Muscovy

: This article is about Muscovite Russia. For the duck see Muscovy Duck

Evolution of the Russian Aristocracy

Boyars were hereditary nobles of three categories:

Related Topics:
Boyar - Nobles

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1) Rurikid princes of Chernigov, Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, etc. that lived in Moscow after their hereditary principalities had been incorporated into Muscovy (e.g., Shuisky, Dolgorukov, Repnin, Lobanov-Rostovsky);

Related Topics:
Rurikid - Chernigov - Rostov - Suzdal - Yaroslavl - Shuisky - Dolgorukov - Repnin - Lobanov-Rostovsky

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2) foreign princes from Lithuania and Golden Horde, claiming descent either from Grand Duke Gedyminas or from Genghis Khan (e.g., Mstislavsky, Galitzine, Trubetskoy);

Related Topics:
Lithuania - Golden Horde - Gedyminas - Genghis Khan - Mstislavsky - Galitzine - Trubetskoy

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3) ancient families of Muscovite nobility that have been recorded in the service of Grand Dukes from the 14th century (e.g., Romanov, Godunov, Sheremetev).

Related Topics:
Romanov - Godunov - Sheremetev

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Rurikid and Gediminid boyars, whose fathers and grandfathers were independent princelings, felt that they are kin to tsar and hence almost equal to him. During the times of dynastic troubles (such as the years of Ivan IV's minority), boyarstvo constituted an internal force which was a permanent threat to the throne. An early form of Tsar's conflict with boyarstvo was oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible.

Related Topics:
Oprichnina - Ivan the Terrible

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During such conflicts, Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, and some later tsars felt the necessity to counterbalance the boyarstvo by creating a new kind of nobility, based on personal devotion to tsar and merits earned by faithful service, rather than by heredity. Later these new nobles were called dvoryans (singular: dvoryanin). The name comes from the Russian word dvor in the meaning of tsar's dvor, i.e., The Court. Hence the expression pozhalovat ko dvoru, i.e., to be called to (serve) The Court.

Related Topics:
Ivan the Terrible - Boris Godunov - Dvoryanin

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