22 Facts About Russian nobility

Pre-Soviet Russia shared with other countries the concept that Russian nobility connotes a status or social category rather than a title.

Many descendants of the former ancient Russian aristocracy, including royalty, saw their formal standing change to merchants, burghers, or even peasants, while people descended from serfs or clergy gained formal nobility.

Adoption of the fashions, mannerisms, and ideals of Western Europe by the Russian nobility was a gradual process rooted in the strict guidelines of Peter the Great and the educational reforms of Catherine the Great.

Russian nobility only allowed peasants, priests, and serfs to retain the ingrained and religious Russian tradition of wearing beards, which the Orthodox populace considered an essential aspect of their duty to convey the image of God.

Russian nobility reformed the clothing of the nobility, replacing the long-sleeved traditional Muscovite robes with European clothing.

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Russian nobility encouraged the learning of foreign languages especially French, which was the foremost political and intellectual language of Europe at the time.

Marc Raeff in Origins of the Russian nobility Intelligentsia has suggested this was not a noble victory but a sign the state didn't need them as much now that they had plenty of trained officials.

When Catherine II ascended the throne, she quickly made her political and philosophical opinions clear in the “Instruction” of 1767, a lengthy document which she prepared for the Russian nobility, drawing largely from and even plagiarizing ideas from the west, especially those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Russian nobility designed an imperial court in the style of Louis XIV, entertaining the nobility with performances of western theatre and music.

Russian nobility encouraged the understanding of French, German, and English languages so that nobles could read classic, historical, and philosophical literature from the west.

Russian nobility based Russian education on that of Austria, importing German textbooks and adopting in 1786 a standardized curriculum to be taught in her newly created public schools.

The privileges of the Russian nobility were fixed and were legally codified in 1785 in the Charter to the Gentry.

The Russian nobility was weakened by the scattering of their estates, lack of primogeniture and the high turnover and mobility from estate to estate.

The influence of the Russian nobility was further reduced by the new law statutes of 1864, which repealed their right of electing law officer.

Many members of the Russian nobility who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution played a significant role in the White Emigre communities which settled in Europe, in North America, and in other parts of the world.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 interest among Russians in the role that the Russian nobility played in the historical and cultural development of Russia has grown.

Unlike the ancient Russian nobility, which was exclusively hereditary, the remaining classes of Russian nobility could be acquired.

Russian nobility did not in general employ a nobiliary particle before a surname, however the Russian nobility name suffix -skij which means “of” and is equal to “von” and “de” was used in many noble surnames especially topographic surnames as nobiliary particle.

Russian nobility noblemen were accorded an official salutation, or style, that varied by rank: your high born, your high well born, your well born, etc.

Russian nobility Tsardom came into being around the Grand Duchy of Moscow by the incorporation of various political entities surrounding it.

Peter and his successors streamlined the stratification of the Russian nobility, adopting European-style titles such as Count and Baron and discontinuing the archaic titles of Boyars.

Personal Russian nobility was not inherited by children but was shared by the recipient's wife.