The Council of Lords () was, according to the traditional scholarship, the executive organ of the

Novgorod veche According to the traditional scholarship, the veche ( rus, вече, p=ˈvʲetɕə) was the highest legislative and judicial authority in Veliky Novgorod until 1478, when the Novgorod Republic was brought under the direct control of the Grand Du ...

. In

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, it was known as the Lords ().

Novgorod the Great

In Novgorod, the Council of Lords was said to have been chaired by the

Archbishop of Novgorod The Diocese of Novgorod () is one of the oldest offices in the Russian Orthodox Church. The medieval archbishops of Novgorod were among the most important figures in medieval Russian history and culture and their successors (as bishops, archbishop ...

and composed of the posadniks (the incumbent and retired posadniks), tysyatskys (incumbent and retired), and other important members of the high nobility (

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

). It met, after 1433, in the

Chamber of Facets The Episcopal Chamber () or Chamber of Facets () is a 15th-century monument located in Novgorod Kremlin, Veliky Novgorod, Russia. It is an exceptional example of Gothic architecture in Russia, and included in the UNESCO World heritage list, along ...

, part of the archiepiscopal palace in Novgorod built by Evfimy II.

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (; 6 February 1929 – 2 February 2020) was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals and primary sources, including works on medieval Russian ...

has argued that the Council of Lords was the real governing body in Novgorod and that it controlled the veche, which was merely a sham through which the common people were tricked into thinking they were participating in government. More recently though, Jonas Granberg has called into question the very existence of the Council of Lords, arguing that it is an invention of historians based on very sparse sources and much conjecture based on other governing bodies elsewhere in Europe.Jonas Granberg, “The Sovet Gospod of Novgorod, in Russian and German Sources,” ''Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas'' 47 (1998): 396-401.

Pskov

The Pskov Judicial Charter and other sources speak of "The Lords" but it is not clear if this is a formal body or a more general term like "the city fathers" or something to that effect.

References

Historical legislatures Novgorod Republic Pskov Republic