Other Titles

Ranks and Titles (according to old-rus.narod.ru)

Boyarin -

1) senior druzhinik, advisor to prince in ancient Russian state in 9th-13th cent.

2) feudal landowner

3) highest service rank in Russian state of 14th-17th cent., and also a person granted such a rank. Rank of boyarin gave the right to participate in the Boyar Duma. The close (blizhij) or room (komnatnyj) boyarin was a special confidant of the tsar and had the right of access to the royal chambers. Relatives of the tsaritsa received the title svojstvennoj boyarin (special/peculiar/inherent boyarin?).

Boyars directed special branches of goverment. As feudal landlords, they were vassals of the knyaz, obliged to serve in his army, but possessing the right to leave to a new suzerain and were pully sovereing in their own patrimony and had their own vassals.

In the 14-15th cent, in the process of forming a single central goverment and uniting state property, the political rights of boyars were limitted; occurred also a change in the social situation of the boyarstvo. The grand princely and, from the middle of the 16th cent., tsarist authority persistently suppressed the prominence of these boyars, who fought its political centralization.

Deti boyarskie

A class of minor nobles that emerged in Rus in the 15th cent. They performed obligatory service, receiving for it pomest'e (service estate) from the prince, boyar or church, but they did not have the right to leave/move. The deti boyarskie were decendents of junior members of the princely druzhina, the otroki. With the formation of the united Russian state, a large number of deti boyarskie transferred their service to the Moscow grand prince. In the feudal service hierarchy of the 15th-first half of 16th cent. "deti boyarskie" stood above dvoryan, since the latter often came from unfree princely servants from the appanage times. (The deti boyarskie were combined with the service people in the 18th century to form the "dvoryanstvo".)

Gridin

Junior druzhinik, collectively "grid' " - the junior druzhina. The gridnitsa is the part of the palace where the grid' lived. From the end of the 12th cent., the term "grid' " disappears and in place of it appears "dvor" with the meaning of junior druzhina.

Dvorskij

Predecessor of the dvoretskij in the role of directing the princely household until the beginning of the 16th cent. He conducted also the collection of taxes and supervised the completion of judicial sentences.

Dvoretskij

Court official of Russian princes and Muscovite tsars. With the development the prikaz system, in the 17th cent. dvoretskij became chiefs of prikazy. The Great Dvoretskij had the management of the court. From 1473 until 1646, in Moscow there was only one dvoretskij. The position was held by boyars (at least after 1646), when 12 boyars were appointed to serve simultaneously, and eventually the title became honorary.

Voevoda

Military leader, ruler of the Slavs. In Rus is known from the 10th cent. (recorded in chronicles in capacity of chief of the princely druzhina or leader of militia). From the end of the 15th cent. until the creation of a regular army (beginning 18th cent.) he was the military leader of regiments or troops. In the middle of the 16th cent. voevody supervised city government, with help of city clerks.

Golova

Title of military and administrative official in Russia from the 16th-17th cent.

Volostel'

Official in the Russian state in the 11th-16th cent. that directed districts (volosti) in the name of the grand or appanage prince and conducted administrative and judicial affairs. He did not receive a salary, but supported himself off a percentage of the local taxes, a system called kormlenie.

Namestnik

(Replaced by the voevoda in the 16th cent.?)

Gorodovyj prikazchik

Elected from county service people, rulers of cities and counties in Russian in the 16th cent.; subordinate to the namestnik. Managed affairs of service people, construction, repair of city fortifications, weaons, etc. In war time they fulfilled the function of urban military commanders. After the intruduction of the position of city voevoda, they became their assistants, appointed directly by the voevoda from the local dvoryane.