Russian nobility
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The Russian nobility (Russian: Дворянство) arose in the 1300s and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.
The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo (дворянство), derives from the Russian word dvor (двор), meaning the Court of a prince or duke (kniaz) and later, of the tsar. A noble was called dvoryanin (pl. dvoryane). As in other countries, nobility was a status, a social category, but not a title.
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[edit] Classes
Nobility was transferred by inheritance or was appropriated by a fount of honour.
- Ancient nobility - which the descendants of Rurik and Gediminas and boyars inherited, e.g. the Galitzines, Gorchakovs and Chelyadnins.
- Titled nobility - there were three titles:
- Prince (knyaz Князь) e.g. Prince Potemkin
- Count (graf Граф) e.g. Count Tolstoy
- Baron (baron Барон) e.g. Baron Pahlen
- Hereditary nobility - was routinely inherited by heirs
- Personal nobility - was granted for the personal merits of the recipient.
- Unpropertied nobility - was obtained without the allotment and securing of a landed estate.
Unlike the ancient nobility, which was exclusively hereditary, the remaining classes of nobility could be acquired. A newly designated noble was usually entitled to landownership. A loss of land did not automatically mean loss of nobility. In later Imperial Russia, higher ranks of state service (see Table of Ranks) were automatically granted nobility, not necessarily associated with landownership.
Titled nobility (титулованное дворянство) was the highest category: those who had titles such as prince, count and baron. The latter two titles were introduced by Peter the Great. A baron or count could be either proprietary (actual) ( владетельный (действительный)), i.e. who owned land in the Russian Empire or titular (титулярный), i.e. only endowed with the title.
Hereditary nobility (потомственное дворянство) was transferred to wife, children and further direct legal descendants along the male line. In exceptional cases, the emperor could transfer nobility along indirect or female lines, e.g., to preserve a notable family name.
Personal nobility (личное дворянство) was transferable only to the wife and was of much lower prestige.
Unpropertied nobility (беспоместное дворянство) was nobility gained by state service, but which was not entitled to land ownership.
Russian nobles did not have specific prefixes to their names, such as don, von or de but did have the right to the official appellation that depended on the rank: your nobility (ваше благородие), your high nobility (ваше высокоблагородие), your high ancestry (ваше высокородие), etc.
[edit] History
The nobility arose in the 12th and 13th centuries as the lowest part of the feudal military (военно-служилого) class, which composed the court of a prince or an important boyar. From the 14th century land ownership by nobles increased, and by the 17th century it composed the bulk of feudal lords and constituted the majority of landowners. Peter the Great finalized the status of the nobility, while abolishing the boyar title.
From 1782, a kind of uniform was introduced for civilian nobles called uniform of civilian service (мундир статской службы) or simply civilian uniform (статский (штатский) мундир). The uniform prescribed colors that depended on the territory. The uniform was required at the places of service, at the Court and other important public places. The privileges of the nobility were fixed and were legally codified in 1785 in the Bestowed Charter (Zhalovannaya Gramota Жалованная Грамота). The Bestowed Charter introduced an organization of the nobility: every province (guberniya, губе́рния) and district (uyezd, уезд) had an Assembly of Nobility (дворянское собрание). The chair of an Assembly was called Province/District Marshal of Nobility (губернский/уездный предводитель дворянства).
After the peasant reform of 1861 the economic position of the nobility was weakened. After the October Revolution of 1917 all classes of nobility were legally abolished. Many members of the Russian nobility who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution played a significant role in the White emigre communities that settled in Europe, in North America, and in other parts of the world. In the 1920s and 1930s, several Russian nobility associations were established outside Russia, including groups in France, Belgium, and the United States. In New York, the Russian Nobility Association in America was founded in 1938. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a growing interest among Russians in the the role that the Russian nobility has played in the historical and cultural development of Russia.
[edit] Acquisition of nobility
There were several methods by which nobility might be acquired. One of them was the acquisition of nobility by military service.
Between 1722 and 1845 hereditary nobility was given for long military service at officer rank (ensign, cornet), for civil service at the rank of Collegiate Assessor and with any order of the Russian Empire.
Between 1845 and 1856 nobility was bestowed for long service at the rank of Major and State Counsellor, to all holders of the Order of Saint George and the Order of Saint Vladimir, and with the first degrees of other orders. Between 1856 and 1900, nobility was given to those rising to the rank of Colonel, captain of the first rank, and Actual State Counsellor. The qualification of nobility was further restricted between 1900 and 1917 - only someone rewarded with the order of Saint Vladimir of the third class (or higher) could become a hereditary noble.
[edit] Privileges of the nobility
Russian nobility possessed the following privileges:
- The right of possession of populated estates (until 1861)
- Freedom from required military service (1762-1874, later an all-estate compulsory military service was introduced)
- Freedom from zemstvo duties (until the second half of 19th century)
- The right to enter civil service and privileged educational institutions (such as the imperial School of Jurisprudence)
- The right to a corporate body
- The right to have a family coat of arms, introduced by the end of the 17th century.
