This book, using rich material from various sources, examines the features of the political system of one of the most ancient centers of Russia, Veliky Novgorod, and perhaps the most legendary Italian city, Venice.

Is it possible to understand the political system of Veliky Novgorod in the pan-European context, and above all as a variant of the European republican urban system? Can Novgorod be considered a medieval commune - and if not, then why, and if yes, then in what sense? The book uses the Venetian political system as an "object of comparison". It examines the similarities and differences of the "political people", the fate of the people's assembly, the legends about the semi-mythical founders, the cults of the patron saints - St. Mark and St. Sophia. Chronicles, oaths of the doges and the earliest surviving acts of the Venetian Republic; Russian chronicles, charters and documents related to the activities of the Novgorod Hanseatic office - the most important feature of the monograph is that information about Novgorod and Venice is taken from narrative and documentary sources subjected to careful source analysis