Условие:
The Novgorod Republic was the largest among the Russian lands during the period of fragmentation. In the 12th–13th centuries, it included vast areas from the Baltic Sea to the Volga, and in the east — territories up to the Ural Mountains. The most developed cities of the Novgorod land, in addition to Novgorod itself, were Pskov, Izborsk, Velikiye Luki, Ladoga. The indigenous peoples of the lands annexed to Novgorod paid tribute to him, which enriched the Novgorod state.
\nAt the same time, the natural conditions in the region were harsh: a cold winter and a short rainy summer did not contribute to the development of agriculture — bread had to be imported from the neighboring Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. The Novgorodians themselves were engaged in hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, bee-keeping, handicrafts and trade. The products of Novgorod craftsmen were in demand in all lands of Russia and even beyond its borders. Skilled potters and blacksmiths were so famous that artisans from Novgorod were invited to work even as far away as Kiev.
\nTrade was greatly developed: Novgorod merchants established close economic and trade ties with European countries, acting as intermediaries between the states of Northern Europe and Byzantium, the German lands and the Arab East. Furs, leather, resin, salt, honey, wax, weapons, pottery were exported from Novgorod, and wines, fabrics, and jewelry were imported.
\nNovgorod merchants, united in societies like guilds, sailed to the shores of Byzantium on their way "from the Varangians to the Greeks," and strengthened trade ties with the Hansa, an alliance of northern German cities. There was even a special foreign colony in Novgorod, the Gothic court, where foreign merchants and their families lived.
