The Prince of Novgorod (Russian: князь новгородский, romanized: knyaz novgorodsky) was the title of the ruler of Novgorod in present-day Russia. From 1136, it was the title of the figurehead leader of the Novgorod Republic.

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Prince of Novgorod
Князь новгородский
Last to Reign Ivan III 27 March 1462 – 15 January 1478
Details
Last monarch	Ivan III of Russia
Abolition	15 January 1478

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The position was originally an appointed one until the late 11th or early 12th century, then became something of an elective one until the early 14th century,^[1][2] after which the grand prince of Vladimir (who was almost always the prince of Moscow) was almost invariably the prince of Novgorod as well.^[1]

The title originates sometime in the 9th century when,^[3] according to tradition, the Varangian chieftain Rurik and his brothers were invited to rule over the East Slavic and Finnic tribes of northwest Russia,^[4][5][6] but reliable information about it dates only to the late 10th century when Vladimir, the youngest son of Sviatoslav I, was made the prince of Novgorod.

During the reign of Ivan III, the title was restored and Novgorod was included in the title of the Russian monarch,^[7] which lasted until the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia in 1917. After Novgorod was formally annexed by Moscow in 1478, Ivan assumed the title of sovereign of all Russia.^[8]

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From the early 12th century, the prince's power in the Novgorod Republic was more nominal. Imperial and Soviet-era scholars often argued that the office was ineffectual after 1136, when Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich was dismissed by the Novgorodians, and that Novgorod could invite and dismiss its princes at will.^[9] In this way, the prince of Novgorod was no longer the "ruler" of Novgorod but became an elective or appointed official of the city-state.^[10]

That being said, the traditional view of the prince being invited in or dismissed at will is an oversimplification of a long and complex history of the office. In fact, from the late 10th century until its formal annexation in 1478, the princes of Novgorod were dismissed and invited only about half the time, and the vast majority of these cases occurred between 1095 and 1293, and not consistently so during that period. That is, the office was elective for perhaps two centuries and even then it was not always elective.^[11] Even during this period, the nadir of princely power in the city, more powerful princes could assert their power independently over the city, as did Mstislav the Bold in the early 13th century, Alexander Nevsky in the 1240s and 1250s, his brother Iaroslav in the 1260s and 1270s, and others.^[12]

According to a remark in the chronicles, Novgorod had the right, after 1196, to pick their prince of their own free will,^[13] but again, evidence suggests that even after that, princes were chosen and dismissed only about half the time, and Novgorod often chose the most powerful prince in Rus' as their prince.^[14] That usually meant that the prince in Kiev, Vladimir or Moscow (who retained the title of grand prince of Vladimir from about the 1320s onward, although there were several interruptions), either took the title himself or appointed his son or other relative to be prince of Novgorod. At times other princes, from Tver, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and elsewhere, also vied for the Novgorodian throne. Thus, Novgorod did not really choose its prince, but considering the political climate, they often very prudently went with the most senior or most powerful prince in the land if he did not impose himself (or his candidate) upon them.

What was different about Novgorod, then, was not so much that Novgorod could freely choose its princes – it could not. Rather, what was unique was that no princely dynasty managed to establish itself within the city and take permanent control over the city. Rather, while other Rus' cities had established dynasties, the more powerful princes vied for control of Novgorod the Great, a most-desirable city to control given the vast wealth (from trade in furs) that flowed into the city in the medieval period.^[15]

In the absence of firmer princely control the local elites, the boyars, took control of the city and the offices of posadnik and tysyatsky became elective.^[16] The veche (public assembly) played a not insignificant role in public life, although the precise makeup of the veche and its powers is uncertain and still contested among historians. The posadnik, tysiatsky, and even the local bishop or archbishop (after 1165) were elected at the veche, and it is said the veche invited and dismissed the prince as well.

List based on Michael C. Paul (2008).^[17]