seen before. This country east and west of the Urals they now called Ugria. But, as was so often the case in those early days, it was not long before the peaceful interchange of Slavonic wares for Ugrian furs developed into piratical exploitation. The representatives of Novgorod began to demand tribute of furs to be given annualy to "Lord Novgorod the Great," as that early Slavonic republic called itself. But there was resistence at first, and fierce fights took place between the Ugrian tribesmen and the Novgorod tribute collectors during the twelfth century. Novgorod, however, remained virtually the overlord of Ugria until the early fifteenth century, while the Mongol power still extended over the Turko-Finnish races of the Southern Siberian steppes.
In the early fifteenth century, however, arose a new factor in the struggle. The Mongol hordes of Central Asia had by this time lost their power, and the republic of Novgorod showed signs of weakness. But the tsardom of Muscovy was gathering strength, and about the middle of the fifteenth century the Tsar, taking advantage of the growing weakness of the republic and of their failure to collect their tribute in Ugria for some years, sent an expedition of armed men to collect the tribute for himself and to establish his rights in that country. His authority grew till he had established a sort of overlordship over the Ugrians. Henceforth the authority of Novgorod disappeared on the east of the Urals, and before the end of the sixteenth century the proud republic bit the dust under the heel of the Muscovite Tsar, Ivan the Terrible. Moscow thus became overlord of Ugria; but early in the sixteenth century we
