Posadnik

Posadnik Shchil asks for the blessing of Archbishop John to build a church. "The Tale of Posadnik Shchil"

A posadnik (Russian: посадник, pl. посадники, posadniki) was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod (from 1136) and Pskov (from 1308).[1]

In the early 12th century, Novgorod won the right to elect its own posadnik, who was originally appointed by the prince to rule on his behalf during his absence, thus the posadnik became the elected burgomaster. In 1136, the prince Vsevolod was expelled and the Novgorod veche began to appoint and expel princes at its own will. The posadnik was so much of an official that the representative of the prince became known as the namestnik.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kaiser was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Feldbrugge, Ferdinand Joseph Maria (2009). Law in Medieval Russia. BRILL. p. 159. ISBN 978-90-04-16985-2.