Mongol invasion; however, this direction was no longer of primary importance for Novgorod. Grain from other Russian territories was vital to Novgorod as it was not reliably self-sufficient. Grain was also transported via the Volga and its tributaries, with the town of Torzhok controlling the trade. Merchants, taxes and regulation Analysis of birch bark documents has shown that the trade involved Novgorodians of different social status: professional merchants, landowners, peasants and moneylenders. The merchants carrying out the trade with Western Europe and other Russian cities were called gosti. Some of them formed associations, of which the most famous were the associations of wax merchants known as Ivan's Hundred and the associations of the overseas merchants. Novgorod Torg, on the other side of the Volkhov from the Kremlin, was the centre of trade in the city. The quays, trade rows, merchants' churches and foreign merchants' courts were all located there. Objects belonging to German merchants, including a birch-bark document with an inscription in Latin, have been found during excavations of the Gothic Yard. Disputes between merchants were under the jurisdiction of the merchant court which included the tysyatsky and two representatives of the merchants. It sat near the church of St John the Forerunner in the Torg, where the weight and length standards were kept as well. Trade dues were initially collected by the princes but in the 13th century the merchants' corporations got this right. The rules of trade were codified in agreements between Novgorod its princes Vsevolod and Yaroslav. The agreements set the level of dues Novgorodian merchants paid in lands belonging to the prince and prohibited establishing customs houses and interfering in international trade. These terms served as a precedent and were renewed in all subsequent agreements between Novgorod and its princes until the end of the republic. References Bibliography Novgorod Republic History of international trade