Well, how did the aforementioned Andrei Bolotov himself live, a military officer who was friends with the later famous Orlov brothers, who knew very well the brilliant officers of the capital, but who preferred the provincial hinterland for himself? His son-in-law Neklyudov owned a comfortable estate. A solid house with perfectly plastered walls was painted oil paints and attracted the attention of even people who had been to Italy and seen something similar there. The Neklyudovsky house was divided, as was customary then, into two halves - the living room, in which the owners were located, and the front room, designed exclusively for receiving guests.

Bolotov himself lived in the Tula province in very cramped circumstances. If other landowners had estates that included a village with several villages, here it was the other way around. One modest village of 16 households on the Skniga river belonged to three Bolotovs. There were also three estates here, almost side by side.

The house of yesterday's officer stood near the pond. Adjacent to it Orchard with hemp. Even the owner himself would be ashamed to call it a manor house in the full sense.

A dilapidated building of an extremely inconspicuous appearance, one-story, without a foundation, half-grown into the ground. To close the shutters on the tiny windows, you had to bend down almost to the ground. It consisted of only three rooms, and “... of these three, one large hall was uninhabited, because it was cold and not heated. It was sparsely furnished. Benches stretched along the plank walls, very blackened by time, and in the front corner, decorated with many of the same blackened icons, there was a table covered with a carpet. Two others small rooms were residential. In the bright coal stove, a huge stove lined with multi-colored tiles spread heat.

There were the same many icons on the walls, and in the front corner hung an icon case with relics, in front of which an unquenchable lamp glowed. In this room there were several chairs, a chest of drawers and a bed. Here, almost without leaving her, lived Bolotov’s mother, who was widowed. The third, connected to the entryway, a very small room, served at the same time as a children's room, a maid's room and a footman's room. From everything in this noble house it smelled of antiquity from the 17th century, and only the notebook of geometric drawings that appeared with the young owner was news among this ancient setting.”

The estate house of Andrei Timofeevich Bolotov, although it existed in the eighteenth century, its decoration, of course, belonged to the seventeenth century. Another belonged to the same century manor house his relative - cousin M. O. Danilov. Judging by the notes of Major Danilov, he was kept in excellent condition.

“The estate where he lived (meaning M. O. Danilov. - S.O.), in the village of Kharin - there was a lot of it: two gardens, a pond and groves all around the estate. The church in the village is wooden. His mansions were high on omshaniks and from below to the upper vestibule there was a long staircase from the courtyard; This staircase was covered with its branches by a large, wide and thick elm tree standing near the porch. All of its tall and spacious-looking mansions consisted of two residential upper rooms, standing through the vestibule; in one upper room he lived in winter, and in another in summer.”

The provincial service nobility lived, or rather huddled, in similar, albeit more modest, conditions in the first half of the 18th century. Moreover, even these are quite poor " noble nests“In those years, as a rule, they were empty. The reason is simple. The inhabitants were mostly in military service. Andrei Bolotov recalls his childhood years: “Our neighborhood was so empty then that none of the good and rich neighbors were close to us.”

And all these estates came to life only for a short time between military campaigns, when the service people went home. With the emergence of a regular army, which was almost constantly at the theater of military operations, such wholesale dissolutions of service people ceased altogether. They are being replaced by the layoffs of individuals, and only on short-term vacations.

A serving nobleman has to part with his dear surroundings for a long time - fields, groves, forests. And when, having become decrepit and aged in the service, he received his resignation, he retained only a vague memory of his native place.

It is interesting, for example, the report to the Senate of a certain foreman Kropotov. In it, he mentions that he had not been to his estate for 27 years, being constantly in military service.

And only in the early 30s of the 18th century the official burden of the nobleman weakened a little. The reason is that the rank and file of the standing regular army is replenished through conscription from the tax-paying classes. So serving nobleman used only for officer positions. However, instead of some hardships, others appear. The landowner becomes responsible to the government for collecting the poll tax from his peasants. And this is precisely what requires the presence of a nobleman in the village. So now the military obligation outweighs the financial one.

Already after Peter I appears whole line measures aimed at facilitating and shortening the period of noble service. Under Catherine I, a significant number of officers and soldiers from the nobility received long leaves from the army to monitor household economy.

Anna Ioannovna takes another step towards easing the lot of the serving nobility. According to the law of 1736, one son from a noble family receives freedom from military service to engage in agriculture.

It is during these years that military service is limited to 25 years. And given the ingrained custom among the nobles of enrolling children in military service Even in infancy, retirement comes very early for many. This is how the outflow of representatives of the Russian army to the provinces gradually begins.

However, real revival in the province was noticeable after the appearance of the law on noble liberty in 1762. And subsequent laws of 1775 and 1785 united, united the “free nobles” into noble societies and organized local administration from among them.

“And, beauty of the homeland, young boyar
He fought, he rioted, he boasted before his wife,
And in the king's chamber, before the image of the law
He lay there groaning and licking the foot of the throne.”
(Alexey Nikolaevich Apukhtin, “To the Slavophiles”)

In Rus' there were poor and rich people, but what did their wealth depend on? Do you think it depends on the amount of money? But no. - From how close they were in service to the Grand Duke, and then the Tsar. He has all the wealth of the country in his hands - he wants it, he rewards it, but if it is his will, he will take it all away and even deprive him of his life. Well, those closest to the Grand Duke were, as you know, the boyars, who, as a rule, are depicted as fat, bearded and wearing tall fur hats.

Nobody really knows what the word boyar means. Vladimir Dal made several assumptions about its original meaning: from “battle” - that is, governor; or “bolyarin” - to be sick, to take care of one’s charges, and also - big, important. Oddly enough, each of these assumptions is most likely true. In ancient times, boyar was the name given to the senior warrior in the princely squad, and then, from the 14th to the 17th centuries (until Emperor Peter I, like other ancient titles, abolished this and introduced the “Table of Ranks” instead), this word became denote the highest service rank. As far as we know, this rank was not hereditary (although there are exceptions to any rule), it could be earned. Well, they deserved it in their mature years, which is why the boyars were not young, and because they were fat, in Rus' corpulence was considered a sign of prosperity.

The first class of servants or courtyard people of the Grand Duke, in addition to the boyars, also included okolniki and duma nobles. The okolnik should not be confused with the falconer.

Okolnichy - “near” the Grand Duke, close to him, the second rank after the boyar in the Russian state. Initially, his duties apparently included arranging and ensuring the prince’s travel, and participating in the reception and negotiations with foreign ambassadors. Then the okolnichy began to be part of Boyar Duma.

Well, falconers, as their name implies, were in charge of falconry. For their merits - and this happened, they were elevated to the rank of okolnichy and even boyar. The last falconer of the Moscow tsars was Gavrila Pushkin. Since 1606, appointments to this position have not occurred.
Below the boyar and the okolnichy in their position at court were stolniks, solicitors, Moscow nobles and tenants. These were second class ranks.

Stolniks have been known as a palace rank since the 13th century. The position was very honorable and therefore among the stewards there were representatives of the highest aristocracy - princes Kurakins, Odoevskys, Golitsyns, Repnins and others.
Solicitors are not those who cooked and prepared food. The word concoction itself had a broader meaning - “to do”, “to work”. Vladimir Dal writes about the court lawyer: “The lawyer with the key, who kept the royal utensils; looking after clothes, guard robmeister.” Later, in the 18th and early 20th centuries, attorneys-in-affairs (that is, lawyers), as well as officials of the prosecutor’s department who monitored the in the right way affairs.

Nobles were previously called boyar children. They performed compulsory service, receiving estates from the princes, boyars or the church, but did not have the right to leave. Boyar children - descendants of younger members princely squads- youths, about whom we will talk below. With the formation of the Russian unified state, a large number of boyar children went into the service of the Moscow Grand Duke. The term “boyar children” disappeared during the reforms of the early 18th century due to the merging of service people into one class - the nobility.

Residents are one of the categories of service rank in the Moscow state in the 16th and early 18th centuries, located between Moscow nobles and city nobles. A city nobleman who became a tenant had a chance, if not for himself, then for posterity, to make a career, that is, to become a Moscow nobleman and receive further promotion. The term “tenants” disappeared during the reforms of Peter I.

Well, of course, one should not confuse nobles with butlers, courtiers, and nobles with the path. What are they?
Initially, the butler is simply a servant of the prince. When orders (prototypes of future ministries) appeared, the role of the butler changed; he became the head of the order of the Great Palace, which was in charge of all the household yards. From 1473 to 1646 there was always only one butler in Moscow, and after this date 12 boyars held this title at the same time; then almost every year he was granted to either one or several fighters at once. As a result, the position of boyar-butler turned into an honorary title, although by order Grand Palace Only one continued to lead.
But what was later called the butler - the manager of the princely household (until the beginning of the 16th century) was previously called the courtyard. A person in this position was also in charge of collecting taxes and overseeing the execution of court sentences.

Dvorchestvo with path is the honorary title of a boyar-butler, which was granted in the second half of the 17th century and was accompanied by monetary income from a certain area. This title was awarded to boyar Vasily Vasilyevich Buturlin on May 8, 1654. This is not the place detailed story about this outstanding person, we will only mention that in 1653, Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich gave Buturlin the order to “take under his sovereign high hand and bring the “newly united Little Russia” to faith. At the head of a large embassy, ​​Buturlin left Moscow on October 9, on December 31 he arrived in Pereyaslavl, where on January 6, 1654, after some disputes, the oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexei of Hetman Khmelnitsky and the foreman took place, and on the next day the rest of the Cossacks. A monument was erected in Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky in honor of this significant event, which depicts Vasily Buturlin.
In addition to court ranks, service people could have other ranks - administrative, judicial and military. Here are just a few of them. Viceroy is a fairly long-lasting position title, until the 1917 revolution, although its meaning has changed. IN Old Russian state the prince appointed this man to lead the city in his place, that is, as his deputy. Local power was shared equally with the governor by the volost, who ruled the volost in the name of the prince.

Both the governor and the volostel did not receive salaries from the prince, but were fed by taxes from the local population (this was called feeding). The governor had at his disposal administrative personnel and military detachments for local defense and suppression of internal unrest. From the beginning of the 16th century. the power of the governors was limited, and in 1555-1556. in accordance with the Land and Guba reforms of Ivan the Terrible, it was replaced by elected zemstvo institutions. However, the name “viceroy” did not disappear completely; it began to designate the head of local government and existed until 1917.
Voivode is a military commander. But not only in the middle of the 16th century did governors lead city ​​government, ousting the city clerks, and from 1708 the governors stood at the head of the provinces, but not for long: during provincial reform In 1775, the position of governor was abolished.
The youth we mentioned is not an age, but a rank - junior warrior. Above him was Gridin.
We talked only about some of the ranks of service people before Peter, there were much more of them

The meaning of the word NOBLEMAN in Dahl's Dictionary

NOBLEMAN

husband. noblewoman nobles plural initially courtier; a noble citizen in the service of the sovereign, an official at court; this title has become hereditary and means noble by birth or rank, belonging to the granted, upper class, which alone was granted the ownership of populated estates and people. An ancestral, native nobleman, whose ancestors, for several generations, were nobles; pillar, ancient family; hereditary, who himself, or his ancestor in a recent generation, has earned the nobility; personal, having earned the nobility for himself, but not for his children.

| Vologda nobleman, acceptance, vlazen, an adult guy taken into the house, esp. haunted son-in-law.

| At weddings, the boyars, poezzhans, and all the guests are called nobles, as if they today constitute the court of the young, the prince and princess. Neither a merchant, nor a nobleman, but a master of his house (deed, word). In Rus', a nobleman is one for many. The nobleman will not dishonor, even if his little head perishes. The nobleman is not rich, but he is not traveling alone. It’s impossible to be a nobleman, but I don’t want to live as a peasant. Not a Novgorod nobleman, you can go yourself. The devils do not touch the nobles, and the Jews do not touch the Samaritans. Jews do not touch Samaritans, and men do not touch nobles. Our lay people are nobles by birth: they don’t like work, but they don’t mind going for a walk. Where the nobles go, the laity go. Noble husband mockingly, young nobleman. Nobleman, noble son. Noble, belonging to, characteristic of the nobles, relating to them, composed of them, etc. Noble family. Certificate of nobility. Noble regiment, abolished. The assembly of the nobility in the provinces is general, for elections and important matters; deputy, where only leaders and deputies gather to account for zemstvo expenses and resolve matters. The noble son looks full and eats little. A noble son is like a Nogai horse: when he dies, even if he shakes his leg, he does not abandon his lordly ways. Noble dish: two mushrooms on a plate. Noble service, red need, about the ancient military. service. The arrogance is noble, but the mind is peasant. The arrogance of a nobleman, but the mind of a peasant. An honorable ring on a noble hand. Nobility Wed. class of nobles, their society.

| Rank, dignity of a nobleman. Nowadays the rank of colonel is given by hereditary, and other ranks by personal nobility. Happiness is not the nobility, it is not determined by birth. By the liberty of the nobility, from the manifesto of Peter III. Noble, show off, accept important view and shake. To become a nobleman, to break into a lordly manner, to pretend to be a nobleman, a master, Noblesome, eager to become a nobleman, to become a nobleman. Dvorobrod husband. yard wives Kolobrod, connecting rod, beggar or yard-washer vol. husband's troubles Wander around, barbecue, beg from house to house, beg. Nobility, pre-marketing cf. this occupation, this trade.

Dahl. Dahl's Dictionary. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what a NOBLEMAN is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• NOBLEMAN in the Dictionary of Thieves' Slang:
  - 1) an authoritative thief, 2) spending the night in the open air, 3) constantly drinking during...
• NOBLEMAN V Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  , -a, pl. -yane, -yang, m. A person belonging to the nobility. II noblewoman, -i. II adj. noble, oh, oh. Noble...
• NOBLEMAN in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
  nobles"n, nobles", nobles" on, nobles, nobles" well, nobles"m, nobles" on, nobles, nobles"nom, nobles"mi, nobles"not, ...
• NOBLEMAN in the Popular Explanatory Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  -a, pl. yard "yane, -"yang, m. A person belonging to the nobility. You are a plebeian by blood, and I am a Polish nobleman, one...
• NOBLEMAN in Abramov's Dictionary of Synonyms:
  aristocrat, master, boyar, grandee, magnate, patrician; (baronet, baron, viscount, duke; earl, prince, lord, marquis, prince). They are from backgrounds (German...
• NOBLEMAN in the Russian Synonyms dictionary:
  master, boyar, viscount, gez, duke, hidalgo, grand, count, nobleman, hidalgo, infanton, caballero, novik, prince, samurai, serviceman, chevalier, nobleman, escudero, ...
• NOBLEMAN in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
  
• NOBLEMAN in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  nobleman, -a, pl. -`yane,...
• NOBLEMAN in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  nobleman, -a, pl. -I don't, …
• NOBLEMAN in the Spelling Dictionary:
  nobleman, -a, pl. -`yane,...
• NOBLEMAN in Ozhegov’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  a person belonging to...
• NOBLEMAN in Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  nobleman, plural nobles, nobles, m. A person belonging to the nobility ...
• NOBLEMAN in Ephraim's Explanatory Dictionary:
  nobleman m. A person belonging to the nobility ...
• NOBLEMAN in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
  m. A person belonging to the nobility ...
• NOBLEMAN in the Bolshoi Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language:
  m. see...
• JUNKER (NOBLEMAN IN PRUSSIA) in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (German Junker, literally - young nobleman), nobleman, large landowner in Prussia; V in a broad sense- German large land owner. Cm. …
• YAKOVLEVS
  Yakovlevs. - There are several ancient noble families Yakovlev, but two of them are considered more ancient. The first of them is offspring...
• YUSHKOVS in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  The Yushkovs are an old Russian noble family, dating back to those who left the Golden Horde to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Zeusha, ...
• KHITROVO in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Khitrovo is an ancient noble family, tracing its origins from those who left the Golden Horde in the second half of the 14th century to the great ...
• NETHERLANDS LITERATURE. in the Literary Encyclopedia.
• YAKOVLEVS in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
  There are several ancient noble families of Ya, but two of them are considered more ancient. The first of them is the offspring of Andrei Ivanovich...

Russian princes, both great and appanage, had their own court staff, whose members were called courtyard people.

The courtyard people included the following ranks: boyars, okolnichy, butlers, Duma nobles, stewards, warriors, etc.

Due to the inseparability of the concepts of what is the prince’s personal business and what is the state’s, they had to perform not only court duties, but also various administrative, judicial and military duties.

At the same time, the boyars, okolnichy, duma nobles constituted the first class of courtyard people, and the stewards, solicitors, Moscow nobles and tenants constituted the second class.

After the introduction of the “Table of Ranks” by Peter I in 1722, the ancient Russian ranks and titles were no longer used.

BOYARIN

1) Senior warrior, adviser to the prince in the ancient Russian state of the 9th-13th centuries; 2) feudal landowner 3) the highest official rank in the Russian state of the 14th-17th centuries, as well as the person granted this rank.

In everyday life, all feudal landowners in the 17th century. for the population dependent on them they were boyars; later this word was modified into the concepts “bare”, “master”.

The title of boyar gave the right to participate in meetings of the Boyar Duma; a close or room boyar was a special confidant of the king and had the right of access to the royal chambers; a relative of the queen received the title of proper boyar.

The boyars headed special branches of government. As feudal landowners, they were vassals of the prince, obliged to serve in his army, but they enjoyed the right of departure to the new overlord and were complete masters in their estates (the right of immunity), and had their own vassals.

In the XIV-XV centuries. as a single centralized state and accordingly, state property, the political rights of the boyars were limited; there were changes in social composition boyars.

Grand Ducal, and from the middle of the 16th century. The tsarist government persistently suppressed the actions of those boyars who resisted its centralization policy. Especially swipe The boyar aristocracy was damaged by the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, and the abolition of localism in 1682 finally undermined the influence of the boyars.

The title of boyar was abolished by Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century.

VOIVODA

Military leader, ruler of the Slavs. Known in Rus' since the 10th century. (mentioned in the chronicles as the head of the princely squad or the leader of the people's militia). From the end of the 15th century. until the creation of a regular army in Russia (early 18th century) - military leader of a regiment or detachment.

In the middle of the 16th century. governors headed the city administration, displacing city clerks. In the 17th century. their power, military and civil, increased significantly. At this time, they obeyed Moscow orders, acting on their “mandates” (instructions). Since 1708, voivodes were at the head of the provinces. During the provincial reform of 1775, the post of governor was abolished.

VOLOSTEL

An official in the Russian state of the 11th-16th centuries, who ruled the volost on behalf of the great or appanage princes and was in charge of administrative and court cases. Without receiving a salary from the government, the volostels “fed” at the expense of the population who paid taxes.

HEAD

Names of military and administrative officials in Russia XVI—XVII centuries The position of head existed until the beginning of the 18th century. In 1795, a charter granted to cities in Russia introduced the position of mayor.

CITYMAN

Representative of the local administration in the Moscow state, later in Russian Empire. The position of mayor dates back to the first half of the 16th century. from the city clerk.

In 1775-1782 headed the administrative police department executive branch in county towns. In the 19th century mayors were appointed mainly from retired officers. The position was abolished in 1862.

CITY CLAIMS

Elected from among district service people, rulers of cities and districts in Russia in the 16th century; obeyed the governor. They were in charge of the affairs of service people, construction, repair of city fortifications, ammunition, collection of taxes, etc.

IN war time served as the city military commandant. After the introduction of the positions of city governors, they became their assistants and were appointed directly by governors from among the local nobles.

GRIDIN

Junior squad, collective grid - junior squad. Gridnitsa is part of the palace where Gridnitsa lived. From the end of the 12th century. the term “grid” disappears and instead “dvor” appears, in the sense of a junior squad.

BUTLER

The courtyard man of the Russian princes and Moscow tsars. With the development of the order system, the butler in the 17th century. becomes the head of the order of the Grand Palace, which was in charge of the economic yards.

From 1473 to 1646 there was always only one butler in Moscow; since 1646, 12 boyars had this title at the same time; then almost every year he was granted to either one or several boyars at once. As a result, the position of boyar-butler turned into an honorary title, since only one continued to lead the order of the Grand Palace.

DVORSKY

The predecessor of the butler in the role of manager of the princely household until the beginning of the 16th century; he was also in charge of collecting taxes and supervising the execution of court sentences.

MINDFULNESS WITH THE WAY

The honorary title of boyar-butler, complained of in the second half of the 17th century. and accompanied by monetary income from a certain area. This title was awarded to boyar V.V. Buturlin on May 8, 1654.

BOYAR CHILDREN

The category of small feudal lords who appeared in Rus' in the 15th century. They performed compulsory service, receiving estates from the princes, boyars or the church, but did not have the right to leave. Boyar children are descendants of the younger members of the princely squads - youths.

With the formation of the Russian unified state, a large number of boyar children went into the service of the Moscow Grand Duke. In the feudal-service hierarchy of the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries. “children of the boyars” stood above the nobles, since the latter often descended from unfree princely servants of the allotted time. The term “boyar children” disappeared during the reforms of the early 18th century. in connection with the merger of service people into one class - the nobility.

CHILDREN'S

Junior members of the squad in Ancient Rus'. They carried out various assignments for the prince and accompanied him as retinue and bodyguards. They did not take part in the prince's council, with the exception of military councils. Only a free person could become “childish”.

THOUGHT NOBLEMAN

In the Russian state of the XVI-XVIII centuries. the third “in honor” Duma rank after the boyars and okolnichy. Duma nobles participated in the meeting of the Boyar Duma, being in the overwhelming majority from noble families; their number was small. Along with the Duma clerks, they served as a support for the tsarist power in the fight against the boyar aristocracy in the Duma.

DUMA OFFICERS

In the Russian state in the XVI-XVII centuries. officials- boyars, okolnichy, Duma nobles and Duma clerks who had the right to participate in meetings of the Boyar Duma and in the work of Duma commissions.

They filled the highest palace positions, took part in diplomatic negotiations, and resolved local disputes. All Duma titles were abolished in 1711 after the creation of the Senate.

Deacon-servant. In the Old Russian state, clerks were the personal servants of the prince, and often not free. They kept the prince's treasury and carried out office work, for which reason they were originally called clerks.

Education in the Moscow State in the XIV-XV centuries. demanded orders large quantity competent and energetic unborn service people who became assistants to the boyars - heads of orders. In the 16th century clerks already played a prominent role in local government, being assistants to governors in all matters except military matters; were in charge of public finances.

A new major step in the rise of the clerks was their penetration into the Boyar Duma (presumably at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries), where they enjoyed equal voting rights with other members of the Duma in deciding matters, although they stood and did not sit. For their service, clerks were rewarded with money and estates.

RESIDENTS

One of the categories of service rank in the Moscow state in the 16th - early 18th centuries, located between Moscow nobles and city nobles. A city nobleman who became a tenant had a chance, if not for himself, then for posterity, to make a career, that is, to become a Moscow nobleman and receive further promotion. The term “tenants” disappeared during the reforms of Peter I.

KEYMAN

The same as tiun, that is, the slave of the Grand Duke, but at the same time the first person in his household, who also served as manager and judge. He even had his own slaves and clerks. The housekeeper's wife was usually entrusted with the management of the female servants.

PRINCE HUSBAND

A member of the prince's senior squad, as well as a boyar, according to at will joined the squad; was an adviser to the prince and held the highest military and civil positions - mayor, thousand, governor. Sometimes he had his own squad.

STABLE

Court rank of the Russian state of the 15th - early 17th centuries. - Head of the Equestrian Department. He led the Boyar Duma and actively participated in diplomatic and military activities; sometimes he headed the government (I.F. Ovchina-Telepnev, B. Godunov).

KRAVCHY

Court rank of the Moscow State. It was first mentioned at the very beginning of the 16th century. He served the sovereign at the table during ceremonial dinners. He was in charge of the steward who served food.

In addition to supervising drinking and eating, the kravchiy was entrusted with the duties of distributing food and drinks from the royal table to the homes of the boyars and other ranks on the days of ceremonial dinners. Representatives of the most noble families were appointed to the position of clerk.

The service life of the kravchiy did not exceed five years. In the lists they were written after the okolnichy. Kravstvo, which was highest degree for a steward, was not connected with the highest official positions - butler, okolnichy and boyar.

TRAPPER

The rank of the princely court. The hunters were not only hunters, hunting companions of the prince, but also executors of his various assignments, including diplomatic ones.

Unknown people were appointed as hunters, but some of them subsequently rose to the rank of Duma nobles, okolnichy and even boyars. For example, Nagiye and Pushkin, who reached the boyars.

SWORDMAN

The rank of the princely court, main responsibility which was judicial. In addition, swordsmen were also entrusted with conducting diplomatic negotiations. So, in 1147, Andrei Bogolyubsky sent his swordsman as ambassador to the Rostislavichs.

GOVERNOR

1) In the Old Russian state, an official appointed by the prince and headed local government in cities together with volosts. The position was first introduced in the 12th century. and was finally established in the 14th century. They were rewarded for service by feeding (that is, at the expense of the local population).

The governor had at his disposal administrative personnel and military detachments for local defense and suppression of internal unrest. From the beginning of the 16th century. the power of the governors was limited, and in 1555-1556. in accordance with the Land and Guba reforms of Ivan the Terrible, it was replaced by elected zemstvo institutions;

2) in the Russian Empire - the head of local government. The position was introduced under Catherine II in 1775 to strengthen the centralization of power. The viceroy (governor general) headed the administration of two or three provinces, was endowed with emergency powers, as well as the right of public supervision over the entire local administration and court apparatus, and was responsible only to the empress.

He was also in charge of the troops located on the territory of the governorship. In 1796, Paul I abolished the position, but it was soon restored by Alexander I. In the 19th-20th centuries. there were governorships in the Kingdom of Poland (1815-1874) and in the Caucasus (1844-1883, 1900-1917).

OKOLNICHIY

Court rank and position in the Russian state of the 13th–early 18th centuries. Initially, the duties of the okolnichy apparently included arranging and ensuring the prince’s travel and participating in the reception and negotiations with foreign ambassadors.

The rank was first mentioned in 1284. In the XIV-XVIII centuries. Okolnichy were part of the Boyar Duma, belonging to the second most important (after the boyar) Duma rank. The rank was abolished in 1711.

ARMOR

Russian court rank from about the 16th century. His duties included managing the “state armory,” that is, the royal armory treasury. In the court hierarchy, this position was considered very high and okolnichy or boyars were appointed to it. Of the eight gunsmiths known from the lists, four are princes.

With the establishment in the 17th century. Under the weapons order, the duties of the gunsmith have expanded. As the head of the order, he not only stored weapons, but also took care of their manufacture and purchase. False Dmitry I established the rank of great armorer in 1605.

YOUTHS

The younger members of the squad in Ancient Rus' were mainly the courtyard servants of the prince, as opposed to the children - the fighting members of the squad. Among the youths there were also unfree people - slaves. The duties of the youths included serving at the prince’s table, cleaning things and carrying out his various assignments. The youths did not take part in the prince’s council, with the exception of military councils.

PRINTER

The rank of the princely court, known from the first half of the 13th century. As follows from the chronicles, the printers came from eminent people, but were equally skilled with both the pen and the sword. Since the 17th century the positions of printers were occupied exclusively by clerks, and with half XVII V. - Duma clerks who led the Ambassadorial and Printing orders.

CLEANMAN

Assistant clerk. Clerks were divided into senior, middle and junior. Since 1641, only service people could become clerks, as a result of which their service became hereditary.

POSADNIK

An official in Ancient Rus' who had the significance of a princely governor. Special role they played in the Novgorod and Pskov national governments.

Destroying the independence of Novgorod (1478), Grand Duke Moskovsky Ivan III Vasilievich demanded that there be neither a mayor nor a council in it.

BEDMAN

The rank of the Russian princely, and then the royal court, in charge of the “state bed”. According to the Sheremetev Boyar Book, it was mentioned for the first time since 1495, but in fact it existed much earlier than that time under the name Pokladnik.

The bedspreader was the prince's closest servant: he slept in the same room with him, went to the bathhouse, and accompanied him on special occasions. He had attorneys and sleeping bags at his disposal. His position was exclusively private, domestic in nature.

BELL

The ancient honorary title of the royal squire and bodyguard (it was not a rank and did not bring a salary). It was given to young people (the tallest and most handsome) from the best families, holding the rank of steward or solicitor.

SLEEPING BAG

The court rank in the Russian state in the 15th-17th centuries was subordinate to the bed guard. The sleeping bags were on duty in the sovereign's room, undressed and dressed him, and accompanied him during his trips. Typically, sleeping men were young people of noble origin.

FALCONER

The rank of the princely court, known since 1550; was in charge of falconry, and sometimes all the institutions of military-princely hunting. Usually people of no eminence were appointed to falconers, but it happened that they subsequently received the title of okolnichiy or even boyar.

The last falconer of the Moscow tsars was Gavrila Pushkin. Since 1606, appointments to this position have not occurred.

STOLNIK

Palace rank, known since the 13th century.Service in the stolniks was honorable, among them there were mainly representatives of the highest aristocracy: princes Kurakins, Odoevskys, Golitsyns, Repnins, etc.

ATTORNEY

1) Ancient Russian palace rank. The name is borrowed from the word “cook”, i.e. to do, to work;

2) in the XVIII-early XX centuries. - charge d'affaires (lawyer), as well as an official of the prosecutor's department who monitored the correct progress of the case.