According to the traditional scholarship, the

veche A ''veche'' was a popular assembly during the Middle Ages. The ''veche'' is mentioned during the times of Kievan Rus' and it later became a powerful institution in Russian cities such as Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod and Pskov, where the ''veche'' a ...

( rus, вече, p=ˈvʲetɕə) was the highest

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

and

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

authority in

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

until 1478, when the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

was brought under the direct control of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III. The origin of the veche is obscure; it is thought to have originated in tribal assemblies in the region, thus predating the Rus' state. After the Novgorod Revolution of 1136 that ousted the ruling

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, the veche became the supreme state authority, although princely power was relatively limited in Novgorod from the start since no hereditary dynasty had been established there. The traditional scholarship lists among the powers of the veche the election of the town officials such as the

posadnik A posadnik (, ) was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod (from 1136) and Pskov (from 1308). In the early 12th century, Novgorod won the right to ...

tysyatsky A tysiatskii ( rus, тысяцкий, p=ˈtɨsʲɪt͡skʲɪj, " thousandman"), sometimes translated '' dux'' or ''herzog'', was a military leader in Kievan Rus' who commanded a people's volunteer army called a ''thousand'' (). In the Novgorod Repub ...

, and even the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

(he was then sent to the metropolitan for consecration); it also invited in and dismissed the princes. While it is certainly true that the local officials were elected and some princes elected and dismissed, the sources are rather vague on precisely who was behind some of this, saying merely "they called in..." or "they gave the posadnikship to..." and the like. The traditional scholarship goes on to argue that a series of reforms in 1410 transformed the veche into something similar to the public assembly of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

; it became the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

or lower chamber of the parliament. An upper

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

-like Council of Lords (''sovet gospod'') was also created, with title membership for all former city magistrates (''posadniks'' and ''tysyatskys''). Some sources indicate that veche membership may have become full-time, and parliament deputies were now called ''vechniks''. The veche was abolished after the fall of Novgorod to the Muscovites in 1478; however, there is some evidence that certain elements of the Novgorodian veche democracy have been restored under Swedish occupation during the

Ingrian war The Ingrian War () was a conflict fought between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia which lasted between 1610 and 1617. It can be seen as part of Russia's Time of Troubles, and is mainly remembered for the attempt to put a Swedish duk ...

of 1610–1617: one Swedish source indicates that

Jacob de la Gardie Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (20 June 1583 – 22 August 1652) was a wikt:statesman, statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 onward. He was Privy Council of Sweden, Privy Councilor from ...

has been present at '' thing in Novgorod''.

Conflicting interpretations

Some of the more recent scholars call this interpretation into question. The difficulty in understanding the veche is that the term was used to mean any sort of assemblage of people, from a formal legislature or judicial entity to a mob or riot. Valentin Yanin's scholarship calls into question the democratic nature of the veche; he argues that the boyars ran the city and the veche was a "sham democracy" that allowed the common people a sense that they were participating in decision-making when decisions had, in fact, already been decided by the Council of Lords made up of the boyars and the archbishop. Add to this the fact that Novgorod had a series of judicial entities: the prince's court, the archbishop's court, and the

's court, and it is difficult to say where the veche fit in as a judicial body. Several "executions" in the veche seem to be the result of mob violence rather than the carrying out of judicial sentences. Jonas Granberg has called into question the very existence of the Council of Lords (''sovet gospod''), saying it is an interpolation or interpretation of modern historians of very scanty evidence. Michael C. Paul has argued that the veche, at least in the thirteenth century, was used as a consensus-building tool rather than becoming a formally institutionalized parliament.Michael C. Paul, "The Iaroslavichi and the Novgorodian Veche: A Case Study on Princely Relations with the Veche," ''Russian History'' (2004).

Procedure

The Novgorod assembly could be presumably summoned by anyone who rang the veche

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, although it is more likely that the common procedure was more complex. This bell was a symbol of republican sovereignty and independence and for this reason, Ivan III carted it off to Moscow when he took control of the city, to show that the old way of doing things was at an end. The whole population of the city - boyars, merchants, and common citizens - then gathered at Yaroslav's Court or in front of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom (the latter called a ''Vladychnoe veche'' - "An Archbishop's Veche," since it was called in front of the cathedral). Separate assemblies could be held in the boroughs or "Ends" of Novgorod.

References

{{reflist Defunct unicameral legislatures Novgorod Republic