Novgorod Land

Novgorodian Land (russian: Новгородская земля) was one of the largest historical territorial–state formations in Russia, covering its northwest and north. Novgorod Land, centered in Veliky Novgorod, was the cradle of Old Russian statehood under the rule of the Rurikovich dynasty and one of the most important princely thrones of the era of Kievan Rus'. During the collapse of Kievan Rus' and in subsequent centuries, Novgorod Land developed as an autonomous Russian state with republican forms of government under the suzerainty of the great princes of Vladimir (later – Moscow).Anton Gorsky. Russian Lands in the 13th–14th Centuries: the Path of Political Development – Saint Petersburg: Nauka, 2016 – Pages 63–67Alexander Filyushkin. Titles of Russian Sovereigns – Moscow; Saint Petersburg: Alliance Archeo, 2006 – Pages 39–40 During the period of greatest development, it reached north to the White Sea, and in the east it spread beyond the Ural Mountains. It had extensive trade relations within the framework of the Hanseatic League. In the 15th century, in the course of the grand–princely policy of " gathering Russian lands", Veliky Novgorod, with the surrounding lands, was completely annexed to the centralized Russian state. Novgorod Land existed as an administrative unit until 1708.

Population

The settlement of the territory of Novgorod Land began in the Valdai Upland since the Paleolithic and Mesolithic, along the border of the Valdai (Ostashkovsky) glaciation, and in the north–west of Priilmenye, in the area of the future territorial center, since the Neolithic.

ArchaeologicallyMaya Zimina. Neolithic Basin of the Msta River. Moscow: Nauka, 1981. 205 Pages, 22 Illustrations and through the study of toponymy,Ruth Ageeva. Hydronymy of the Russian North–West as a Source of Cultural and Historical Information. URSS Editorial, 2004 the presence of migratory so–called Nostratic communities is supposed here, replaced by Indo–European groups (future Balts and Slavs) who came from the south–west and ancestors of the Baltic–Finnish peoples who came from the east.Vladimir Petrukhin, Dmitry Raevsky. Essays on the History of the Peoples of Russia in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Tutorial. Series: Studia Historica. 2nd Edition, Revised and Supplemented. Moscow: Znak, 2004 – 416 Pages
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It is traditionally believed that in the 6th century Krivichi tribes came here, and in the 8th century, in the process of Slavic settlement of the East European Plain, the tribe of Ilmen Slovenes came. Finnic tribes lived in the same territory, having left a memory of themselves in the names of numerous rivers and lakes. The interpretation of pre–Slavic toponymy as exclusively Finno–Ugric is questioned by some researchers.

The time of Slavic settlement dates, as a rule, according to the type of kurgan groups and individual mounds located in this territory. Pskov long mounds are traditionally associated with Krivichi, and mounds in the shape of a hill with Slovenes. There is also the so–called Kurgan hypothesis, based on which various assumptions about the ways of settling this territory are possible.

Archaeological research in Staraya Ladoga and Rurik Gorodishche shows the presence of Scandinavians, traditionally referred to in the Old Russian (medieval) literary sources as Varangians, among the inhabitants of these first large settlements.

In addition to the Slavic population, a significant part of the Novgorod Land was inhabited by various Finnic peoples. Vodskaya pyatina along with the Slavs was inhabited by Votians and Izhora, who have long been closely associated with Novgorod. The Yem', who lived in southern Finland, was usually at enmity with the Novgorodians and more inclined to the side of the Swedes, while the neighboring Karelians usually kept to Novgorod. Novgorod were often fighting Chud who inhabited Livonia and Estonia. Zavolochye was inhabited by Finnic tribes, which was often called Zavolotskaya Chud; later Novgorod colonists settled in this region. Tersky coast was inhabited by the Lapps. Further, Permians and Zyryans lived in the northeast.

The center of the Slavic settlements was the vicinity of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, and the Ilmen Slovenes lived here.

History

Oldest period (before 882)

Archeological data shows that in the 9th century Novgorod was already a large settlement (or rather a chain of settlements from the sources of Volkhov and Rurik GorodishcheInstitute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Rurikovo Settlement
/ref> up to Kholopiy Town, opposite of Krechevitsy). Other settlements included Ladoga,Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Staraya LadogaArticles about Novgorod
/ref> Izborsk and possibly Beloozero. Slavic and Finnic tribes inhabited the territory and by the 9th century Scandinavians were also present. The Scandinavians probably called this territory Garðaríki.

Novgorod Land was one of the centers of formation of the Old Russian state. The Tale of Bygone Years calls it "a great and abundant land" and says that its inhabitants wanted to "seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to law" and therefore invited Rurik, the founder of the Rurikovich dynasty, to rule over them.

As part of Kievan Rus (882–1136)

At the end of the 9th – beginning of the 10th centuries (in chronicles dating to 882), the center of the Rurikovich state moved from Novgorod to Kiev. In the 10th century, Ladoga was attacked by the Norwegian jarl Eric. In 980, Novgorod Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (the Baptist), at the head of the Varangian squad, overthrew the Kiev Prince Yaropolk. In the 990s, Novgorod refused to convert to Christianity, and stood up for its faith with the supreme priest Bogumil Solovey and tysyatsky Ugonyay. Novgorod was baptized by force with "fire and sword": many Novgorodians were killed, and the whole city burned down. In 1015–1019, Prince of Novgorod Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise overthrew the Kiev Prince Svyatopolk the Accursed. The Novgorodians supported Yaroslav during the war, and after his victory in the war, Yaroslav rewarded them and granted the "Yaroslav's Law" and the "Charter" to Novgorod. These documents became the prototype of and were referenced in the charters on which the princes invited by Novgorodians took the oath. Also under Yaroslav, Detinets and the first Saint Sophia Cathedral were built.

Among the Rus, the Novgorodians were the first to reach the regions between the Arctic Ocean and Lake Onega. An expedition led by the ''voivode'' Uleb or possibly regions further to the east) in 1032, and trading with the Yugra

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