Novgorod

   Rus (q.v.) city along the Volkhov River. The Russian Primary Chronicle describes Novgorod as an important trading center on the water route that the Varangians (q.v.) used to get to Constantinople (q.v.). There was an important Scandinavian colony in Novgorod, established by Rurik ca. 862, that traded with Byzantium (q.v.) for furs, wax, and honey. It was one of the chief artistic centers of Kievan Rus in the 11th and 12th centuries, with churches whose architecture and decoration are essentially Byzantine, including Novgorod's famous church of Hagia Sophia whose very name was inspired by Justinian I's (q.v.) great church. Novgorod travelers (e.g., Antony of Novgorod) describe Justinian I's Hagia Sophia (q.v.) as well as other churches in Constantinople. Novgorod's independence came to an end in 1475 when Ivan III (q.v.), grand duke of Moscow, revoked its charter. Ivan IV "the Terrible" captured it in 1570.