Nizhny Novgorod

“ We arrived at our wharf on the Volga front of the old town of Nizhni Novgorod about five o'clock in the afternoon. Above us rose the steep green hills on whose crest stood the Kremlin, containing several ancient churches, the governor's house, and so forth. On a lower terrace, to right and left, stood monasteries and churches intermingled with shops and mediocre dwellings. The only noteworthy church was that in front of us, with its picturesque but un-Russian rococo plaster decoration on red brick, crowned by genuine Russian domes and crosses of elaborately beautiful patterns. ”

“ Afterwards the fair was removed to Nijni Novgorod, on the Volga, and the ancient city became of little consequence except for its historical interest."
"The Slavs founded a town there in the fourth century," said Frank. "About the year 862 the Russian monarchy had its beginning at Novgorod; in 1862 there was a millennial celebration there, and a magnificent monument was erected to commemorate it."
"This is a good place for you to tell us about the early history of Russia," said the Doctor. ”

“ Not like the beggar, humbly imploring for a crust in the name of the Lord, nor like the jeweller displaying his precious stones to dazzle and tempt the eye, he comes to the world,—nay, in accents of Tyrtaeus this commoner of Nizhni Novgorod spurs on his troops of freedom-loving heroes to conquer, as it were, the placid, self-satisfied literatures of to-day, and bring new life to pale, bloodless frames. ”

“ We wish the same government in Novgorod as in Moscow.” The envoys departed. December 7 the archbishop came with the same envoys and five other men. They begged that the Grand Prince’s lieutenant should judge with the posadnik. They proposed an annual tax of half a silver grieven for each plow. “Let the Grand Prince rule the dependent cities of Novgorod through lieutenants; but not remove men from Novgorod territory, or take the lands of boyars, and not summon men from Novgorod to Moscow, or make them serve in the Lower Country.” ”

“ Communicating freely with remote districts by aid of its railway and two fine waterways, protected against catastrophes of inundations by its elevated position, against the misfortune of poverty by its extensive commerce, and against the calamity of decadence by its important annual fair, Novgorod is one of the most agreeable cities in Russia to visit, because, contrary to what one generally meets with in this vast empire, everything here has an air of gaiety, of busy prosperity, and lively movement. ”

“ With a grateful farewell to our kind guide, whose rather severe duties for our sake were now over, we moved away from the station, past heaps of cotton-bales, past hills of drifting sand, and impassive groups of Persians, Tartars, and Bukharians, and slowly mounted the long grade to the level of the upland, leaving the Fair to hum and whirl in the hollow between the rivers, and the white walls and golden domes of Novgorod to grow dim on the crest of the receding hill. ”

“ On the side of Vladimir were the land-tillers and common folk.
When Nevski took power in Vladimir he placed his eldest son, Vassili, in Novgorod. Vassili could not oppress Novgorod; he was too young for such action. He was, also, a real Novgorod partisan, [280] as he showed later on by contemning his father. These partisans were supported by the mob of the city, men without houses, with nothing to lose at any time, and nothing to gain except what they could win through disorder. They were advocates of the loudly lauded “Novgorod liberties.” ”

“ The side of commerce comprised the quarters of the carpenters and Slavs. Ancient documents also speak of a Prussian (Lithuanian) quarter. Some of these names seem to indicate that many races have concurred, as in ancient Rome, to form the city of Novgorod. Gilbert of Lannoy, who visited the republic about 1413, has left us this description of it: “Novgorod is a prodigiously large town situated in a beautiful plain, in the midst of vast forests. The soil is low, subject to inundations, marshy in places. The town is surrounded by imperfect ramparts, formed of gabions; the towers are of stone.” ”

“ Nothing harmed Novgorod more than a quarrel with Vladimir, whose prince could stop grain from reaching the city and surrounding country, and arrest Novgorod merchants wherever he found them in his own territory. But this was not sufficient to change the quarrelsome disposition of Novgorod, where factions fought with one another continually. When a posadnik displeased them, they beat him, or hurled the man from the bridge to the river. Big Nest did not interfere with their freedom. On the contrary he apparently commended it. “Love him who seems good to you, but execute bad men,” said he. ”

“ The Livonian Knights acted as pleased them along the Pskoff borders, and roused subject tribes against Novgorod whenever they found it possible. Soon after the battle with the Swedes, Nevski, as now we may call him, could not agree longer with Novgorod, hence he retired to Pereyaslavl with his wife, his mother, and attendants. The complaints made by Novgorod were those made against all Vladimir princes, namely: “They wish to connect Novgorod lands with their own, and that is impossible. What has gone to the Vladimir prince is his, and what is of Novgorod belongs to Novgorod. ”

“ Petersburg on Monday, and went to Novgorod the Great, one of the oldest cities in Russia, once enormous, but now dwindled to a large village, with a decaying kremlin and a wonderful cathedral like a mosque, a blaze of beautiful ancient colour within, quite splendid in its gold and silver decorations, and the shrines of sixteen famous saints (the Greek saints are most puzzling) who are buried there, and whose mummified hands, left outside their cerecloths, are exposed to the kisses of the faithful. A journey of nineteen hours’ rail brought us here on Thursday morning. ”

“ Iaroslaf the Great, as a reward for their devotion, accorded them immense privileges, of which no record can be found, but which are constantly invoked by the Novgorodians, as were the true or false charters of Charles the Great by the German cities. These republicans could not exist without a prince, but they rarely kept one long. The assembly of the citizens, the vetché, convoked by the bell in the Court of Iaroslaf, was the real sovereign. The republic called herself “My Lord Novgorod the Great” (Gospodine Velikii Novgorod) . “Who can equal God and the great Novgorod?” ”

“ Though seated in Russia, still largely a land of barbarous tribes, Novgorod became one of the powerful cities of the earth, making its strength felt far and wide, placing the tribes as far as the Ural Mountains under tribute, and growing so strong and warlike that it became a common saying among the people, "Who can oppose God and Novgorod the Great?" ”

“ Thus at bottom Russia is a field sown thick with little communistic republics, though at top it is a despotism. The government of Novgorod doubtless grew out of that of the village. The republican city has long since passed away, but the seed of democracy remains planted deeply in the village community.
All this is preliminary to the story of the Russian lawgiver and his laws, which we have set out to tell. This famous person was no other than that Yaroslaf, prince of Novgorod, and son of Vladimir the Great, whose refusal to pay tribute had caused his father to die of grief. ”

“ Novgorodian institutions—Commerce—The national Church—Literature From the fact that no dynasty of princes could establish itself at Novgorod, that no princely band could take a place among the native aristocracy, it follows that the republic kept her ancient liberties and customs intact under the short reigns of her rulers. In all Russian cities, it is true, the country existed side by side with the prince and boyards, the assembly of citizens side by side with the prince's men, and the native militia side by side with the foreign droujina ”

“ Up to near the second half of the sixteenth century, Novgorod, with its 5,300 dwelling-houses, was the most important of all the towns in the Empire, save Moscow; and at Pskov the inventories of the period enumerate 1,300 shops or trading-houses within the town alone, apart from the suburbs. But these documents everywhere point to a phenomenon which looms large in the sixteenth-century history of this particular sphere—the swift extinction of the civilian citizen, properly so called, eliminated by the military element which takes his place. ”

“ From time immemorial the country people have met and bargained at fairs, so that it is now in the blood. Hence it is that Russia is the country of fairs, having as its greatest object of that kind the fair of Nizhni Novgorod, that stupendous revival of the old times. ”

“ The conflict between two such powers arrested the attention of all Russia. Mstislaf made the most extensive preparations for the attack upon the Novgorodians, and they, in their turn, were equally energetic in preparations for the defense. The army marched from Moscow, and following the valley of the Masta, entered the spacious province of Novgorod. They entered the region, not like wolves, not like men, but like demons. The torch was applied to every hut, to every village, to every town. They amused themselves with tossing men, women and children upon their camp-fires, glowing like furnaces. ”

“ At this the leaders drew off unobserved and went with the Elder at their head to the peace-loving widow mother, begging her to calm her wild son before he had completely wiped out all the citizens of Novgorod; but she said, "I dare not do that, you men of Novgorod, for I did him grievous wrong by confining him in a dungeon and sowing distrust of his valour in the hearts of his brave bodyguard. But my son has a godfather who is known as the Ancient Pilgrim, and who dwells in the monastery upon the hill. He is a man of discretion—for what can a woman do alone in such a strait? ”

“ It was this pride and her great wealth which pointed out Novgorod as a victim for Ivan’s wrath and cupidity, and the manner in which he planned and executed his evil designs on the city shows his diabolical genius at its height. Never has tyrant or despot conceived a more sinister and treacherous plot for the ruin of a great city and for the assassination of its inhabitants. ”

“ Russia had made a remarkable stride forward as a nation since Rurik was invited to Novgorod a quarter-century before.
For thirty-three years Oleg held the throne. His was too strong a hand to yield its power to his ward. Igor must wait for Oleg's death. He had found a province; he left an empire. In his hands Russia grew into greatness, and from Novgorod to Kief and far and wide to the right and left stretched the lands won by his conquering sword.
He was too great a man to die an ordinary death. ”

“ Thus Moscow touched the most sensitive chord in the Russians, and for the first time gave that alliance of Novgorod with Kazimir the aspect of treason. These remonstrances influenced a great many people. The Boretskis, however, were more active and determined than most men, and outshouting all others, they declared: “We are not an inheritance of Moscow! We are free! We are for the king!”
War was now unavoidable. Great disasters, according to popular belief, are preceded by wonders. The fall of Novgorod had also its admonishing marvels: A storm broke the cross on St. Sophia. ”

“ Novgorod, which had always been the rallying point for the assertion of freedom in Russia, took the lead in this revolt against the khan’s authority. The Novgorodians, to a man, refused to pay the tax, and even threatened to wreak their vengeance upon the officers who were appointed to collect it. The prince of Novgorod, one of Alexander’s sons, urged to extremities by his republican advisers, sanctioned these declarations of independence, and openly signified his determination to prevent the exactions of so ignominious a tribute within the districts dependent upon his rule. ”

“ Novgorod claimed that northern region, claimed all of it. Wherever a foot of land presented itself Novgorod wanted that to be the land of a man in its service. This proud understanding of things was expressed by the phrase: “Who can stand against God and Lord Novgorod?” But into those northern places had entered Rostoff and Suzdal, and now they were dealing with Andrei of Vladimir.
From times before Rurik, Novgorod men had the wish for dominion, but they could not have this unless they could find a man to keep order, and be at the same time their servant. ”

“ Why did Novgorod in time of council throw Basok into the river, declaring him a spy from Prince Michael? Why also was Daniel Pistsoff slain?”
Again Michael marched against Novgorod, but this time, though he was not defeated, he suffered greatly. Approaching within fifty versts of the city and discovering that men from Pskoff, Ladoga and other places had come to help Novgorod, he withdrew. While retreating his troops lost their way amid lakes and swamps, and were forced by hunger to eat their own horses and even the rawhide of their shields. Many died of hunger and cold ”

“ From those seats they cannot have defended, or raised taxes from, much of Russia, but when Sineus and Truvor died Rurik went to settle in Novgorod. That city, about a hundred and twenty miles south of Petrograd, was the chief town in the northern part of the route from north to south. Rurik seems to have built a stone fort overlooking the timber settlement and been content with a kind of tribute for his military services. Novgorod remained until centuries afterwards a jealously democratic community. ”