Okolnichy

Okolnichy was an old rank and a position at the court of Russian rulers of 13th — early 18th centuries.

The duties of first known okolnichies included arranging the travel and quarters of knyazes and tsars and accomodating of foreign ambassadors and presenting them to the court.

Initially their number was very small, but it grew over time and they acquired more duties. An okolnicny could head a state office (prikaz) or a regiment, could be an ambassador or a member of the state duma.

Initially the rank of okolnichy was lower than that of boyars, while often they performed similar duties. Later boyars of less noble families could have this position. Still later positions of okolnichy were differentiated and some of them (quarters okolnichy or close okolnichy) were of higher rank than that of non-close boyars. (The terms derive from a semi-formal ranking based on the closeness of the seat to tsar by the tsar's table.)

Often a position of okolnichy was a step towards granting the boyarship to a non-noble.

Reference

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1906 Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.