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Zemsky Sobor decides to abolish Mestnichestvo (seniority)
January 12 (22), 1682 under the decision of Zemsky Sobor was abolished mestnichestvo – the system of distribution of state posts in the Russian state in XV–XVII centuries in he military, administrative and court services in the light of man's origin and the official position of his ancestors.
Institution of mestnichestvo appeared at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries as a result of centralization of the state and the elimination of the appanage system. The name of mestnichestvo came from the custom to occupy a "place" (Russian: mesto) at the sovereign's table and at service in accordance with one’s nobility. That of the feudal lords, who believed his origins to be more ancient and noble, or personal achievements more significant, took place at the table closer to tsar, and, accordingly, pretended to a higher position in the army or civil administration.
Appointment for the military and government positions was determined not by one’s ability or suitability, but by his nobility and the position of relatives (father, grandfather). Under this system, every gentleman upon assumption of administrative, military or court services, received a rank according to the place which occupied in the state machinery his ancestors, bypassing lower-level positions. In the system of the official hierarchy one’s position depended not on one’s individual merits, but on his origins. On the one hand, mestnichestvo divided the nobility into rival clans, and on the other, it assigned the exclusive right to occupy high positions to a narrow circle of noble families.
The complexity and diversity of relationships within the princes, boyar and noble kins, and between them, uncertain genealogical information often led to disputes and quarrels, which were solved by tsar and the Boyar Duma. In this connection, in the reign of Ivan the Terrible was compiled the "Monarchic genealogy register", which listed the highest nobility, and the "Monarchic ranks" - the list of appointments to high positions, from the time of Ivan III: on its base all new appointments were made. In the first half of XVI century mestnichestvo existed only among the nobles and former feudal princes. From the middle of the XVI century, this phenomenon started to occur in the milieu of noblemen, and in the XVII century - even in the police. One of the main disadvantages of mestnichestvo was the fact that gifted, but not quite highborn people could not take any significant position in the military and state service. At the same time, mestnichestvo opened up possibilities to occupy higher official positions for people who were not skilled enough, but came from a noble family.
The development of absolutism in Russia, creation of a centralized bureaucracy, as well as the interests of national defense, which required that the army was headed by capable generals, led to the abolishment of mestnichestvo. Representatives of the nobility were instructed "in all services to take the positions indicated by monarch only”. After the abolishment of rank’s registers it was announced the codification of all the noble families in the genealogy registers in accordance with nobility degrees.
Lit.: Бобровский П. О. Местничество и преступления против родовой чести в русском войске до Петра I. СПб., 1888; Волчанецкая Е. Н. Местничество в древней Руси. СПб., 1907; Маркевич А. И О местничестве. Киев, 1879; Полное собрание законов Российской Империи. Собрание 1-е. СПб., 1676–1688. Т. 2 (1830). № 905; Седов П. В. К изучению источников по истории отмены местничества // Вспомогательные исторические дисциплины. СПб., 1998. Т. XXVI; Талина Г. В. Государственная власть и системы регулирования социально-служебного положения представителей высшего общества в начальный период становления абсолютизма в России (1645–1682 гг.). М., 2001; Хмыров М. Д. Местничество и разряды. СПб., 1862; Эскин Ю. М. Местничество в России XVI–XVII вв. Хронологический реестр. М., 1994; Эскин Ю. М. Очерки истории местничества в России XVI-XVII вв. М., 2009.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Коркунов М. А. Памятники XV века: Акты из дела о местничестве Сабурова с Заболоцким. СПб., 1857;