Marfa Boretskaya

According to legend and historical tradition, she led the republic's struggle against Muscovy between her husband's death and the city's eventual annexation by Ivan III of Russia in 1478.

In the case of Marfa, she may have been the focal point of the anti-Muscovite faction and had considerable charisma or influence as the matriarch of the clan, but never held actual office in Novgorod as they were confined to the male land-owners.

On hearing about Marfa's manoeuvres, which violated the earlier Treaty of Yazhelbitsy,[2] Ivan III advanced against Novgorod and defeated the Novgorodian volunteer army in the Battle of Shelon.

According to tradition, Marfa was forced to take the veil in Nizhny Novgorod, but Gail Lenhoff argues that her fate after her arrest is uncertain, as are the date and circumstances of her death.

[3] Marfa's tragic career and struggle for the republican government won her a good deal of sympathy and attention from Russian writers and historians, especially those with a romantic streak.