The
Russian nobility (
Dvoryanstvo) arose in the 14th century 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.
dvoryanine). As in other countries, nobility was a status, a social category, but not a
title.
Categories
Nobility was transferred by inheritance or was bestowed by a
fount of honour.
- Titled nobility—there were three titles:
- * Count (graf Граф): e.g., Count Tolstoy
- * Baron (baron Барон): e.g., Baron Pahlen
- Hereditary nobility— routinely inherited by heirs
- Personal nobility—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.
In addition, the
ancient nobility (Древнее дворянство) was recognized, descendants of historical
boyars and
knyazes.
Russian did not employ a nobiliary particule (as
von in German or
de in French) before a surname, but Russian noblemen were accorded an official salutation that varied by their ranks:
your nobility (ваше благородие),
your high nobility (ваше высокоблагородие),
your high ancestry (ваше высокородие), etc. However, commonly when "anglicized" instead of the common ending "
-v" nobleman used "
-ff". For example,
Romanoffs, rather than Romanovs, the practice was later adopted by
white emigre during Russian Revolution.
History
The nobility arose in the 12th and 13th centuries as the lowest part of the feudal military 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 or simply
civilian uniform. The uniform prescribed colors that depended on the territory. The uniform was required at the places of service, at the Court, and at other important public places. The privileges of the nobility were fixed and were legally codified in 1785 in the
Charter to the Gentry. The Charter introduced an organization of the nobility: every province (
guberniya) and district (
uyezd) had an
Assembly of Nobility. The chair of an Assembly was called
Province/District Marshal of Nobility.
By 1805, the various ranks of the nobility had become confused, as is apparent in
War and Peace. Here, we see
counts who are wealthier and more important than
princes. We see many noble families whose wealth has been dissipated, partly through lack of
primogeniture and partly through extravagance and poor estate management. We see young noblemen serving in the Army, but we see none who acquire new landed estates that way. (This refers to the era of the
Napoleonic Wars. Tolstoy reported some improvement afterwards: some nobles paid more attention to estate management, and some, like
Andrey Bolkonsky, freed their serfs even before the
tsar did so in 1861..
After the
peasant reform of 1861 the economic position of the nobility was weakened. The influence of nobility was further reduced by the
new law statutes of 1864, under which their right of electing law officers was repealed. The reform of the police in 1862 limited the landowners authority locally, and creation of all-estate
Zemstvo local government did away with exclusive influence of nobility in local self-government.
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 role that the Russian nobility has played in the historical and cultural development of Russia.
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, 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.
Privileges of the nobility
Russian nobility possessed the following privileges:
- The right of possession of populated estates (until 1861), including virtual ownership of the serfs who worked on the estates.
- 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 have a coat of arms, introduced by the end of the 17th century.
See also
