city in NW Russia: former political & commercial center (11th-15th cent.): pop. 233,000
See Novgorod in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A city of northwest Russia south-southeast of St. Petersburg. One of the oldest cities in Russia, it was strategically and economically important in the Middle Ages because of its location on the chief trade routes of eastern Europe. The city was overrun by Moscow in 1478 and lost its commercial dominance to St. Petersburg after 1703. Population: 219,000.