boyars
Old Slavic lords
Boyars were members of the highest rank of the feudal aristocracy in Russia and other Slavic countries, holding land and wielding considerable political influence from the 10th through 17th centuries.
They served as advisers to princes and tsars, often rivaling royal authority until Peter the Great abolished the rank in the early 1700s.
The term now appears mainly in historical contexts discussing medieval Eastern European society and governance.
Feudal bound laborers
- peasantryRural working class
- vassalsFeudal subordinates owing service
- lordshipNoble rank or domain
- manorLanded aristocratic residence
estates · landowners · tenants · serfdom · overlord · tribute · obligations · labor
Rule by hereditary elite
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- landed gentryLandowning class living on rents
- hereditaryPassed through generations
- lineageDescent from progenitors
highborn · titles · estates · privilege · rank · wealth · influence · power
Russia's capital city
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- TsarRussian imperial title
- Ivan the TerribleRussia's first tsar
- Peter the GreatRussian emperor, early 1700s
Romanov · Duma · Slavic · Catherine the Great · Siberia · steppe · patriarch
Moscow's legislative chamber
- councilAdvisory deliberative group
- advisorsThose who give counsel
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- governanceHow authority is exercised
court intrigue · factions · power struggles · appointments · petitions · decrees · influence · patronage
serfs
Feudal bound laborers
manor · estates · landowners · tenants · serfdom · overlord · tribute · obligations · labor · agriculture
aristocracy
Rule by hereditary elite
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- landed gentryLandowning class living on rents
- hereditaryPassed through generations
lineage · highborn · titles · estates · privilege · rank · wealth · influence · power · court
Moscow
Russia's capital city
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- TsarRussian imperial title
- Ivan the TerribleRussia's first tsar
Peter the Great · Romanov · Duma · Slavic · Catherine the Great · Siberia · steppe · patriarch
Duma
Moscow's legislative chamber
- councilAdvisory deliberative group
- advisorsThose who give counsel
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
governance · court intrigue · factions · power struggles · appointments · petitions · decrees · influence · patronage · reform