Novgorod (city)

City on the Volkhov River in the northwest Russian Federation and capital of Novgorod oblast, 500 km/311 mi northwest of Moscow; population (1990) 232,000. Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia, and was the capital of the Russian state before the ascendancy of Moscow. Chemicals, clothing, electrical goods, furniture, and beer are manufactured.

Novgorod is thought to have been founded in the 6th century, and was first chronicled in 859. It was settled by Vikings (Varangians) under their chieftain Rurik in 862. Norse merchants who went there quickly became fully assimilated into the native Slav population. In 882 the capital of the principality moved to Kiev, but Novgorod retained a strong municipal government run by the leaders of the craft guilds. The city became an independent city-state in 1136 and until the 13th century, flourished as a major commercial centre for trade with Scandinavia, the Byzantine empire, and the Muslim world.

The Russian hero Alexander Nevski ruled Novgorod (1238–63). From c.1200 until 1494, it was one of the principal members of the Hanseatic League, but its economy declined sharply in the 15th century under the rule of the boyars, nobles who had seized power from the guilds in 1416. Novgorod came under the control of Ivan III (the Great) of Muscovy in 1478 and was sacked by Ivan the Terrible in 1570. The city's commercial importance further waned with the founding of St Petersburg in the early 18th century. It was systematically destroyed by retreating German troops in 1944.