The Novgorod Bell*

During the Middle Ages, "Lord Novgorod-the-Great" emerged as northern Europe's largest city and the primary commercial center on the Baltic Sea. At the height of its power in the late fifteenth century it ruled over a territory extending from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains.

Novgorod was a free and sovereign city-state (hence, the title of "Lord") ruled by a town council known as *veche*. The term *veche* derives from the Slavic root for "speech," akin to the French "parler", from which we derive the modern term "parliament." This council appointed and fired civic administrators, declared war and peace, levied taxes, adopted laws and approved treaties. For centuries it was the supreme legislative authority of the Novgorod Republic, empowered to hire and dismiss princes.

From time immemorial, the main bell atop the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Russia's oldest Christian church, served to call citizens to meetings of the veche and decide the city's business. Any adult male could summon such a meeting.

Legend has it that after Novgorod was pillaged by Ivan III in 1478, the veche bell, the symbol of popular sovereignty in the republic, was to be taken to Moscow. Along the way, however, the captive bell shattered and fragments of it made their way into peasant households throughout the region. Thus, the spirit of Novgorod's liberty was kept alive among its people.

Today, the image of the veche bell is revered throughout Russia as a reminder of the democratic traditions that once lay at the heart of the Novgorod Republic.

On February 26, 1998, a replica of the veche bell was presented to URI President Robert Carothers by a delegation from Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, as a symbol cementing the relationship between our two institutions. Subsequently, President Carothers presented this bell to the URI Faculty Senate, asking that it be used to call the faculty together to work and to build agreement, in the best traditions of democratic cooperation.

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*The description of the Novgorod Bell was written by Nicolai N. Petro, Associate Professor of Political Science.