Field attract visitors with their amazing frescoes and icons, the brightness of their colors does not fade even today. For those wishing to immerse themselves in the era of ancient Novgorod, there is an excursion to the Troitsky archaeological site - it is there that you can walk the streets of the 10th century, see many evidence of this long time.

Results

Until the fifteenth century, Novgorod was quite self-sufficient sovereign existence, adopting and imposing its own policy to neighboring states. The influence of Novgorod spread far beyond the official boundaries of this principality. The wealth of its citizens and successful trade relations attracted the attention of all neighboring states. Novgorodians often had to defend their own independence, reflecting the onslaught of the Swedes, Livons, German knights and their irrepressible neighbors - the Moscow and Suzdal principalities.

With the rich Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Novgorod preferred to trade, and not to fight, the trade ties between the two countries have a long-standing origin. Historians believe that it was from the south that a system of education came to Novgorod's lands, allowing every free husband to read and write. Researchers find a lot of birchbark letters with everyday or educational texts in the Novgorod lands - perhaps other principalities that remained after the collapse of Kievan Rus did not attach much importance to the level of literacy of their own inhabitants.

Unfortunately, a strong and rich state could not stand the test in time. The aggressive policy of the forcible annexation of the Russian lands played a role. Novgorod could not resist the onslaught of the forces of Ivan the Terrible, and in 1478 was included in the Moscow principality. The rich culture and traditions gradually fell into decay, the center of cultures and crafts moved eastwards, and Novgorod eventually became an ordinary provincial city.