In 1259, Mongol tax-collectors and census-takers arrived in the city, leading to political disturbances and forcing Alexander Nevsky to punish a number of town officials (he cut off their noses) for defying him as Grand Prince of Vladimir (soon to be the khan's tax-collector in Russia) and his Mongol overlords.
Nel XIV secolo le incursioni dei pirati di Novgorod (or uškuiniki), si spinsero fino a Kazan' e Astrachan' e sostennero la Repubblica nelle sue guerre contro la Moscovia.