Issue of fighting unfair trade practices in the relations between Medieval Novgorod and German cities: political and legal aspects

The paper examines the political and legal aspects of combating fraud in the international trade of Novgorod and German cities in the Middle Ages. This phenomenon occurred at the hands of both Russian and German merchants, and included the sale of shoddy goods, adulterated products, as well as tampering with the weight of the goods causing further difficulties in the development of trade relations between Novgorod and Western Europe. The paper concludes that, despite the mutual interest of both parties in the purchase of quality goods, from a legal point of view, these aspects of international trade activities remained insufficiently regulated by international agreements between Novgorod and German cities, which served as an additional source of conflicts between Russian and German merchants.