Veche

Pskov VechebyApollinary Vasnetsov(1908–1909)

Avechewas apopular assemblyduring theMiddle Ages.Thevecheis mentioned during the times ofKievan Rus'and it later became a powerful institution in Russian cities such asNovgorodandPskov,where thevecheacquired great prominence and was broadly similar to the Norsethingor the SwissLandsgemeinde.

Etymology

The wordvecheis a transliteration of the Russian "вече" (pl.веча,vecha), which is in turn inherited fromProto-Slavic*vě̑ťe(lit. 'council, counsel'or'talk'), which is also represented in the wordsoviet,both ultimately deriving from the Proto-Slavic verbal stem of*větiti'to talk, speak').^[1]

History

Origins

Procopius of CaesareamentionedSlavsgathering in popular assemblies in the 6th century:

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.

Thevecheis thought to have originated in the tribal assemblies ofEastern Europe,thus predating the state ofKievan Rus'.ThePolianein Kiev, according to thePrimary Chronicle,are said to have consulted among themselves (s "dumavshe poliane) before deciding to ultimately pay tribute to theKhazars.The wordsdumaanddumatiare used in later instances to refer to the activities of theveche.ThePrimary Chroniclealso indicates the recognition of the people as a separate political agent in a 944 treaty with theByzantine Empire:"And our grand princeIgorand his boyars, and the whole people of Rus have sent us ".

The earliest mentions of thevechein chronicles refer to examples inBelgorodin 997,Novgorodin 1016,Kievin 1068, andPskovin 1123. The assemblies discussed matters of war and peace, adopted laws, and called for and expelled rulers. In Kiev, thevechewas summoned in front of theCathedral of St. Sophia.There are not many references of avechein towns in the 11th century, but there are significantly more in the 12th century, with such references mostly concerning Novgorod and Pskov.Medieval chronicles, such as thePrimary Chronicle,and theNovgorod First Chroniclefor Novgorod especially, are the basic source regarding theveche.The next generation of Russian chronicles, including theSuzdal Chronicle,are also important sources.

Russia

A semi-legendary account ofAleksandr of Suzdal(r. 1309–1331) moving thevechebell fromVladimirto his appanage centerSuzdalduring his reign as grand prince is found in chronicles:

This Prince Alexander from Vladimir took thevechebell 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.

— Novgorod First Chronicle

Novgorod Republic

Main article:Novgorod veche

Removal of thevechebell from Novgorod to Moscow in 1478, miniature from theIllustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible(16th century)

TheNovgorodvechewas the highestlegislativeandjudicial authorityin the city until 1478, after Novgorod was formally annexed byIvan III.Each of thekontsy(boroughs or "ends" ) of Novgorod also had their ownvecheto elect borough officials.Thevechefor the city selected the prince,posadnikand archbishop.

Historians debate whether the Novgorodvecheconsisted of entirely free males or was instead dominated by a small group of nobles known asboyars.Traditional scholarship argues that a series of reforms in 1410 transformed thevecheinto something similar to the public assembly (Concio) of theRepublic of Venice;it became the lower chamber of the parliament. An upper chamber knowns as theCouncil of Lords(sovet gospod) was also created which oversaw theveche,with title membership for all former city magistrates (posadnikiandtysyatskiye). Some sources indicate thatvechemembership may have become full-time, and parliament deputies were now calledvechniki.Some recent scholars call this interpretation into question.

The Novgorodvechecould be presumably summoned by anyone who rang thevechebell,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 theCathedral of Saint Sophiaor atYaroslav's Courton theTrade Side.

Of all other towns ofNovgorod Land,the chronicles only mention avecheinTorzhok;however they possibly existed in all other towns as well.

Pskov Republic

ThePskovvechehad 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.Thevechegathered at the court of theTrinity Cathedral,which held the archives of thevecheand important private papers and state documents. Thevecheassembly includedposadniki(mayors), "middle" and common people.Historians differ on the extent to which thevechewas dominated by the elites, with some saying that real power was held in the hands of boyars, with others considering thevecheto be a democratic institution.Conflicts were common and the confrontation between the veche and theposadnikiin 1483–1484 led to the execution of oneposadnikand the confiscation of the property of three otherposadnikiwho fled to Moscow.

Thevechefunctioned until 1510, when the city was formally annexed byVasili III.

Poland

Awiecin the time ofPoland's KingCasimir III(r. 1333–1370)

Theveche,known in Poland aswiec,were convened even before the beginning of the Polish statehood in theKingdom of Poland.Issues were first debated by the elders and leaders, and later presented to all the free men for a wider discussion.

One of the major types ofwiecwas the one convened to choose a new ruler.There are legends of a 9th-centuryelectionof the legendary founder of thePiast 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.The election privilege was usually limited to the elites,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.By the 12th or 13th century, thewiecinstitution likewise limited its participation to high ranking nobles and officials.The nationwide gatherings ofwiecofficials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as precursors of the Polish parliament (theGeneral Sejm).

See also

• Zemsky Sobor,Russian parliament from the early modern period
• Duma,a type of Russian assembly
• Landsgemeinde,a Swiss assembly
• Thingin Scandinavia,Sejmin Poland,Seimasin Lithuania,Saeimain Latvia
• Rada,a later kind of popular assembly, then the parliament of Ukraine

Notes

1. ^See theSlavicetymologyof the word and the corresponding references in the following entries of theMax Vasmer's Etymological dictionary:
   • of the particular wordвече/veche(in Russian),
   • of the basic rootвѣт-(in Russian),

and the possible furtherIndo-Europeanetymology of this root in the entry

• *wAit- (-th-),

all of them presented online in the etymological databases ofThe Tower of Babelproject.

Further reading

• Michael C. Paul, "The Iaroslavichi and the Novgorodian Veche: A Case Study on Princely Relations with the Veche,"Russian History(2004)