Posadnik
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Posadnik (
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
: посадник, (literally: по-садник - ''pre-sident'') was the
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
in some East Slavic cities or towns. Most notably, the posadnik (equivalent to a
stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
,
burgomeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...
, or
podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
in the medieval west) was the mayor of
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
and
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
. The term comes from the Old Church Slavic "posaditi," (посадити) meaning to put or place; they were so-called because the prince in Kiev originally placed them in the city to rule on his behalf. Beginning in the 12th century, they were elected locally.


Novgorod

Despite legends of posadniks such as
Gostomysl Gostomysl depicted on the first plate of the book ''Illustrated Karamzin'' (1836), depicting the history of Russia. Gostomysl () is a legendary 9th-century prince or posadnik of Novgorod who was introduced into the historiography by Vasily Tati ...
that were set in the 9th century, the term ''posadnik'' first appeared in the
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
under the year 997. The earliest Novgorodian posadniks include
Dobrynya Dobrynya (russian: Добрыня, uk, Добриня) was Vladimir the Great's maternal uncle and tutor. He was the historical prototype of the invincible bogatyr Dobrynya Nikitich in Kievan Rus folklore. Dobrynya's life and extent of his inf ...
(an uncle of
Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
), his son
Konstantin Dobrynich Konstantin Dobrynich (died 1022) was an 11th-century posadnik of Novgorod. According to the Novgorod chronicles, he was the son of Dobrynya and wielded great influence at the court of his own cousin, Yaroslav the Wise. The time at which he became ...
and
Ostromir Ostromir (''Остромир'' in Russian; Christian name - Joseph) (died c. 1057) was a statesman, voivod and posadnik of Novgorod in 1054-1057 and probably for some decades previous. Ostromir is known from the first Russian dated book, the Ost ...
, who is famous for patronizing the
Ostromir Gospels The Ostromir Gospels (Ukrainian: Остромирове Євангеліє, Russian: Остромирово Евангелие) is the oldest dated East Slavic book. (Archeologists have dated the Novgorod Codex, a wax writing tablet with excerp ...
, among the first books published in Russia (it is now housed in the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg). Also mention in a document from year 1189 referenced in SDH
44456
In the
Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of m ...
, the city posadnik was elected from among the
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
s by the
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 gr ...
(public assembly). The elections were held annually. Novgorod boyars differed from boyars in other Rus' lands in that the category was not caste-like and that every rich merchant could reasonably hope to reach the rank of boyar.
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 ...
, the Soviet "dean" of medieval Novgorodian history, has found that most posadniks held the office consecutively for sometimes a decade or more and then often passed the office on to their sons or another close relative, indicating that the office was held within boyar clans and that the elections were not really "free and fair." Yanin's theory challenged historians' understanding of the Novgorod Republic, showing it to be a boyar republic with little or no democratic elements. It also showed the land-owning boyarstvo to be more powerful than the merchant and artisan classes, which until that time were thought to play a significant role in the political life of the city. It also called into question the true nature of the veche, which up until that time had been considered democratic by most scholars. Yanin's interpretation of the Novgorod government as an hereditary
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
is not universally accepted, however. Originally there was one posadnik, but gradually over time the office multiplied until, by the end of the Republic, there were something like 24 posadniks. There were also posadniks for each of the city's boroughs (called ends - "kontsy", singular "konets" in Russian). The multiplication of the office dates to the 1350s, when Posadnik
Ontsifor Lukinich Ontsifor Lukinich (russian: Онцифор Лукинич) was a posadnik of Novgorod the Great in 1350–1354. He came from a Novgorodian boyar family that gave a number of posadniks to the city. He is most famous for reforming the office in 1359 ...
implemented a series of reforms. Retired posadniks took the title "old posadnik", or ''старый посадник'') and the current, serving posadnik was known as the "stepennyi" posadnik (''степенный посадник''). In accordance with the reform of 1416-1417, the number of posadniks was increased threefold and stepennyi posadniks were to be elected for a six-month period. In this manner, the various boyar clans could share power and one or another of them would neither monopolize power or be left out if they lost an election. It, however, diluted power in the boyarstvo. Some scholars have argued that 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 ...
became the head of the Republic and stood above the fray of partisan politics that raged among the boyardom, but the archbishops seem to have shared power with the boyardom and the collective leadership tried to rule by consensus. The dilution of boyar power may, however, have weakened Novgorod in the 15th century, thus explaining the series of defeats it suffered at Moscow's hands and the eventual fall of independent Novgorod. The posadnikdom (mayoralty) was abolished along with the veche when Grand Prince
Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his bl ...
of Moscow took the city in 1478. In fact, upon being asked by Archbishop Feofil (1470-1480) on behalf of the Novgorodians what type of government he wanted, Ivan (speaking through Prince Patrikeev) told them "there will be no veche bell in our patrimony of Novgorod; ''there will be no posadnik'', and we will conduct our own government."


Pskov

There were 78 known posadniks in Pskov between 1308 and 1510.For a discussion of the office in Pskov, see Lawrence Langer, “The Posadnichestvo of Pskov: Some Aspects of Urban Administration in Medieval Russia.” ''Slavic Review'' 43, no. 1 (1984): 46−62. The posadnichestvo was abolished in Pskov in 1510 when Grand Prince
Vasily III Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 * Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...
took direct control of the city.


References

{{Reflist Slavic titles Society of Kievan Rus' Novgorod Republic * Pskov Gubernatorial titles