III systematically took all the land of Novgorod's aristocracy. As his personal land holdings increased (read the size of Rus'), it became ever obvious to Ivan that the administration system of the land would have to be altered to suit such holdings. He also began to realize the importance of a true national army. To remedy both situations he began settling his devoted warriors in Novgorod, about twenty-three thousand in all. He vested the warriors with ample estates in return for devoted military service. By doing this, Ivan planted the first true roots of feudalism in Rus'. He also broke the European tradition of only giving fiefs to aristocratic knights. Perhaps 60 percent of his new estate holders were regular servicemen where only five percent were formerly aristocratic. His pomestie system became the new norm for the administration of land in Rus'. Land parcels were rented to serfs and peasants in return for their labor and service to Ivan III's vassal. Peasants soon had restrictions removed on free movement and began to see their rights increase at a steady rate. In contrast to Europe where feudalism created a strong central power, it took a strong central power to develop feudalism in Rus'. The main conclusion that can be drawn from the history of Rus' expansion and power consolidation from the time of Kiev until the founding of the czar is that a lack of true central power weakened and doomed the Rus' to outside domination. In Rus' the system of landlord/worker, loosely called feudalism, developed after a strong central power was established. Lacking a feudal system of vassal loyalty made it impossible for any prince, early on, to gain enough influence and power to project a strong force against any invaders. References Blum, Jerome, Lord and Peasant in Russia. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961. Evtuhov et al. A History of Russia. Boston: HMC, 2004. Ostrowski, Donald G., Muscovy and the Mongols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vernadsky, George, The Origins of Russia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. Society of Kievan Rus' Feudalism in Russia