Soldiers of the Tsar. Army and Society in Russia, 1462-1874 - John L. Keep

22 Muscovite Roots, 1462-1689

Fig. I. Structure of the Ranking System in Muscovite Russia.
This diagram represents schematically the various ranks (chiny) of servitors in order of
proximity to the source of power and favour. A circular form is preferable to the vertical
one of modern organization charts, since to the Muscovite the objective of the 'service
state' was to safeguard the security of the Sovereign Autocrat, seen as the embodiment
of true piety (pravda), against threats from without. The terminology of the ranks
varied slightly.

Key:
A. Men in hereditary service (sluzhiliye lyudi po otechestvu)
I. Members of the tsar's council (dumnye chiny)
I. Boyars (boyare)

2. Oko/"nichiye


3. Duma nobles (dumnye dvoryane) and secretaries (d'yaki)
   II. Men serving from the Moscow register (chiny moskovskiye, sluzhiliye lyudi po
   moskovskomu spisku)


4. Sto/"niki


5. Stryapchiye


6. Moscow nobles (dvoryane moskovskiye)


7. Zhi/'tsy
   Ill. Men serving from provincial towns (sluzhiliye lyudi po gorodovomu spisku)


8. Vybornye ('the select')


9. Deti boyarskiye dvorovye


10. Deli boyarskiye f?Orodovye