The Council of Lords or Sovet Gospod was, according to the traditional scholarship, the

executive organ Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

of the Novgorodian and Pskovian

veche Veche ( rus, вече, véče, ˈvʲet͡ɕe; pl, wiec; uk, ві́че, víče, ; be, ве́ча, viéča, ; cu, вѣще, věšte) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries. In Novgorod and in Pskov, where the veche acquired gre ...

The Council of Lords in Novgorod the Great

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

Archbishop of Novgorod The Diocese of Novgorod (russian: Новгородская епархия) 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 cul ...

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 feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...

). It met, after 1433, in the

Chamber of Facets The Episcopal Chamber (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 with ...

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

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (russian: Валентин Лаврентьевич Янин; 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 ...

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.

The Council of Lords In Pskov

The

Pskov Judicial Charter The Pskov Judicial Charter (russian: Псковская судная грамота) was an Old Russian legal code of the Pskov Republic. It was issued in various redactions between 1397 and 1467, and was based on certain resolutions of the Pskov ...

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