Meanwhile supplies in the city were exhausted; hunger began, and, as many people from the country had taken refuge in the place, the plague appeared. There was great abundance in the Moscow camp, and Ivan commanded Pskoff merchants to sell flour, fish and bread to the people. Disturbance and quarrels between the desperate opponents of Moscow and its adherents were unceasing. The Moscow side triumphed, however, and made further resistance impossible. The chief voevoda in Novgorod, Prince Shuiski, renounced his oath to the city. Going out unopposed, two days later, to the camp of the Grand Prince, he entered his service.
On the twenty-ninth Ivan summoned the Novgorod envoys to confirm all conditions, and then dismissed them. Barely had they gone from his presence, however, when the boyars stopped them, declaring that the sovereign demanded towns and villages, otherwise he could not manage Novgorod. They had to pass many times between the Moscow camp and the city before this question was settled.
Novgorod offered two districts adjoining Lithuania, then ten districts belonging to the archbishop, and the monasteries; but Ivan would not take these. Then they asked that he say himself what he wanted. He demanded one half of the districts of the archbishop and the monasteries, and all Torjok districts, no matter to whom they belonged. The Assembly at last agreed to this, but asked that half the land be taken from the six chief monasteries, and that the land of the others, which were needy, should not be taken.
Ivan consented, and when, at his command, a detailed list of all the districts was given, he showed favor to the archbishop, and took not one half of his land, but only a tenth of the best districts. When the question was settled the envoys begged Ivan to lighten the siege, during which many people were perishing. He did not hasten to answer, and commanded his boyars to talk about the annual tax on all Novgorod. After long discussion, Ivan made it half a silver grieven for every plow of each land-tiller. At the [[474]]same time, at request of the bishop, he agreed not to send his own scribes, or listers, lest they might burden the people. He would depend, he said, on the faith of the Novgorod men, who might collect the whole tax and deliver it to whomever command should be given to receive it. When these conditions had all been accepted, Ivan ordered to clear the Yaroslav court for himself, and drew up an oath paper for all Novgorod. This paper was signed by the archbishop, who put his seal on it, together with the seals of the five ends of Novgorod, and January 15, 1478, the five Moscow boyars, who had finished negotiations, were sent to the city to take the oath from all people.
Thenceforth the Assembly existed no longer. The higher classes, that is the boyars, rich people and merchants, took oath in the bishop’s palace. And to the five ends of the city were sent from the Grand Prince officials who brought all common men to the oath of allegiance. Then the Novgorod boyars, boyars’ sons, and wealthy people asked the Grand Prince to take them into service. This he consented to do with the obligation on their part to inform of the good and evil planned by any of the Novgorod men, with relation to the Grand Prince of Moscow.
Only on January 18 did Ivan permit the country people, who had gathered in the city for safety, to go home, and on January 29 he entered Novgorod to hear mass, but returned to camp, as there was plague in the city. He remained about three weeks longer, arranging affairs of all kinds. At the Yaroslav court, instead of an Assembly, were Ivan’s two lieutenants, Prince Striga Obolenski and his brother. On the Sophia side of the city Ivan appointed two boyars, Vassili Kitai and Ivan Zinovieff. These four men were to govern the city and give judgment instead of the former posadniks and commanders. Then, not limiting himself by the pardon given Novgorod men, the Grand Prince commanded to seize a number of the leaders of the party opposed to him among boyars and wealthy persons; these men he sent to Moscow and confiscated their property. Among the persons taken was the renowned widow, Martha Boretski, with her grandson, Vassili,—the son of Feodor,—who died later on in confinement at Murom, after he had taken the monk’s habit.
Ivan left Novgorod, and on March 5 arrived in Moscow. He had sent forward a boyar to his mother, to his son, and to the metropolitan [[475]]with tidings that he had brought his inheritance to his will, and had made himself sovereign in Novgorod, as in Moscow. Ivan was followed by men bringing the Assembly bell of Novgorod, which was hung in the Kremlin tower and sounded with other bells.
In spite of their exhaustion, the Novgorod people were not reconciled yet to the loss of independence. In 1479 Ivan’s well-wishers declared to him that Novgorod was secretly negotiating with Kazimir, who was preparing to war against Moscow, and was rousing the Khan of the Golden Horde to attack the Grand Prince. About the same time there was a disagreement between Ivan and his brother, so the opportunity seemed favorable for an uprising in Novgorod. Ivan estimated the importance of the moment, and showed no slackness. He hurried to Novgorod October 26, with only one thousand warriors, enjoining his son to collect forces with the greatest speed possible, and follow him. Though guards had been placed on all roads to prevent news from reaching Novgorod, the city learned that Ivan was hastening to strike it, and immediately rose in rebellion. People rushed to strengthen the walls; they chose a posadnik and a commander; they renewed their Assembly. On hearing of this, Ivan halted two weeks at Bronitsi, and waited till new forces reached him. Then he laid siege to Novgorod. The siege was brief. Again there was wrangling of parties, and continual treason. Many went over to the Grand Prince. Moscow guns crushed the walls, and there was no help from any one.
The Novgorod men tried to negotiate, and asked for a safe-conduct. Ivan refused, saying: “I am safety for all who deserve it. Open the gates! When I enter I will injure no innocent man.” They opened the gates. The archbishop and the clergy bearing crosses, the elected authorities, the boyars, and a multitude of people went out to meet the Grand Prince and implore forgiveness. Ivan received the archbishop’s blessing, and said that he brought peace to all who were innocent. He went to pray in the Cathedral. After that he stopped in the house of the new posadnik. And then he began to punish.
The Novgorod men had risen up foolishly, without considering that in case of defeat they would lose the few privileges for which they had yielded so much some months earlier. This time, when [[476]]the uprising was ended, Ivan treated those people as rebels and traitors. First he commanded to seize the chief leaders, and put them to torture. They declared that the archbishop had joined the uprising. Ivan seized the archbishop, and sent him to Moscow. His wealth, which consisted of precious stones, gold and silver, was given to the treasury, and Sergei, a monk, was made archbishop instead of the guilty man. More than one hundred active rebels suffered death, and their property was confiscated. Ivan did not hold himself bound by promises made previously not to transfer men from Novgorod to the Lower Country, and he made a broad use of this privilege, in order to prevent any uprising in future, and to break the old stubborn pride of “Lord Novgorod.”