The lake country between Ladoga and Onega and round the Onega shores, home of the Ves (the Vepsians, the chronicles' 'ves') and, on the north-west, of Karelians.
Archaeology places the Vepsians on the Syas, the Pasha, the Oyat and the Svir, with ties to Ladoga (en.wikipedia Vepsians). Novgorod rules here through pogosts, posts where its collectors take tribute in furs: Prince Sviatoslav Olgovich's statute of 1137 lists the pogosts 'on the Onega' whose dues go to the bishop, among them Olonets (en.wikipedia). The Russian settlers come only in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Novgorod's collectors and the boyars' agents pass through every winter; the communities govern themselves.
Who holds it
- Name
- none named
- Title
- the Ves and Karelian communities of the Onega pogosts (no leader named)
- Confidence
- high
No leader is named; the pogosts appear in Prince Sviatoslav Olgovich's statute of 1137.
Overlord
Novgorod, through its pogosts (tribute posts); their dues go partly to the bishop of Novgorod under the statute of 1137.
How things stand that morning
Tributary to Novgorod. To the west, on the Ladoga shore beyond the Tulema, lie the Karelians of Salmi and Sortavala (Scandinavia map); north of the Onega pogosts the forest towards the White Sea is Sami and Karelian hunting ground (outside).
Wealth
Furs, fish, iron from bog ore.
Military
None recorded.
Customs and assemblies
Village communities and their elders; the pogost is where tribute is paid.
Overlord claims
Novgorod and its archbishop; the grand prince's Beloozero borders it to the south-east.
Places of note
- Olonets pogost: named in 1137
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The statute of 1137 and archaeology; the northern limit of the pogosts is an estimate.
On the map: The north edge at about 63 N is a guess at the reach of the pogosts; the west edge follows the Karelian line of the Scandinavia map.
Primary sources for Novgorod
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (en): Vepsians
- Wikipedia (en): Olonets
- The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471 (Novgorod First Chronicle), tr. R. Michell and N. Forbes (1914): entries for 1164-1215 read through the archive.org full-text search (scan pp. 76-106)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.