Veche

A veche was a popular assembly during the Middle Ages. The veche is mentioned during the times of Kievan Rus' and it later became a powerful institution in Russian cities such as Novgorod and Pskov, where the veche acquired great prominence and was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde.

Pskov Veche by Apollinary Vasnetsov (1908–1909)

Etymology

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

History

Origins

Procopius of Caesarea mentioned Slavs gathering 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.

The veche is thought to have originated in the tribal assemblies of Eastern Europe, thus predating the state of Kievan Rus'. The Poliane in Kiev, according to the Primary Chronicle, are said to have consulted among themselves (s"dumavshe poliane) before deciding to ultimately pay tribute to the Khazars. The words duma and dumati are used in later instances to refer to the activities of the veche. The Primary Chronicle also indicates the recognition of the people as a separate political agent in a 944 treaty with the Byzantine Empire: "And our grand prince Igor and his boyars, and the whole people of Rus have sent us".

The earliest mentions of the veche in chronicles refer to examples in Belgorod in 997, Novgorod in 1016, Kiev in 1068, and Pskov in 1123. The assemblies discussed matters of war and peace, adopted laws, and called for and expelled rulers. In Kiev, the veche was summoned in front of the Cathedral of St. Sophia. There are not many references of a veche in 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 the Primary Chronicle, and the Novgorod First Chronicle for Novgorod especially, are the basic source regarding the veche. The next generation of Russian chronicles, including the Suzdal Chronicle, are also important sources.

Russia

A semi-legendary account of Aleksandr of Suzdal (r. 1309–1331) moving the veche bell from Vladimir to his appanage center Suzdal during his reign as grand prince is found in chronicles:

This Prince Alexander from Vladimir took the veche bell 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 the veche bell from Novgorod to Moscow in 1478, miniature from the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (16th century)

The Novgorod veche was the highest legislative and judicial authority in the city until 1478, after Novgorod was formally annexed by Ivan III. Each of the kontsy (boroughs or "ends") of Novgorod also had their own veche to elect borough officials. The veche for the city selected the prince, posadnik and archbishop.

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

The Novgorod veche could be presumably summoned by anyone who rang the veche bell, 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 the Cathedral of Saint Sophia or at Yaroslav's Court on the Trade Side.

Of all other towns of Novgorod Land, the chronicles only mention a veche in Torzhok; however they possibly existed in all other towns as well.

Pskov Republic

The Pskov veche had 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. The veche gathered at the court of the Trinity Cathedral, which held the archives of the veche and important private papers and state documents. The veche assembly included posadniki (mayors), "middle" and common people. Historians differ on the extent to which the veche was dominated by the elites, with some saying that real power was held in the hands of boyars, with others considering the veche to be a democratic institution. Conflicts were common and the confrontation between the veche and the posadniki in 1483–1484 led to the execution of one posadnik and the confiscation of the property of three other posadniki who fled to Moscow.

The veche functioned until 1510, when the city was formally annexed by Vasili III.

Poland

A wiec in the time of Poland's King Casimir III (r. 1333–1370)

The veche, known in Poland as wiec, were convened even before the beginning of the Polish statehood in the Kingdom 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 of wiec was the one convened to choose a new ruler. There are legends of a 9th-century election of the legendary founder of the Piast 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, the wiec institution likewise limited its participation to high ranking nobles and officials. The nationwide gatherings of wiec officials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as precursors of the Polish parliament (the General Sejm).

See also

• Zemsky Sobor, Russian parliament from the early modern period
• Duma, a type of Russian assembly
• Landsgemeinde, a Swiss assembly
• Thing in Scandinavia, Sejm in Poland, Seimas in Lithuania, Saeima in Latvia
• Rada, a later kind of popular assembly, then the parliament of Ukraine

Notes

1. ^ See the Slavic etymology of the word and the corresponding references in the following entries of the Max Vasmer's Etymological dictionary:
   • of the particular word вече/veche (in Russian),
   • of the basic root вѣт- (in Russian),

and the possible further Indo-European etymology of this root in the entry

• *wAit- (-th-),

all of them presented online in the etymological databases of The Tower of Babel project.

Further reading

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