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| ==Economy== | |||
| Russia suffered from an economic and social crisis in the second half of the 16th century which led to famines, depopulation and the abandonment of agricultural lands. The economic crisis overlapped with the ] and happened at the time when Russia waged the ]. The crisis is considered to be one of the precursors of the ].{{sfn|Каштанов|2020|p=48}}{{sfn|Шишков|2011}} | |||
| ].]] | |||
| The economy of the Novgorodian Republic included ] and ] (e.g., the archbishops of Novgorod and others raised horses for the Novgorodian army), while ], ], and ] were also widespread. In most of the regions of the republic, these different "industries" were combined with farming. ] was mined on the coast of the ]. ] and other localities were known for their ]. ] and ] cultivation were also of significant importance. Countryside products, such as furs, ], ], fish, ], flax, and hops, were sold on the market and exported to other Russian cities or abroad. | |||
| ==Crisis of 1560-1570s== | |||
| The real wealth of Novgorod, however, came from the fur trade. The city was the main ] for trade between Rus' and northwestern Europe as it was located at the eastern end of the Baltic trade network established by the ]. From Novgorod's northeastern lands ("The Lands Beyond the Portages" as they were called in the chronicles), the area stretching north of Lakes ] and ] up to the ] and east to the ]<ref>Janet Martin, ''Treasure of the Land of Darkness: the Fur Trade and its Significance for Medieval Rus'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).</ref> had so much fur that medieval travel accounts tell of furry animals raining from the sky.<ref>Paul, "Secular Power and the Archbishops of Novgorod Before the Muscovite Conquest," 258.</ref> The Novgorodian merchants traded with ], ], and ] cities. In early years, the Novgorodians sailed the Baltic themselves (several incidents involving Novgorodian merchants in ] and ] are reported in the ]). Orthodox churches for Novgorodian merchants have been ]. Likewise, merchants from Gotland had their own St. Olaf church and trading house in Novgorod. However the Hanseatic League disputed the right of the Novgorod merchants to carry out sea trade independently and to deliver cargoes to the West-European ports by their own ships. Silver, cloth, wine and herring were imported from Western Europe.<ref name = yaninenc>{{cite book |editor1-last=Янин |editor1-first=В. Л. |editor1-link=Valentin Yanin |title=Великий Новгород. Энциклопедический словарь |date=2007 |publisher=Нестор-История |isbn=9785981872365|page=456|language=ru}}</ref> | |||
| The crisis started in mid-1560s when the poor harvest of 1567 became the trigger of the crisis. The taxes had risen significantly in the previous decades as the state waged expensive wars against the Tatars in the east and against Poland and Sweden in the west. The population growth in the previous overpopulation meant that the peasants had insufficient reserves and a famine ensued. The grain prices increased 8-10 times and remained high after another poor harvest next year. The famine continued in 1570 when a plague hit Russia too.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=252}} In spite of the efforts to contain the outbreaks the epidemic spread in the Central and Northern Russia.{{sfn|Колычева|1987|p=177}} Many localities were depopulated and there were reports of cannibalism.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=253}} The more dense urban population especially suffered and some towns lost nearly all inhabitants. ] had only 12 tax-paying households in 1578 while in ] most of the households and shops were deserted.{{sfn|Колычева|1987|pp=179-180}} | |||
| Foreign coins and silver were used as a currency before Novgorod started minting its own ''novgorodka'' coins in 1420.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Спасский |first1=Иван Георгиевич |title=Русская монетная система: историко-нумизматический очерк |date=1962 |publisher=Издательство Государственного Эрмитажа |page=27 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Нумизматический словарь| chapter = Новгородская денга, новгородка| url = http://www.numizm.ru/html/n/novgorodska8_denga_novgorodka.html|editor = Зварич В.В.|location = Львов|publisher = Высшая школа|date = 1980}}</ref> | |||
| The ] by ]'s oprichniki contributed to the crisis in the north-west. As part of his attack Ivan burned the fields, laying waste roughly 90 percent of the arable land surrounding Novgorod. Coupled with the crop failures of the years before, this would create a massive food shortage (and cause supply ] in the Livonian war).<ref> Martin. ''Medieval Russia, 980-1584''. </ref> Both nobles and common people were put to death and the frequent changes of land ownership impacted the economy negatively. A contemporary chronicler from Pskov wrote "The Tsar instituted oprichnina and from thence the great desolation of the Russian land."{{sfn|Колычева|1987|p=181}} | |||
| The crisis weakened the state considerably. The ] burning down Moscow, devastating large areas of the country and carrying 100 thousand prisoners into slavery.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|pp=252-253}} In the 1570s the earlier gains made by Russia in Livonia were lost and some additional land was lost to Sweden.{{sfn|Ryazanovsky|2000|p=152}} | |||
| The contemporaries called the crisis ''porukha'' (поруха) which could be translated as damage, loss or calamity.{{sfn|Шишков|2011}} The peasants of the ] explained the drop in land under cultivation by a combination of the pestilence, Tatar raids, bad harvests and heavy taxation.{{sfn|Колычева|1987|p=193}} | |||
| ==Aftermath and consequences== | |||
| The acute phase of the crisis was over when ] assumed the throne in 1584. A significant share of arable land was deserted. The North-West was hit the hardest by the war, oprichnina, famine and epidemics. The population of the Novgorod region fell by more than 80%, with the records of ] showing that one third of cultivated land was deserted due to mortality. In the central regions of Russia, the Moscow area suffered the Crimean Tatar raid and had 90% of cultivated land abandoned. Elsewhere in the centre, from 18 to 60 per cent of peasant holdings were deserted due to mortality and migration.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=253}} This was one of the most severe demographic disasters experienced by Russia.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=252}} | |||
| As a consequence of population decline the wages increased significantly and the land rents decreased. The wages of labourers in ] and in ] grew by 2.5 times in grain terms. The ] (''obrok'') and ] obligations decreased by 2-3 times as well.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=254}} The landowners, mostly belonging to the ], thus experienced a fall in their income and many estates had no peasants at all. The Russian army which consisted mostly of mounted service class people lost half of its number as a result.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=254}} The ] intensified after the crisis during the reigns of ] and ] as the nobility tried to tie down the remaining peasants to the land.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=255}} The state taxes paid by peasant household declined significantly and correspondingly the state revenues shrank.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=254}} Some historians say that the crisis led to mass migration to the ] and the newly conquered Volga region,{{sfn|Platonov|2022|p=75}} while others consider it unlikely as these regions experienced invasions and rebellions at the same time.{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=253}} | |||
| The recovery was slow and some historians say that the crisis was not over by the end of the 16th century.{{sfn|Колычева|1987|p=200}}{{sfn|Каштанов|2020|p=48}} According to ] and Nefedov the imbalance between the increasing elite numbers and declining commoner population was not resolved and became one of the reasons of the ].{{sfn|Turchin | Nefedov |2009|p=254}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==Sources== | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Каштанов |first1=С. М. |last2=Столярова |first2=Л. В. |title=Иван Грозный и его время |publisher=ДиректМедиа |isbn=9785449912459|lang=ru|date = 2020}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Платонов |first1=С. Ф. |title=Иван Грозный. Борис Годунов. Смутное время |date=2022 |publisher=Litres |isbn=9785041136598|lang=ru}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Turchin |first1=Peter |last2=Nefedov |first2=Sergey A. |title=Secular Cycles |date=2009 |isbn=9780691136967}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Колычева |first1=Евгения Ивановна |title=Аграрный строй России XVI в. |date=1987 |publisher=Наука |language=ru}} | |||
| *{{Cite journal |author = Шишков Александр |editor= |format= |url= http://www.istrodina.com/rodina_articul.php3?id=1716&n=90 |title= Очищение от Смуты |type= российский исторический журнал |journal= Родина |year= 2005 |volume= 11|issn = 0235-7089 |archive-url = https://archive.is/JRdxq |archive-date = 2013-01-03 |language= ru }} | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Riasanovsky |first1=Nicholas V. |title=A History of Russia |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195121791 |page=152}} | |||
Revision as of 13:08, 21 January 2023
Economy
by Apollinary Vasnetsov.
The economy of the Novgorodian Republic included farming and animal husbandry (e.g., the archbishops of Novgorod and others raised horses for the Novgorodian army), while hunting, beekeeping, and fishing were also widespread. In most of the regions of the republic, these different "industries" were combined with farming. Iron was mined on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Staraya Russa and other localities were known for their saltworks. Flax and hop cultivation were also of significant importance. Countryside products, such as furs, beeswax, honey, fish, lard, flax, and hops, were sold on the market and exported to other Russian cities or abroad.
The real wealth of Novgorod, however, came from the fur trade. The city was the main entrepôt for trade between Rus' and northwestern Europe as it was located at the eastern end of the Baltic trade network established by the Hanseatic League. From Novgorod's northeastern lands ("The Lands Beyond the Portages" as they were called in the chronicles), the area stretching north of Lakes Ladoga and Onega up to the White Sea and east to the Ural Mountains had so much fur that medieval travel accounts tell of furry animals raining from the sky. The Novgorodian merchants traded with Swedish, German, and Danish cities. In early years, the Novgorodians sailed the Baltic themselves (several incidents involving Novgorodian merchants in Gotland and Denmark are reported in the Novgorodian First Chronicle). Orthodox churches for Novgorodian merchants have been excavated on Gotland. Likewise, merchants from Gotland had their own St. Olaf church and trading house in Novgorod. However the Hanseatic League disputed the right of the Novgorod merchants to carry out sea trade independently and to deliver cargoes to the West-European ports by their own ships. Silver, cloth, wine and herring were imported from Western Europe.
Foreign coins and silver were used as a currency before Novgorod started minting its own novgorodka coins in 1420.
- Janet Martin, Treasure of the Land of Darkness: the Fur Trade and its Significance for Medieval Rus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).
- Paul, "Secular Power and the Archbishops of Novgorod Before the Muscovite Conquest," 258.
- Янин, В. Л., ed. (2007). Великий Новгород. Энциклопедический словарь (in Russian). Нестор-История. p. 456. ISBN 9785981872365.
- Спасский, Иван Георгиевич (1962). Русская монетная система: историко-нумизматический очерк (in Russian). Издательство Государственного Эрмитажа. p. 27.
- Зварич В.В., ed. (1980). "Новгородская денга, новгородка". Нумизматический словарь. Львов: Высшая школа.