veche) - 1) people's assembly in ancient and medieval Rus' in the 10th-14th centuries. (in a number of places until the beginning of the 16th century). Resolved the most important issues (war and peace, calling and expulsion of princes, adoption of laws, etc.); 2) in Yugoslavia the name of the chambers of representative bodies of state power, as well as a number of other authorities and management.
Great definition
Incomplete definition ↓
VECHE
Staroslav. vet - council) - 1) tribal assemblies, which were the highest authority of the Germanic and Slavic peoples during the period of pre-state forms of self-government. In the process of formation of states in Europe, governments practically cease to function (or do not play any important political role), giving way to feudal-aristocratic power;
2) public assemblies in Ancient and Medieval Rus' in the 10th-14th centuries. Disintegrating, tribal consanguinity ties give rise to a new type of relationship, while preserving the time-tested and experience-tested method of developing collective decisions.
The competence of the Novgorod V. was comprehensive: the adoption of laws; inviting the prince, concluding and terminating an agreement with him; election and replacement of mayor and thousand, analysis of their disputes with the prince; selection of a candidate for the post of Archbishop of Novgorod; granting of state lands to church institutions and individuals; definition of foreign policy.
Today we will talk about what “veche” means. This is a national assembly that has been very common in Rus' since ancient times. Why do historians attach such great importance to this insignificant germ of democracy?
Veche: what is it?
A veche is a people's assembly. It could consist of urban nobility or a tribal community. The veche arose in ancient and medieval Rus'. It is believed to have existed since 859. It was possible to find out the exact date thanks to the surviving written documents that told and described the veche. We know different meanings of the word. But often it means a gathering of a large number of people who are united by a common task.
The reason for the emergence of the veche was the desire of ordinary peasants and workers to achieve direct democracy. At the same time, it was almost impossible to organize self-government in a more organized way. Therefore, a simple meeting of people who expressed their opinions became an ideal option.
Veche - what was it like in Ancient Rus'? In order to understand this, we should recall the fact that popular assemblies were widespread before Christianization and the formation of feudal state power. After these events, such gatherings continued for some time, but the voice of the people no longer had much weight. This radically influenced the population, who learned that their opinions were of little concern to those in power.
For what?
We figured out what a veche is. But why was it collected? Was the gathering of the people really necessary to solve small and insignificant problems? Of course not. Our ancestors met on the square in order to jointly make an important decision that could affect the fate of each of them. Most often, people gathered to elect a governor or prince to govern a city, union or region. From this it becomes clear that the veche was widespread not only among the residents of the city, but also among the nomadic tribes, who also needed a leader, a leader.
In addition to the selection of managers, important issues related to the management of the general economy, cultural and political life were also brought to the meeting. Exploring the concept of "veche", we can say that direct democracy has been inherent in the Slavic people since ancient times. But everything changed dramatically after the baptism of Rus'.
Participants
Participants in the national assembly could be “men” - heads of families or individual communities. Most often they were equal in their rights. But the evolution of the veche led to the fact that the voice of each husband was ranked depending on his authority or power. Naturally, women could not take part in such meetings, since their role was limited to giving birth and raising children, and running the household. Also, the participants in the veche could be elders - respected people of the family or tribe, whose opinions were especially listened to.
Prevalence
The traditions of the national assembly were preserved longest in the northern region of Russia: Novgorod and Pskov. However, this lasted until the destruction of the territories in 1569 by Ivan the Terrible, who killed all the elders of the city. In addition, he mocked the public gatherings, depriving the veche bell of the city of Novgorod of its “language.” Such barbarism was perceived very negatively. But no one spoke out against the ruler.
On the territory of Ukraine, the traditions of the meeting did not disappear, but were reborn. This happened due to the fact that the Cossacks became widespread. The Cossack Rada became a kind of modification of the veche, and a very successful one at that. Also, the remnants of the democratic system were based on the Western model of self-government - Magdeburg Law.
But even in Ukraine, the traditions of the veche could not exist forever. Catherine II, having eliminated the hetmanate, also contributed to the fact that democratic self-government in the form of the veche was destroyed. Do other nations have analogues of the national collection, or is this a unique invention of the Slavs? The functions that the veche performed were similar to the functions of the Things among the Scandinavian peoples and the Witenagemots among the Anglo-Saxons.
In Rus'
The Russian veche meant not only a meeting of city leaders, nobility or elders - this concept became broader over time. This word also meant frequent "market" meetings that were anarchic in nature. To put it more simply, the veche became not only a meeting for making important decisions, but also a banal way of expressing the herd mentality of the people.
“Market” meetings were of a different nature depending on territorial characteristics. In Kyiv, the meeting served to criticize the prince's policies, in the western lands - to make important decisions. That’s why veches gathered in different places. What is true people's power if not unanimous movement forward?
Famous veche in Novgorod
Veche - what is it? Why did this type of folk gathering take root so well in Rus'? For example, on Novgorod land the veche remained the supreme authority for a long time. It was not as simple as in other territories. This control body was a multi-stage system. In addition to the citywide meeting, there were also meetings of streets and ends.
According to most scientists, the nature of the Novgorod veche is still unclear. Some researchers say that democratic meetings in Novgorod were a continuation of the “Konchansky” representation, which meant a congress of government representatives from different parts of the city. These data are easily confirmed thanks to archaeological excavations. It is they who lead many researchers to the idea that Novgorod was formed as an independent unit only by the 11th century. Before this, the city consisted of scattered villages and ends that interacted in the most primitive ways.
Thus, the city assembly was not an independent invention, but only a necessity that arose due to the territorial remoteness of most regions. Initially, the Novgorod veche was located in Detinets in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral. A little later, public gatherings moved to shopping areas in the city center.
Summing up certain results, I would like to emphasize that democracy has been inherent in the Slavic peoples since ancient times. And the main way of her self-expression became the veche. What is this, you already understand. First of all, this is a way of self-control.
People's Assembly
Veche(common Slavic; from the Old Slavonic “vet” - council) - a people’s assembly in ancient and medieval Rus' to discuss common affairs and directly resolve pressing issues of social, political and cultural life; one of the historical forms of direct democracy on the territory of the Slavic states. Participants in the veche could be “men” - the heads of all free families of the community (tribe, clan, settlement, principality). Their rights at the veche could be equal or different depending on their social status. The functions of the veche bring it closer to the Scandinavian Thing and the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot.
Despite the presence of certain stable veche traditions, the very concept of “veche” in medieval Rus' was polysemantic, meaning not only legitimate city, Konchan or Ulichan gatherings, but also any crowded gatherings. For example, spontaneous meetings in Belgorod South (997), Moscow (1382), a non-city military council of Novgorodians (1228), directed against the policy of legitimate city meetings or the nobility, narrow-class meetings of the urban plebs (in the Novgorod Republic in 1228, 1291, 1338, 1418, etc., in the Nizhny Novgorod principality in 1305) also bore the name of the veche.
Also known are the anarchic “market” meetings of townspeople at Torg, traced by P.V. Lukin in Kyiv and the West Slavic lands. In the Novgorod Republic, there were also unique market gatherings. For example, according to Hanseatic sources, in 1403 and 1406 the decision of the city council was called out “at the Market”. The Novgorod Tale of Posadnik Dobrynya, which describes the realities of the 15th century, clearly hints at something separate from the legitimate city gathering at the Church of John the Baptist, standing “in the middle of the city [Veliky Novgorod] on the Market.” One of the clauses of the German version of the treaty of Novgorod with the West of 1268/69, noted by D. G. Khrustalev, is noteworthy. According to this clause, the Novgorodians were forbidden to block the road between the German Court and the St. Nicholas Cathedral, i.e., the space located to the northeast of St. Nicholas. Perhaps, in addition to a simple ban on the use of the Hanseatic highway that ran there, it was also forbidden to stand on this road during “market” gatherings.
The functions of market meetings, obviously, were different in each land - in the West Slavic lands they had almost the overt character of legitimate city gatherings, in Kyiv they were used by townspeople to speak out against the policies of the prince (as in 1068). In Novgorod, apparently, in addition to the gathering directed against the mayor of Dobrynya described in the story about the mayor of Dobrynya, market meetings served as a place for nationwide gatherings to announce the veche decision (as in 1403 and 1406), since at the Novgorod city council itself, according to archaeological data, far from the entire city, but only 300-500 of its representatives - according to V.L. Yanin, the same “300 golden belts” mentioned in the Hanseatic report of 1331.
The veche arose from tribal meetings of the Slavs. In the chronicles, the veche was first mentioned in Belgorod Yuzhny under, in Novgorod the Great - under, Kyiv - under. However, information about the clearly veche corporate actions of the townspeople is also mentioned under earlier dates. Veche meetings became widespread in Rus' with the weakening of princely power during the period of feudal fragmentation (second half of the 12th century). According to the most common point of view, the veche in Ancient and Medieval Rus' was not a true democracy; in fact, everything was decided by the prince and his “husbands” - the boyars, on whose behalf all the princely acts that came down to us were drawn up (starting from the time of the treaties of Oleg, Igor, Svyatoslav, etc.), not counting several acts jointly with the veche of early Novgorod acts. However, I. Ya. Froyanov insists that in the ancient Russian period the veche was the highest ruling body in all Russian lands, and not just in the Novgorod Republic. According to I. Ya. Froyanov, despite the fact that representatives of the nobility (princes, boyars, church hierarchs) were indispensable participants in the veche and supervised its work, they did not have sufficient means to sabotage its decisions or subordinate it to their will. The competence of veche meetings included a wide range of issues - concluding peace and declaring war, disposing of the princely table, financial and land resources. According to M.N. Tikhomirov and P.P. Tolochko, in the princely regions of Rus' in the pre-Mongol period there was a kind of dual power of the princely and veche authorities. That is, it was not a monarchical form of government, but also not completely republican, unlike the Novgorod order. This idea was actually first expressed by I. N. Boltin, who expressed the opinion that both the princely and veche authorities were strong. From chronicles and princely charters it is known that the prince had judicial and legislative powers separate from the veche, sometimes drawing up a bill only in a narrow circle of close associates (for example, the Church Charter of Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century). There are known cases when the prince independently managed financial and land resources. The prince had the authority to collect tribute. In this regard, it is quite understandable why the veche, who often actively influenced politics, was not always able to come to an agreement with the prince. For example, the uprising of 1113 in Kyiv occurred immediately after the death of the then antagonist prince, whom during his lifetime the people of Kiev were forced to put up with his policies. The nationwide robberies of princely property by the residents of Vladimir and Bogolyubovites, which unfolded immediately after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky, are also indicative. With Bogolyubsky, as can be seen during his life, the eternal townspeople could not come to an agreement, and like the people of Kiev in their time, they were forced to reluctantly wait for the death of the unloved prince in order to then immediately actively take out their dissatisfaction.
Veche bell in Novgorod. Illustration from a 16th-century manuscript
As for the social composition of veche meetings, in all Russian lands, except Novgorod, in the veche, according to ancient tradition, the heads of all free urban families could take part in the veche. Another thing is that the social heterogeneity of ancient Russian society increasingly made seemingly democratic veche gatherings actually controlled by the boyar aristocracy. True, right up to the beginning of the 11th century, the boyars were still forced to reckon with popular opinion. For example, in 1019, the Novgorod boyars, as the richest class, paid the largest amount for the hiring of the Vyazh squad, however, not of their own free will, but by the decision of the “Novgorodians” - then still a people's veche. However, already in the 12th-13th centuries, not only in the Novgorod boyar republic, but also in other Russian lands, the zemstvo nobility actually subjugated veche meetings to their will. For example, in 1176, the Rostov and Suzdal boyars had already become so strong that, taking advantage of the prince’s absence, they “wanted to establish their own [narrow-class] truth.” At the same time, his idea was almost crowned with success. Ordinary Rostovites and Suzdalites - and as was evident at the veche, they willingly “listened” to their boyars. If it weren’t for the Vladimir “people of the Menzi” - the non-boyar strata, who, obviously against the will of their own nobility, called the prince, there would have been two more boyar republics in Rus'. And in 1240, the boyars of Galich “Danila the prince called himself. and she herself holds the whole land,” that is, they openly concentrated in their hands all the power in the Galician land. As for the Novgorod lands, boyar domination there can be traced even earlier. The major successes of Novgorod in the anti-Kiev struggle of the 2/2 of the 11th century further strengthened the natural process of strengthening social stratification. The significant strengthening of the political role of the local boyar nobility is colorfully illustrated by the overt dominance of the boyars in the Mezh-Konchanskaya struggle of 1115-18, as the Mezh-Konchanskaya struggle is known only from birch bark letters, and in the chronicle of the “boyars of Novugorod”. It is also characteristic that the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh, who examined this case, summoned the boyars in full force to Kyiv. Moreover, not only as the most noble representatives of Novgorod, but precisely as the main participants in the troubles. The Konchansk nobility bore full responsibility for the anti-Kievan orientation of Lyudin in this turmoil.
Moreover, the neutral nature of this message indicates that the overt domination of the boyars in the inter-Konchan struggle, clearly dictated by purely personal goals, was already considered natural at that time. As for the further history of the Novgorod veche, in 1136 the veche system finally won in Novgorod and power passed to the local boyar aristocracy. Since the 13th century, the city council has degenerated into a narrow-class council of “300 golden belts” - representatives of several hundred city boyar families. At the same time, most of the Novgorod acts - “eternal charters” were drawn up on behalf of “All Novgorod”, since the veche body was multi-stage due to the national meetings of the ends and streets preceding the city veche. The fact that in 1392, when convening the city council of Nizhny Novgorod, they rang bells, gives reason to believe that the presence of preliminary Konchan gatherings was an all-Russian phenomenon. As for the Konchan system itself, it was in all Russian cities. In addition to city veche meetings, there were also veche in the “suburbs” - cities and villages subordinate to the main city. The traditions of rural gatherings by the “whole world” - the community - were preserved until Stolypin’s agrarian reform at the beginning. XX century. Based on Novgorod, Pskov and Nizhny Novgorod traditions (in 1392, when convening a veche in Nizhny Novgorod, bells were rung), the veche was convened by ringing a special “eternal” bell. In Novgorod, city veche, Konchansk, and Ulichan veche bells were located in special towers - gridnitsa, standing on veche squares. The Novgorod version of the veche way of life, most depicted in the sources, demonstrates that in addition to the gridnitsa, on the veche square there was a tribune - a “degree” - from which speakers spoke. The veche squares were also equipped with benches. In 1359, residents of the Novgorod Slavensky end, coming to the city veche gathering, “sat down” with their opponents. In 1146, according to the Laurentian Chronicle, the people of Kiev “sedoshed” at the city meeting. True, according to the Ipatiev Chronicle, the Kyiv vechniks “rose up,” but the very fact of the existence of the first version suggests that they sat at the veche not only in Veliky Novgorod.
In North-Eastern Rus', where the cities were weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the strengthening grand-ducal power eliminated veche institutions by the end of the 14th century. However, in those lands where there was no grand-ducal power and the princes were not approved by the Horde, the veche order was more durable and the veche sometimes even managed to influence princely policies. So, in 1304, the eternal people of Pereyaslavl Zalessky did not allow Prince Yuri Danilovich, whom they had called, to go to Moscow for his father’s funeral. In 1392, the Nizhny Novgorod veche actively participated in relations with Moscow. At least until 1296, the ancient tradition of participation of zemstvo representatives in inter-princely negotiations, commemorated by the treaties of Oleg (907) and Igor (945), was preserved. In 1296, Pereyaslav veche delegates took part in one of these negotiations. As can be seen from the veche execution of several local boyars that took place in Kostroma in 1304, the veche also retained some judicial functions. However, the power of the prince increased in these lands. If in the pre-Mongol period it was possible to talk about an approximately equal balance of forces, now the princely power was stronger than the veche. The prince, and not the veche, already had the main judicial powers. When black people rebelled against the boyars in Nizhny Novgorod in 1305, the veche did not execute them. On the contrary, it specifically waited for the arrival of the prince from the Horde. The complex of Smolensk acts of the 13th-14th centuries is also indicative, representing exclusively princely charters, without any mention of the veche. It is not surprising that this state of affairs also affected terminology. If in the pre-Mongol period Russian lands were called “lands” of “volost”, “region” of such and such a main city, which symbolized the active participation in government of the state not only of the prince but also of the entire city - veche, then already from the 14th century the official term “ principality" applicable not only to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, but also to other princely regions, which testified to the overt priority of princely power over zemstvo. It is not surprising that already in the 15th century, no news reached us about veche activities even in those principalities that had not yet been annexed to Moscow (Tver, Ryazan, Rostov, Yaroslavl, etc.). It is quite possible that the chronicles are right in many respects, personifying all political decisions made in these lands in the person of the prince and his associates. If the veche system was still formally preserved, then in fact the veche no longer played a role in governing the state.
The veche way of life reached its greatest flourishing in the Novgorod land (before) and later in the Pskov feudal republic (before), which separated from Novgorod, as well as in the Vyatka land, which was also originally part of Novgorod Rus'. There, the veche way of life existed until the annexation of these lands to Moscow.
As for the southern Russian and western Russian lands from the 13th to the 15th centuries that became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the veche system there survived until the Union of Lublin in 1569, the veche formally retained a national character (the Novgorod example of the degeneration of the city veche was unique), however, as can be seen according to the Polotsk Acts, it was actually controlled by the nobility. The most democratic was the veche system of the Pskov Republic, where until the 15th century the nobility was forced to take into account the opinion of the masses. However, the veche acts of the 15th-early 16th centuries, where, despite the nationwide nature of the city veche, not all urban classes of the vechniks are mentioned, show that oligarchic tendencies natural for a caste society developed there too.
Veche in Novgorod
The Veche was the highest authority in the Novgorod land during the so-called period of the “Novgorod feudal republic”. The Novgorod veche organ was multi-stage, since in addition to the city veche there were also meetings of ends and streets. The nature of the Novgorod city council is still not clear. According to V.L. Yanin, the Novgorod city council was an artificial formation that arose on the basis of “Konchansky” (from the word end - representatives of different parts of the city) representation; its emergence dates back to the formation of an intertribal federation on the territory of the Novgorod land. Ioannina’s opinion is based on data from archaeological excavations, the results of which incline most researchers to the opinion that Novgorod as a single city was formed only in the 11th century, and before that there were several scattered villages, the future ends of the city. Thus, the original future city council served as a kind of federation of these villages, but with their unification into a single city, it assumed the status of a city assembly. In the initial period, the meeting place of the veche (veche square) was located in Detinets, on the square in front of St. Sophia Cathedral, later, after the princely residence was moved outside the city, the veche square moved to the Trade Side, and veche meetings took place on Yaroslav's Court, in front of St. Nicholas Cathedral. But even in the 13th century, in cases of confrontation between different parts of Novgorod, veche meetings could take place simultaneously on both the Sofia and Trade sides. However, in general, at least from the beginning of the 13th century, Novgorodians most often gather “in the Yaroslavl courtyard” in front of the St. Nicholas Church (St. Nicholas received the status of a cathedral already in the Moscow period). However, the specific topography and capacity of the veche square are still unknown. The archaeological excavations that took place in 1930-40 at Yaroslav's Courtyard did not produce any definite results. In 1969, V.L. Yanin calculated by elimination the veche area in an unexplored area in front of the main (western) entrance to the St. Nicholas Cathedral. The square itself thus had a very small capacity - in the first work V.L. Yanin gives the figure 2000 m2, in subsequent works -1200-1500 m2 and could not accommodate a nationwide, but a representative composition of several hundred participants, which, according to V. L. Ioannina were boyars. True, in 1988, V.F. Andreev expressed his opinion about the nationwide nature of city gatherings and localized the veche in what seemed to him a more spacious place, south of the St. Nicholas Cathedral. There is also a theory about the location of the veche square to the north of the St. Nicholas Cathedral. However, the most authoritative is the concept of V.L. Yanin, which even found its way into textbooks. The most authoritative is the opinion about the aristocratic nature of the veche at Yaroslov's Court during the late republic (second half of the 14th - 15th centuries). However, the degeneration of the citywide veche body actually occurred earlier. Compiled from only the “elders” - the boyars, the famous “row” of 1264 convincingly suggests that the will of other free Novgorod estates - the “lesser” - was sometimes not officially taken into account even at that time, even based on their direct participation in the city-wide veche meetings preceding “Yaroslali in the yard” of the national Konchan assembly. In a German source from 1331, the citywide assembly is called “300 golden belts.” The work of the veche took place in the open air, which presupposed the openness of the people's assembly. From written sources, including chronicles, it is known that on the veche square there was a “degree” - a tribune for mayors and other leaders of the “republic” who held “magistrate” posts. The square was also equipped with benches.
The decisions of the meeting were based on the principle of unanimity. To make a decision, the consent of the overwhelming majority of those present was required. However, it was not always possible to achieve such agreement, at least not immediately. If the votes were tied, there would often be physical fighting and repeated meetings until an agreement was reached. For example, in Novgorod in 1218, after battles of one end against the other, meetings on the same issue lasted a whole week until “the brothers all came together with one accord.”
At the meeting, the most significant issues of foreign and domestic policy of the Novgorod land were resolved. Among other things, there were cases of invitation and expulsion of princes, issues of war and peace, alliances with other states - all this sometimes fell within the competence of the veche. The veche dealt with legislation - the Novgorod Judgment Charter was approved there. Veche meetings are at the same time one of the judicial instances of the Novgorod land (traitors and persons who committed other state crimes were often tried and executed at the veche). The usual type of execution of criminals was the overthrow of the culprit from the Great Bridge to Volkhov. The veche disposed of land plots, if the land had not previously been transferred to the fatherland (see, for example, Narimunt and the Karelian principality). It issued charters for land ownership to various church corporations, as well as boyars and princes. At the veche, elections of officials took place: archbishops, mayors, thousanders.
Posadniks were elected at a meeting from representatives of boyar families. In Novgorod, according to the reform of Ontsifor Lukinich (), instead of one mayor, six were introduced, ruling for life (“old” mayors), from among whom a “sedate” mayor was elected annually. The reform - the number of mayors was tripled, and the “serious” mayors began to be elected for six months.
Yuri Dolgoruky expelled the “illegal” Kyiv Metropolitan Clement. At his request, Constantinople appointed a new metropolitan, Constantine I. For loyalty in supporting his policies and for supporting Bishop Niphon during the Kyiv schism, the Patriarch of Constantinople granted autonomy to Novgorod in church affairs. Novgorodians began to elect bishops from among the local clergy at their meeting. Thus, for the first time, the Novgorodians independently elected Arkady as Archbishop, and removed Archbishop Arseny.
In addition to the citywide meeting, there were Konchansky and street veche meetings in Novgorod. If the citywide representative veche was essentially an artificial formation that arose as a result of the creation of the Inter-Konchan political federation, then the lower levels of the veche genetically go back to the ancient people's assemblies, and their participants could be the entire free population of the ends and streets. It was they who were the most important means of organizing the internal political struggle of the boyars for power, since it was easier to inflame and direct the political passions of their representatives from all classes of the end or street in the direction the boyars needed.
Notes
see also
| Kievan Rus | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rus · rus (people) · Rurik · Rurikovich | ||
| Turning events | The calling of the Varangians · Baptism of Rus' · Congress of princes in Lyubech · Mongol-Tatar invasion | |
| Chronicle tribes | Drevlyans · Dregovichi · Dulebs (Volhynians) · White Croats · Vyatichi · Krivichi · Polyans · Radimichi · Northerners · Slovenes · Tivertsy · Ulichi - Slavic; all · Merya · Muroma · Chud Zavolochskaya - Finno-Ugric; Golyad - Baltic | |
| Kyiv rulers before the collapse Kyiv State (1132) |
Askold and Dir · Oleg · Igor Rurikovich · Olga · Svyatoslav Igorevich · Yaropolk Svyatoslavich · Vladimir the Great · Svyatopolk the Accursed · Yaroslav the Wise · Izyaslav Yaroslavich · Vseslav Bryachislavich · Svyatoslav Yaroslavich · Vsevolod Yaroslavich · Svyatopolk Izyaslavich · Vladimir Monomakh · Mstislav the Great | |
| Significant wars and battles | Campaigns of Rus' against Byzantium · Defeat of the Khazar Kaganate · Battle of Lyubech · Battle of the Bug River · Battle of the Alta River · Battle of Nemiga · Battle of Stugna · Battle of the Kalka River · Battle of the City River | |
| Major principalities in the XII-XIII centuries |
Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal · Principality of Galicia-Volyn · Principality of Kiev · Principality of Murom · | |
veche
or veche, cf. old (broadcast? testament?) national assembly, meeting, worldly gathering. At one meeting, but not just one speech. A large meeting, general, legal, decent, under the mayor, thousand, etc.; small or vech, private gatherings and meetings, often unauthorized, illegal, seditious; or convened in the vestibule of a prince, a ruler, a public, open court. To celebrate, to stand, to be at a meeting, to confer. Ceremony, action according to verb.
Gathering area, meeting place;
the ringing of bells to convene a meeting and the tower, bell tower, vezha or veche itself. Become a veche, gather for a meeting. Veche Vologda. full meaning alarm, alarm, flash; not so long ago back in the Urals. Kaz. This custom lived in the army, but there the veche ringing was called a flash, and the gathering was called a military circle. Vechevoy, eternal, related to the evening. Eternal clerk, veche secretary; scribe Eternal letter, conclusion of the evening. Vechnik m. member of the veche, layman with a voice at the meeting; deputy, representative, elected. Forever? and. arch. speech, lamentation? meeting?
Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov
veche
evening, Wed. (historical). A meeting of townspeople in ancient Rus' to discuss state and public affairs.
The place where the meeting gathers.
Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.
veche
Ah, cf. In Rus' in the 10th-15th centuries: a meeting of townspeople to resolve public affairs, as well as the place of such a meeting. Novgorodskoye v. The bell is calling. and adj. vechevoy, -aya, -oe. V. bell.
New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.
veche
The People's Assembly in the city square as the highest authority (in Rus' X-XIV centuries).
trans. A noisy crowded meeting (usually with a touch of irony).
Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998
veche
national assembly in ancient and medieval Rus' in the 10th-14th centuries. The greatest development is in Russian cities of the 2nd half. 11-12 centuries Resolved issues of war and peace, summoned and expelled princes, adopted laws, concluded treaties with other lands, etc. In Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka land it remained until the end. 15 - beginning 16th centuries
Large legal dictionary
veche
(from Staroslav. vet - council) - a national assembly in ancient and medieval Rus' in the X-XIV centuries. Resolved issues of war and peace, summoned and expelled princes, adopted laws, concluded treaties with other lands, etc. In the Novgorod and Pskov republics, V. had the highest legislative and judicial power. In Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka land it remained until the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries.
Veche
Veche- people's assembly of the city, tribal and/or allied community in ancient and medieval Rus'. The form of democracy and self-government in all peoples of Slavic origin before Christianization and the formation of feudal state power in early feudal society. The veche was assembled to elect a governor and a prince to govern a city or region, as well as to discuss common affairs and directly resolve pressing issues of social, political and cultural life, a historical form of direct democracy on the territory of the Slavic states of the pre-Christian period. Participants in the veche could be “men” - the heads of all communities, - elders and elders of the community. Their rights at the veche could be equal or differ depending on their authority or social status.
The traditions of popular democracy survived in the northern region in Novgorod and Pskov until the defeat by Ivan the Terrible in 1569, when city elders were killed and the Novgorod veche bell was deprived of its “language”. In Ukraine, the tradition of the liberties of the veche was preserved in the form of the Cossack Rada of the Zaporozhye Sich and the Western model of self-government - Magdeburg law. These liberties were eliminated by Catherine II with the liquidation of the Hetmanate and the last Sich by relocating the Danube Sich to the lands of Kuban and Stavropol “for the sake of order.”
Some historians compare the functions of the veche with the Scandinavian Thing and the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot and the meeting of elders in ancient Prussia.
Veche (party)
Veche- political party of Ukraine, former name - “Constitutional Democratic Party”. The political party "Veche" was registered by the Ministry of Justice on May 14, 1993 and entered into the Register of Political Parties under No. 14.
Veche (disambiguation)
Veche:
- Veche is a national assembly in ancient and medieval Rus'.
- Novgorod veche
- The Veche is the lower house of the Yugoslav Parliament.
Veche (newspaper)
"Veche"- Russian newspaper of nationalist and monarchist orientation, published in 1905 - 1910.
The first issue was published in Moscow on December 11, 1905. Its founder and actual editor-publisher is V.V. Olovenikov. Formally, he was listed as the editorial secretary, and his wife was the publisher. In “Veche” No. 2 (December 18, 1905), a certain V. Vladimirovich was named as editor-publisher.
At the beginning of 1908, Olovennikov became seriously ill and went abroad for treatment, after which his close assistants began editing the newspaper: F. A. Slepov, and then several issues by M. D. Pletnev. After Olovenikov’s death (February 1908), the newspaper continued to be published by his mother, identified in the imprint as “heirs of V.V. Olovenikov.”
In addition to the newspaper, in 1908 the weekly magazine “Veche” was published, which published literary works and photographs of prominent monarchists.
Before the publisher received permission to publish the newspaper (a message about filing a petition to publish a weekly newspaper was published in No. 4 of January 3, 1906), “Veche” was published in the form of collections. No. 1 was published with the subtitle “New Moscow Daily Political Newspaper”, No. 2 - with the subtitle “Moscow Political Newspaper”. An announcement was published in the same issue: “The Veche newspaper will be published when necessary, because the editor-publisher has no money; doesn’t want any subsidies.”
The main material No. 6 of January 19 is “Happy Day of the Russian People,” dedicated to the Highest reception by Nicholas II on December 23 of the deputation of the Union of the Russian People.
No. 7 of January 23 was published under the title “Moscow Veche”. Norme attracted attention with the publication of “The Political Speech of a Jewish Rabbi, Read by Him About 30 Years Ago.” No. 8 of February 8 was published under the title “Our Veche.”
Only on February 13 the newspaper acquired its final format, and from that time on it was published under the name “Veche. A social, political and literary newspaper, with portraits, drawings and caricatures." “Veche” was published first on Mondays, then twice, and then three times a week. The circulation at times reached 25 thousand copies. After the arrival of the artist L. T. Zlotnikov to the editorial office, each issue was published with topical caricatures, mainly about Jews.
Anti-Jewish sentiment also dominated the publications of Vecha. In 1907, almost every issue of the newspaper published the slogan “Away with the Jews - Rus' is coming.” Starting from October 3, 1908, every issue published the full house “The Jews must be evicted from Russia without fail.” The authors of the articles and employees of the newspaper included such well-known monarchist figures as P. A. Krushevan, N. I. Eremchenko, M. D. Pletnev.
"Veche" published many poems, most of which were also anti-Jewish. For example, the “Veche” of November 7, 1906 presented D. Pavlov’s essay “Get Out of Russia!”: “Get Out of Russia! Out, Judas! We’ve had enough of your “freedoms.” Run, you evil traitor, before all the people are indignant!”
The main material of the issue of “Vecha” dated December 7, 1906 was “An Open Letter from A.I. Dubrovin to Metropolitan Anthony.” In the issues that followed this publication, the publisher published materials that returned the reader to the topic raised in this letter by the head of the Union of the Russian People.
The sanctions imposed on the newspaper were mainly related to excesses in criticism of government officials - government ministers and local administration officials. Thus, for the publication in issue No. 60 of the article “On the Eve of the Barricades,” in which employees of the St. Petersburg city government - “Poles associated with Jews” - were accused of the murder of V. F. von der Launitz, the newspaper was fined 1,000 rubles. The same fine was imposed for the publication in No. 61 (July 1907) of a letter from S. F. Sharapov with accusations against the Minister of Finance V. N. Kokovtsov.
Due to lack of funds, on March 10, 1909, the newspaper was transferred to the Moscow RNC, after which it became known as “Veche. Organ of the Moscow Union of the Russian People" and then "Veche. Organ of Russian monarchist allies. Publication of the Moscow Union of the Russian People."
The transfer of the newspaper into the hands of Archpriest Vostorgov caused a conflict: a number of Olovenikov’s former employees, who were political opponents of the archpriest, publicly announced their refusal to participate in the publication. And although throughout 1909 the new owners constantly informed readers of their intention to switch to a daily newspaper in 1910, they were unable to recruit the required number of subscribers, and the Moscow department of the RNC curtailed plans to continue publishing Vecha.
The only issue for 1910 was published on February 15, on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of the publication’s founder, V.V. Olovenikov. The newspaper was published under the title “Veche. Weekly socio-political newspaper.” Announcing subscriptions for 1910 in this issue, editor-publisher F. A. Slepov wrote that “the main place in the newspaper is given to the amazing monstrous growth of the awakened Russian national self-awareness and self-preservation, which resulted in the Black Hundred Liberation Movement.” However, the next issue of the newspaper was never published.
Veche (magazine)
« Veche" - a samizdat magazine of Orthodox-patriotic content. Published in the USSR in 1971-1974. The magazine was published approximately every 3 months, with a circulation of 50-100 copies. The volume of the issue was about 300 pages. A total of 10 issues were published.
The founder and editor-in-chief of the magazine was Russian historian and dissident Vladimir Nikolaevich Osipov. Among the regular authors of the magazine were Moscow priest Dmitry Dudko, writers Leonid Borodin, publicists Gennady Shimanov, Anatoly Ivanov, Svetlana Melnikova, Mikhail Kudryavtsev, Mikhail Antonov. Adele Naydenovich, who was then the wife of Vladimir Osipov, made a great contribution to the publication of the magazine.
Materials from several issues of the magazine “Veche” were republished abroad by the publishing house “Posev” in the “Free Word” series.
Examples of the use of the word veche in literature.
E, kakvo pak, Lev Abalkin, Lavlyo-Revlyo, now veche We know that there is nothing for you.
Ernst-Julius Horn, mentor at Abalkin at the school for progress, veche Don't worry about living between.
Tax to the chakas until the morning, and in the morning, for a long time now, I remember what beshe tosi Lev Abalkin and after, katosi remember, with the vzdishka, she said, why didn’t she feel for him this veche goals dweiset and pet godini.
Quite often, without even quarreling, they formed a special camp on veche: millers and bakers, tanners and shoemakers, carpenters and cabinetmakers, silversmiths and diamond makers, stone makers and painters, tilers and pottery sculptors, shipbuilders, loaders, tailors and cloth makers, ironworkers and blacksmiths, armor makers and gunsmiths, miners and blast furnace workers, soap makers and lard makers, wax makers and mead makers.
Then he put together a kind veche, which was attended by Esarhaddon's elder brothers, as well as Assyrian officials and representatives of the people, and asked them if they agreed with the appointment of Esarhaddon as heir to the throne.
It was interesting and taught how Leonid Andreevich dissuaded the darling with fury and contemptuous indignation, and veche Kato resident in Khonti prez octomvri '67
He literally spent two or three hours in front of his eyes, nothing happened, veche received guests.
Glasovete veche Not behold, dude, it’s far from the bottom of the blaskashe kapak on the smear line.
Went to veche howl platform Evpatiy, spoke about the threat to Ryazan and the entire Russian land, talked to the people as he was used to speaking in his hometown in noisy Ryazan veche.
Evpatiy had difficulty recognizing places where folk music had roared recently. veche, where the multi-colored domes of the Cathedral Church were colorful, where there were grand-ducal mansions with elegant towers and a high carved porch, from where the prince used to speak with the people.
Cheloto on the flow veche the flood was stopped clearly, and the flow was a glare, a glare, but this is how much the heap will be separated from the glutton and will tightly entwine us - edri of the wetted animals, worn out, with the khichuri scooping up the goat.
Cloak bavno se svlichashe from garba mu, and that veche sat down on the bench, painted the kraka, spun the lyavata si ryka on the backside, and ss free si dyasna raka praised the ephesus for gilding and the sword, hammered into the rotten bowl on the hearth.
Gone are the days when shield makers, locksmiths and blacksmiths removed bishops and interfered in the affairs of government when veche the foremen of the workshops, the true representatives of the black people, interceded, and the boyars relied on them in the struggle for power.
Dnes veche everything is a mess, why is it ruined from the vestry of theses, a kind of perfection of civilization, it’s a meaningless and unpromising occupation, somehow, yes, you’ll expedite the growth of the darvoto - and let’s talk about any shit, - kato go darpash for the hell.
In it, a huge expansion of the darveta from the land of white dneri, as if they didn’t infect anywhere in the empire - neither in the Irukanskoto herzogy, nor in the Targovskaya republic of Soan, which is a long time ago veche Beshe prevarnala vsichkite si burn in rabi.
Veche (council) is a people's assembly in ancient and medieval Rus' and other Slavic tribes, which played the role of the main state body.
The history of the emergence of the national council
The Veche was the main state body of the East Slavic tribes, which later united under the rule of Kyiv and formed Kievan Rus and early feudal society. The main function of the veche was to resolve important pressing problems of a tribe or other territory, as well as to resolve issues of foreign and domestic policy, territorial issues, cultural and social issues. The veche is considered one of the earliest forms of direct democracy, since representatives of all segments of the population could join the veche. Participants could be free men - heads of a clan, family, principality or a certain section of territory. The rights of husbands on the council were either equal or, in some territories, dependent on social status.
Similar state bodies of self-government existed among the Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons.
With the gradual development of feudalism, the traditions of military democracy that reigned among the tribes gradually began to fade into the background, giving way to more organized and civilized ways of solving problems and governing the state. The veche became larger and larger and assumed official state status. One, despite this, the very concept of “veche” at that time was used to designate any gatherings of people, both official and unofficial, that did not have state status - for example, people could spontaneously gather in market squares to resolve certain issues. questions.
The first mentions of the Slavic veche in Rus' date back to the beginning of the 10th century, but there is reason to believe that the practice of such meetings existed in the tribes back in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, they just later formed into something more defined and clearly structured. In one form or another, the veche existed in Rus' until the 16th century. The national council met in Kyiv, since it was the capital of the state
Brief characteristics and functions of the veche
Today, historians do not have a consensus about the real power that the veche would have. There are two opposing points of view. According to one, it was believed that, despite the fact that the veche themselves elected the prince, they actually did not have real power; all important issues were decided by the prince himself or his warriors. The second point of view says that the veche, on the contrary, took upon itself the resolution of all important issues, including issues related to the princes themselves. The princes, who were also part of the veche, did not have sufficient power to challenge the council's decision. In general, there was dual power in Rus' - the power of the veche and the power of the prince.
The veche dealt with a wide range of issues - concluding peace or declaring war, trade issues, disposing of financial, land and economic assets of the entrusted territory and the prince himself. The princes could only levy taxes and make a number of decisions, but had to coordinate them with advisers in the veche. It is important to say that it was the veche at the early stage of the development of Rus' that was engaged in “calling princes” to the throne, in other words, elections.
In all lands, with the exception of Novgorod, so-called free men (not dependent on anyone) could enter the veche. It was precisely the criterion of freedom that ultimately led to the fact that later only fairly rich, prosperous people who were free, unlike the peasants, could enter the veche. As a result, in fact, the veche represented the aristocracy, the top of society, and not a full-fledged people's assembly.
Unfortunately, today information about the veche and their activities is quite fragmentary, so it is impossible to create a complete, reliable picture. It is known that the veche did not have a chairman or any clear protocol; they could meet as needed, often this happened spontaneously. The power and authority of the people's assembly, as well as its composition, very often depended on the region in which the veche sat. Such a people's organ reached its greatest flourishing in Novgorod, and then in the separated Pskov Republic. In these territories, the veche not only took root, but also existed the longest.
Veche in Novgorod
The Novgorod veche is a unique example of what such meetings should have been like in Rus'. In Novgorod, the veche was the main authority and dealt with all the most important state issues. The main principle of the work of the Novgorod veche was unanimity, which meant that a decision could not be made until all participants in the meeting agreed with it. This created certain difficulties - meetings could take a very long time - but it also gave results; in the end, all segments of the population were satisfied with the decision of the veche.
The Veche in Novgorod summoned and expelled princes, resolved issues of military policy, dealt with pressing issues, and carried out trials. The Novgorod veche had a pyramidal structure; in addition to the main city council, there were also local veche, for example, street ones.
End of the evening
In different regions, the veche existed for different amounts of time and in different status - in some places it took root, in others it did not. Where people's assemblies had real political power, as in Novgorod, the veche existed until the 16th century and was abolished only by Ivan the Terrible. In most other regions, in Galicia-Volyn, Vladimir-Suzdal and many other principalities, these assemblies disintegrated on their own.