A veche [lower-alpha 1] was a popular assembly during the Middle Ages. The veche is mentioned during the times of Kievan Rus' and it later became a powerful institution in Russian cities such as Novgorod and Pskov, [1] where the veche acquired great prominence and was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde . [2]
The word veche is a transliteration of the Russian "вече" (pl. веча, vecha), which is in turn inherited from Proto-Slavic *vě̑ťe (lit. 'council, counsel' or 'talk'), which is also represented in the word soviet , both ultimately deriving from the Proto-Slavic verbal stem of *větiti'to talk, speak').
Procopius of Caesarea mentioned Slavs gathering in popular assemblies in the 6th century: [3]
But when the report was carried about and reached the entire nation, practically all the Antae assembled to discuss the situation, and they demanded that the matter be made a public one(...). For these nations, the Sclaveni and the Antae, are not ruled by one man, but they have lived from of old under a democracy, and consequently everything which involves their welfare, whether for good or ill, is referred to the people. [4]
The veche is thought to have originated in the tribal assemblies of Eastern Europe, thus predating the state of Kievan Rus'. [5] [6] The Poliane in Kiev, according to the Primary Chronicle , are said to have consulted among themselves (s"dumavshe poliane) before deciding to ultimately pay tribute to the Khazars. [3] The words duma and dumati are used in later instances to refer to the activities of the veche. [3] The Primary Chronicle also indicates the recognition of the people as a separate political agent in a 944 treaty with the Byzantine Empire: "And our grand prince Igor and his boyars, and the whole people of Rus have sent us". [3]
The earliest mentions of the veche in chronicles refer to examples in Belgorod in 997, [3] Novgorod in 1016, Kiev in 1068, and Pskov in 1123. The assemblies discussed matters of war and peace, adopted laws, and called for and expelled rulers. In Kiev, the veche was summoned in front of the Cathedral of St. Sophia. There are not many references of a veche in towns in the 11th century, but there are significantly more in the 12th century, with such references mostly concerning Novgorod and Pskov. [3] [7] Medieval chronicles, such as the Primary Chronicle, and the Novgorod First Chronicle for Novgorod especially, are the basic source regarding the veche. [3] The next generation of Russian chronicles, including the Suzdal Chronicle, are also important sources. [3]
A semi-legendary account of Aleksandr of Suzdal (r. 1309–1331) moving the veche bell from Vladimir to his appanage center Suzdal during his reign as grand prince is found in chronicles: [8] [9]
This Prince Alexander from Vladimir took the veche bell from the Church of the Holy Mother of God to Suzdal and the bell ceased to ring as in Vladimir. And Prince Alexander thought he had been rude to the Holy Mother of God, and he ordered it taken back to Vladimir. And when the bell was brought back and installed in its place, its peal once again became acceptable to God. [9]
— Novgorod First Chronicle
The Novgorod veche was the highest legislative and judicial authority in the city until 1478, after Novgorod was formally annexed by Ivan III. [10] Each of the kontsy (boroughs or "ends") of Novgorod also had their own veche to elect borough officials. [7] The veche for the city selected the prince, posadnik and archbishop. [7]
Historians debate whether the Novgorod veche consisted of entirely free males or was instead dominated by a small group of nobles known as boyars. [7] Traditional scholarship argues that a series of reforms in 1410 transformed the veche into something similar to the public assembly ( Concio ) of the Republic of Venice; it became the lower chamber of the parliament. An upper chamber knowns as the Council of Lords (sovet gospod) was also created which oversaw the veche, [7] with title membership for all former city magistrates ( posadniki and tysyatskiye ). Some sources indicate that veche membership may have become full-time, and parliament deputies were now called vechniki. Some recent scholars call this interpretation into question.
The Novgorod veche could be presumably summoned by anyone who rang the veche bell, although it is more likely that the common procedure was more complex. The whole population of the city, including boyars, merchants, and common citizens, then gathered in front of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia or at Yaroslav's Court on the Trade Side. [7]
Of all other towns of Novgorod Land, the chronicles only mention a veche in Torzhok; however they possibly existed in all other towns as well. [11] [12]
The Pskov veche had legislative powers; it could appoint military commanders and hear ambassadors' reports. It also approved expenses such as grants to princes and payments to builders of walls, towers and bridges. [13] The veche gathered at the court of the Trinity Cathedral, which held the archives of the veche and important private papers and state documents. The veche assembly included posadniki (mayors), "middle" and common people. [14] Historians differ on the extent to which the veche was dominated by the elites, with some saying that real power was held in the hands of boyars, with others considering the veche to be a democratic institution. [15] Conflicts were common and the confrontation between the veche and the posadniki in 1483–1484 led to the execution of one posadnik and the confiscation of the property of three other posadniki who fled to Moscow. [16]
The veche functioned until 1510, when the city was formally annexed by Vasili III.
The veche, known in Poland as wiec, were convened even before the beginning of the Polish statehood in the Kingdom of Poland. [17] Issues were first debated by the elders and leaders, and later presented to all the free men for a wider discussion. [17] [18]
One of the major types of wiec was the one convened to choose a new ruler. [17] There are legends of a 9th-century election of the legendary founder of the Piast dynasty, Piast the Wheelwright, and a similar election of his son, Siemowit, but sources for that time come from the later centuries and their validity is disputed by scholars. [19] [20] The election privilege was usually limited to the elites, [17] which in the later times took the form of the most powerful nobles (magnates, princes) or officials, and was heavily influenced by local traditions and strength of the ruler. [21] By the 12th or 13th century, the wiec institution likewise limited its participation to high ranking nobles and officials. [18] The nationwide gatherings of wiec officials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as precursors of the Polish parliament (the General Sejm). [18]
Vladimir-Suzdal, formally known as the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal or Grand Principality of Vladimir (1157–1331), also as Suzdalia or Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', was one of the major principalities emerging from Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century, centered in Vladimir-on-Klyazma. With time the principality grew into a grand principality divided into several smaller principalities. After being conquered by the Mongol Empire, the principality became a self-governed state headed by its own nobility. A governorship of the principality, however, was prescribed by a jarlig issued from the Golden Horde to a Rurikid sovereign.
The Russkaya Pravda was the legal code of Kievan Rus' and its principalities during the period of feudal fragmentation. It was written at the beginning of the 12th century and remade during many centuries. The basis of the Russkaya Pravda, the Pravda of Yaroslav, was written at the beginning of the 11th century. The Russkaya Pravda was a main source of the law of Kievan Rus'.
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its people were much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines, with the Novgorod school of icon painting producing many fine works.
The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current session and to nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting either Sisto activitatem! or Nie pozwalam!. The rule was in place from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century in the Sejm's parliamentary deliberations. It was based on the premise that since all of the Polish–Lithuanian noblemen were equal, every measure that came before the Sejm had to be passed unanimously. The liberum veto was a key part of the political system of the Commonwealth, strengthening democratic elements and checking royal power and went against the European-wide trend of having a strong executive.
A konfederacja was an ad hoc association formed by Polish–Lithuanian szlachta (nobility), clergy, cities, or military forces in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for the attainment of stated aims. A konfederacja often took the form of an armed rebellion aimed at redressing perceived abuses or trespasses of some authority. Such "confederations" acted in lieu of state authority or to force their demands upon that authority. They could be seen as a primary expression of direct democracy and right of revolution in the Commonwealth, and as a way for the nobles to act on their grievances and against the state's central authority.
A posadnik was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod and Pskov.
The General Sejm was the bicameral legislature of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569 following the merger of the legislatures of the two states, the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was one of the primary elements of the democratic governance in the Commonwealth. The sejm was a powerful political institution. The king could not pass laws without its approval.
The Pskov Republic was a city-state in northern Russia. It won its formal independence from the Novgorod Republic in 1348. Its capital city was Pskov and its territory was roughly equivalent to modern-day Pskov Oblast.
A tysiatskii, sometimes translated dux or herzog, was a military leader in Kievan Rus' who commanded a people's volunteer army called a thousand. In the Novgorod Republic, the tysyatskii evolved into a judicial or commercial official and was elected from boyars at a veche for a period of one year. In cities with no veche, tysyatskiis were appointed by the knyaz or prince from among the noble boyars and could hand down their post to their sons.
The Cardinal Laws were a quasi-constitution enacted in Warsaw, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, by the Repnin Sejm of 1767–68. Enshrining most of the conservative laws responsible for the inefficient functioning of the Commonwealth, and passed under foreign duress, they have been seen rather negatively by historians.
Ontsifor Lukinich 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, increasing the number of posadniks and creating a ruling collective in the city.
According to the traditional scholarship, the veche 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 Duke of Moscow, Ivan III.
The Principality of Moscow or Grand Duchy of Moscow, also known simply as Muscovy, was a principality of the Late Middle Ages centered on Moscow. It eventually evolved into the Tsardom of Russia in the early modern period. The princes of Moscow were descendants of the first prince Daniel, referred to in modern historiography as the Daniilovichi, a branch of the Rurikids.
Novgorodian Land was one of the largest historical territorial–state formations in Russia, covering its northwest and north. Novgorod Land, centered in Veliky Novgorod, was in the cradle of Kievan Rus' under the rule of the Rurikid dynasty and one of the most important princely thrones of the era. During the collapse of Kievan Rus' and in subsequent centuries, Novgorod Land developed as the Novgorod Republic: an autonomous state with republican forms of government under the suzerainty of the great princes of Vladimir-Suzdal. During the period of greatest development, it reached north to the White Sea, and in the east it has been claimed that it did spread beyond the Ural Mountains. It had extensive trade relations within the framework of the Hanseatic League and with the rest of Rus'. The Principality of Moscow conquered the Novgorod Republic in 1478, and annexed it in 1578, although Novgorod Land continued to exist as an administrative unit until 1708.
Serfdom in Poland existed on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland during the rule of the Piast dynasty in the Middle Ages. It continued to exist in various forms until late in the 14th century when it was supplanted by the institution of serfdom, which has often been considered a form of modified slavery.
The General Sejm was the parliament of the Kingdom of Poland. It had evolved from the earlier institution of Curia Regis and was one of the primary elements of democratic governance in the Polish dominion.
The economy of the Pskov Republic (1348–1510) was dominated by merchants trading to and from the city of Pskov and the associated Pskov Land, primarily via the river Velikaya and connected waterways. It also had well-developed farming, fishing, blacksmithing, jewellery-making and construction industries.
The armies of the Rus' principalities emerged in the 13th century out of the military of Kievan Rus', shattered by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'. The princely Rus' armies from 1240 to 1550 were characterised by feudalism, consisting of cavalry armies of noble militia and their armed servants.
The sack of Kiev took place on 8–12 March 1169 when a coalition of 11 princes, assembled by prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal, attacked the Kievan Rus' capital city of Kiev during the 1167–1169 Kievan succession crisis. The conflict, caused by the death of grand prince Rostislav I of Kiev, was between rival branches of the Monomakhovichi clan: the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia on the one hand, and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk, the Yurievichi, and the Olgovichi of Chernigov on the other. Prince Mstislav II of Kiev sought to defend Kiev against the Rostislavichi–Yurievichi–Olgovichi coalition.
Aleksandr Vasilyevich was Prince of Suzdal from 1309 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1328 until his death in 1331.
