Welcome to the Russian rulers' history podcast, episode 209, revisiting Vladimir the Great Part 2.

Last time, we replayed episode number 2 and added new information about Vladimir the Great's early life.

Today, we continue his saga with more material I previously didn't have.

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So, Vladimir is now 11 years old and has been named the Grand Prince of Novgorod by his father Sveta Slav.

Novgorod, translated as Newtown, also known as Homeguard or Hilltown by the Vikings, was smaller than Kiev yet an economic powerhouse.

Its government was controlled by the Vetch, a body where all citizens could attend meetings, but only the heads of the families could vote.

All decisions that were made at the Vetch meeting had to be decided with a unanimous vote.

This made governing the city a difficult job to say the least. Violent clashes within the meetings could lead to bloodshed or even death.

This is why Vladimir was sent to serve as the prince instead of his older brothers.

Joining him in Novgorod was his uncle Dobrinaya. He would advise his young charge very well.

Novgorod was a town that was built on commerce. It was divided into five autonomous communes called Konets.

There were the Slavinsky, Plotninsky, Zagrodsky, Goncharsky, and the Naravitsky.

Each had a specific trade associated with their communes, such as Carpenters or Potters.

They also had a societal hierarchy where the boyars stood on top. They were followed by wealthy businessmen, then merchants, and lastly younger or black people, who were neither black nor usually young.

There were slaves in the city, but they had no standing whatsoever.

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