a category of feudal landowners in the Novgorod Land during the 14th and 15th centuries. They were also involved in trade, often occupied the post of street elder (starosta ulitsy), and served in embassies and courts of law. With the liquidation of Novgorod’s independence in 1478, many zhit’i liudi were resettled in the central districts of the Russian state by Grand Prince Ivan III. A similar class of landowners also existed in Pskov, Viatka, and Tver’, and the term continued to be used into the 16th century.