The most Badass Republic Ever, Master Great Novgorod:

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

The more I've read about Medieval Russian history, the more it impresses me. In particular there's the largest (in terms IIRC of land area at least, not sure of population) Republic of Medieval times, with a name the likes of which should appear more in fiction: Gospodin Veliki Novgorod, or "Master Great New-Town." Seriously, the town's *named* Master Great. If that's not badass I don't know what is. Novgorod in Ancient Kievan Rus was a power center equal to Kiev itself, and was one of the first European societies to ditch autocracy for what evolved as a republic. There is an argument that the Novgorod Republic was much more oligarchial than democratic, but so was ever other pre-modern Republic. In fact the pre-modern concept of a republic *was* essentially oligarchy.

The most fascinating element of Master Great Novgorod, however, was that it in quite a few ways seems more modern than one expects of pre-modern states. Starting with a clearly commercial element, and of course its big invading enemy was the puritanical, crusading Teutonic Knights, a precocious example of the German national past time of attempting and failing to conquer others and steal their shit. Novgorod had a full-fledged assembly and a concept that the rulers, of which only one is actually famous enough in his own right, Alexander Nevsky (in part because of the USSR 's pattern of grossly distorting elements of prior Russian history when it suited them to do so), had no power to coerce or to compel, only to execute the will of the assembly. The difference is that Russia's Athens, like the original one, was conquered by the crude and repressive autocracy of Moscow, and ultimately razed to the ground by Ivan the Terrible, the last Rurikid ruler of Moscow when his brand of politics was "Kill it with fire".

The point of all this is that Master Great Novgorod shows one fundamental rule of the past about societies that is directly relevant in today's time of the Arab Spring and the return of China and India to global influence: what we hold to be most immutable about societies isn't always so. Russia had as its great center of medieval culture a commercial republic, not the violent and willful autocracy epitomized by Moscow, yet it would reach actual global power not under the republic but the Moscow autocracy. Equally, what societies are now in terms of their influence by no means predicts what they will be. In a world where the total global picture of wealth is rising and starting to resort to its default pattern of Europe and North America as sideshows for a Sino-Indian global picture, this is something to consider. Both in terms of promise, but also in terms of danger. Because the societies that seem benevolent one day can all too easily become crude parodies of themselves the next.

Your thoughts?

Comments

[merig00.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Veliki Novgorot as "Master" and don't even see any google references. Would like to read about it, could you point me in the right direction?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

http://intoursspb.com/index.php/en/great-novgorod

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod

http://www.novgorod.ru/english/read/information/orthodox-hymnody/great-ektenia/

http://www.glazunov.ru/EN/Obrazy_Ros.htm

Four references. Veliki Novgorod and Medieval Russian history in general suffer from neglect relative to the rest. IMHO this has at least somewhat to do with the major complications for Russian nationalism posed by both Novgorod *and* Moscow from a nationalist viewpoint.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Being from fUSSR I learned about Veliki Novgorod, I just never heard it being called Gospodin Veliki Novgorod and don't see any references to it being called "Gospodin"

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

http://www.novgorod.ru/english/read/information/icon-painting/

http://www.old.radonez.ru/WEBS3/ingrup/angl.htm

http://images.mitrasites.com/vladimir-of-novgorod.html

http://books.google.com/books/about/Novgorod_Republic_Including.html?id=-qPLygAACAAJ

I hope these links show the term was at least used.

[vehemencet-t.livejournal.com]

but so was ever other pre-modern Republic. In fact the pre-modern concept of a republic *was* essentially oligarchy.

Yeah just wanted to say that this really hasn't changed with modern republics either. Even when they are deceptively referred to as "democratic".

Interesting bit of history I wasn't aware of though. I always found it fascinating how Russian culture was essentially kind of a blend of the Viking raiders, the Byzantine Empire and the Slavic tribes influence.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

The really interesting bit about the Normanist theory, which said that the Viking bit was decisive, is that if it were applied consistently the only part of European society *not* ruled by Germanic peoples in some way, form, or fashion is East-Rome. But only in Russia does it get stated that Germans civilized the savages, despite the major problems any look at say, Francia, would pose for a nationalist view of say, French history.

It's also interesting to consider that Russia's democratic tradition in the north was appearing in the last days of Kievan Rus, and Novgorod in the days of the Khanate of the Golden Horde *was* Russia. It and its spinoff, so to speak, Pskov *were* true Russian culture. Moscow, ancestor of the Tsardom-Empire-Soviet civilization was Collaborators with the occupiers. They got rich from using the Mongols as a club to loot the other states for fun and profit and used it to build a big army.

The fascinating paradox here is that Russia's actual culture *did* develop on more "ordinary" European lines much faster than the rest before Moscow wrecked it all. Which IMHO is one reason Tsarist and Soviet historians neglected it. Tsarist because it put their ancestors in a bad light, Soviet because a full-blown republic instead of a feudal society buggers Marxist "historical patterns" quite thoroughly.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

The famous painting "The Invitation of the Varangians" by Victor Vasnetsov: Rurik and his brothers arrive in the lands of Ilmen Slavs.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, from what I read the Russian chronicles themselves note that the Prince of Kievan Rus was descended from Rurik, who ruled Novgorod first. I don't know how much archaeology affects the legend but it would be ironic if New-Town predated Kiev. ;P

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

At least we gave them their alphabet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Cyril_and_Methodius#Invention_of_the_Glagolitic_and_Cyrillic_alphabets) and taught them to read and write. :-)

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

And were also the first Slavs in Europe to build not merely a state, but an Empire. One that briefly ruled an area far larger than modern Bulgaria. Not a bad record by any means.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

It was one of the major geopolitical factors of the early Medieval age.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

I should say so, yes. It's not every state of the time that could come as near to causing the collapse of the ERE as that one did, and given the ERE was the only thing in early Medieval Europe that deserved the term state......that's no slouch.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's an ERE.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

East-Roman Empire. I dislike the term Byzantine because the "Byzantines" themselves never used it.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Well, that ERE would've been long history, if not for a package of factors, including some long-sighted decisions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Constantinople_%28717%E2%80%93718%29#Bulgarian_aid) on part of Tervel.