Novgorod is a nation in northeast OTL Russia
| |||||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Novgorod | ||||||
Language official |
Old Novgorod Dialect | ||||||
others | Old Church Slavonic, Germanic languages, and Uralic languages | ||||||
Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy | ||||||
Government | Prince | ||||||
Established | 1136 |
History[]
Novgorod functioned as the original capital of the Rus' people until 882 when Oleg transferred his administration to Kiev. From that time until 1019-1020 Novgorod was a part of Kievan Rus'. Novgorod Princes were appointed by the Grand Prince of Kiev (usually one of the elder sons). Novgorod was sort of a spiritual center as by the legend it was the first city of Rus'. Novgorod still possesses the relics of the old traditional beliefs that preceded Christianity and are now part of the long forgotten history.
Novgorod assisted Vladimir the Great of Kiev, playing an important, continuous role in the ,politics of Rus' placing Yaroslav the Wise on the Kievan throne. As Grand Prince one of Yaroslav's first actions was to grant numerous freedoms and privileges to loyal Novgorodians, creating the foundation for the Novgorod Republic. While still being a part of the Kievan Rus', Novgorod eventually evolved into a powerful regional center and largely acted independent . Although very much a part of the political and cultural landscape of Kievan Rus', the city had a more participatory government than much of the rest of Rus', and it chose its officials locally.
The offices of posadnik and tysyatsky, which until about the mid-12th century had been appointed by the grand prince in Kiev, began to be dominated by the Novgorod boyars. In 1136 the Novgorodians dismissed Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich and over the next century and a half were able to invite in and dismiss a number of princes, although these invitations or dismissals were often based on who the dominant Prince in Rus' or Appanage Russia was at the time, and not on any independent thinking on the part of Novgorod.
Government[]
The Prince was the chief executive of the nation. The office began sometime in the ninth century when, according to tradition, the Viking (Varangian) Riurik and his brothers were invited to rule over the Eastern Slavs, but real reliable information on the office dates only to the late tenth century when Vladimir the Great was the leader of Novgorod. The office or title technically continued up until the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917 – among one of his titles (although his list of titles was rarely given in complete form) was leader of Novgorod the Great. After the chief Rurikid prince moved to Kiev in the late ninth century, he usually sent either his son or a posadnik (mayor), to rule on his behalf. Thus Sviatoslav I sent his son Vladimir the Great to rule in Novgorod, and after Vladimir became Grand leader of Kiev, he sent his son, Yaroslav the Wise to reign in Novgorod. According to a remark in the chronicles, Novgorod had the right, after 1196, to pick their prince of their own free will, but again, the evidence indicates that even after that, leaders were chosen and dismissed only about half the time, and Novgorod often chose the most powerful leader in Rus' as their leader. That usually meant that the leader in Kiev, Vladimir or Moscow (who retained the title Grand leader of Vladimir from about the 1320s onward, although there were several interruptions), either took the title himself or appointed his son or other relative to be prince of Novgorod. At times other princes, from Tver, Lithuania, and elsewhere, also vied for the Novgorodian throne. Thus Novgorod did not really choose its leader, but considering the political climate, they often very prudently went with the most senior or most powerful prince in the land if he did not impose himself (or his candidate) upon them. No one family tryed to be the dominate dynasty or house.
Military[]
Military commanders deployed the streltsy in static formations, often against set formations or fortifications. They often fired from a platform and employed a mobile wooden "fortification" known in Russian as a "Gulyay-gorod" (literally a "walking fort"). They reportedly fired in volley or caracole fashion; the first line firing and then stepping back to reload while the second line stepped forward to fire. Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen from the 14th century to present, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops. These standing forces reinforced the mounted nobility militia mobilized during wartime. Streltsy had identical uniforms (usually red, blue or green coats with orange boots), training and weapons (arquebuses, muskets, poleaxes, bardiches (used to steady their gun while firing), sabers, and sometimes pikes).
Economy[]
The economy of Novgorod consisted of farming, animal husbandry, hunting, beekeeping, and fishing. Countryside products, such as furs, beeswax, honey, fish, lard, flax, and hops were sold and exported to other Russian cities and aboard. The real wealth of Novgorod came from Fur trade. The city was the main entrepreneur for the trade between Rus' and northwestern Europe. Standing on the northwestern end of the Silk road from China and at the end of the Baltic Trade network established by the Hanseatic League.
Culture[]
Photos[]

The capital city of Novgorod
|