Ivanskoe Sto

(literally, Ivan Hundred), a merchant organization in Novgorod in the 12th to 15th centuries, centered on the Church of John the Baptist in Opoki; the first merchant guild in Rus’. It was made up of merchants involved in the wholesale trade of wax. Its elders served as permanent spokesmen in the commercial court of Novgorod, took part in the conclusion of trade agreements, and were members of the ruling council of the Novgorod feudal republic. The rights and obligations of its members were laid down in two documents, the Statute and the Manuscript of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich.