structural:expansion
Novgorod Republic

Livonian missionary and crusade activity in Estonia caused conflicts with Novgorod, who had also attempted to subjugate, raid and convert the pagan Estonians. The Estonians also sometimes attempted to ally with the Russians against the Crusaders.

Wars between the two sides continued intermittently on several occasions, and halted the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order, but Novgorodian attempt to take Estonia and Livonia also failed, and the area was firmly dominated by the Teutonic Order.