A town assembly in medieval Rus', best documented in Novgorod and Pskov, which chose officials, approved treaties and could invite or expel princes.
In more detail
The word appears in chronicles from the eleventh century for gatherings of townspeople. In Novgorod the veche was summoned by a bell and met at Yaroslav's Court; it elected the posadnik and tysiatskii, took part in choosing the archbishop and confirmed princely contracts. Its membership and procedures are poorly recorded, and historians disagree over whether the political community it spoke for was essentially the boyars or the wider body of full citizens. Ivan III abolished Novgorod's veche in 1478 and took its bell to Moscow.