Novgorod Republic

In Brazilian's Varna series, the Novgorod Republic was one of the contenders who aimed to unify the former Kyivan Rus' into one state known as Russia. After gaining independence from the Rus' in 1136, and not suffering a massive blow from the Mongol invasions, Novgorod established their influence over the northern Russian lands. After several wars fought, Russia was unified when Novgorod was defeated by Ryazan in 1546.
Catchphrase: "Excuse me?"
{before series TBA}
== The First Baltic War ==
In the series, Novgorod made their first move in 1507. With the Kalmar Union distracted in a war against Poland, there were very few troops defending Vyborg, so Novgorod began to invade. At the same time, the tribes living in the lands between Novgorod and Norrland (Kalmar Union) declared a dual state known as the Finno-Sami Confederation. As the Finns and Sami consolidated their claimed territories, Novgorod invaded Vyborg and claimed the uninhabited land of Savonia. The Treaty of Riga recognised Novgorod's acquisition of these territories.
== The Second Russian War ==
Novgorod then enjoyed relative peace until 1524, when they noticed that the city of Pskov was flying a Muscovite flag. They confronted Muscovy, and negotiations between the two eventually broke down into the Second Russian War. Within only two months Novgorod was under a Muscovite siege, as their eastern territories were slowly being taken by other Muscovite forces. In 1525, Finland-Sápmi took the opportunity to try and take Vyborg and Karelia from Novgorod, and therefore Novgorod lost those regions. As Muscovy conquered all of Novgorod's eastern territory, they were distracted by a surprise invasion by Ryazan. A Swedish intervention saw an end to the northern front, as the Finno-Sami Confederation was dissolved, and Vyborg and Savonia were handed over to Sweden as per a treaty. Sweden also agreed to supply Novgorod while they were still at war, just as the siege of Novgorod was broken, and the Muscovites were pushed back to Pskov and Tver. After the Muscovite First Army was devastated by the Battle of Pskov, Novgorod's troops requested military access from Lithuania, who accepted, and the army then arrived at Rzhev, before advancing on Moscow to meet the armies of Ryazan in January 1526. There, the treaty of Moscow was signed, dividing Muscovy between Novgorod and Ryazan.
== The Third Russian War ==
December 1543 brought about the beginning of the end of the Republic. After Sweden had acquired Estonia in the Livonian War, they wanted to link Estonia to their Finnish territory by land, so they declared war on Novgorod to acquire Ingria. Novgorod was surprised, and they quickly lost Ingria and Pskov to the invading Swedes, however Sweden decided against asking for peace, instead choosing to maintain a stalemate through 1544. Novgorod understood that Sweden also sought southern Karelia, and in early 1545 Sweden achieved this objective, and once again decided to continue managing the stalemate.
New Year's Day 1546 brought the final nail in the coffin, in the form of a Ryazani invasion from the south, just like they had done to Muscovy 21 years ago. Yet another unwelcome surprise, as Ryazan also managed to capture a lot of territory throughout most of 1546. From September to November the Ryazanis and Swedes besieged the city of Novgorod, until Ryazan entered in early December. With that, Novgorod surrendered, and Sweden annexed Ingria and southern Karelia. On New Year's Day 1547, the remainder of Novgorod's territory was integrated into Ryazan, who declared themself the Tsar of all Rus'.