Collegiate Councillor (Russian: колле́жский сове́тник, kollezhskii sovetnik) was a civil rank of 6th class in the Russian Empire, according to the

Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...

introduced by

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in 1722. It was equal to those of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Army and

Captain 1st rank Captain 1st rank (russian: Капитан 1-го ранга, Kapitan 1-go ranga, lit=Captain of the 1st rank) is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of former communist states. The rank is the most senior rank in the staff officers' ca ...

in the Navy. The rank holder should be addressed as '' Your High Well Born'' (russian: Ваше Высокоблагородие, Vashe Vysokoblagorodie).

History of the rank

In 1717,

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

started to reform the executive institutions. The Collegiums appeared, in which Collegiate Councillor was one of the posts. On 24 January 1722, the

was introduced as a law which regulated employment in the civil service. This law contained the list of new ranks split into 14 classes. The Collegiate Councillor rank was attributed to the 6th class. According to the Table of Ranks, both civil and military ranks were assigned to a person for seniority and/or providing extraordinary services. The people who received a rank of the 6th class were classified as the highest nobility (hereditary), regardless of their origins.

Elizabeth Petrovna Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, the Empress of Russia, by her decree from 23 June 1745, made it obligatory that a person only be promoted to the 6th class from the 7th one (before it had been possible to "skip" the 7th class and to be promoted from the 8th one). The rank was abolished in 1917 by the Soviet decree on estates and civil ranks.

Possible career paths for Collegiate Councilors

As the bureaucracy in the Russian Empire was developing, a Collegiate councillor could serve as a chief of a department, a prosecutor, a chief secretary of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. A marshal of nobility could become a collegiate councillor after three years of service. The changes in services of rank-holders from the 6th class were executed by the "highest orders". According to the law "About the enrollment of the ranks in civil service", issued on 9 December 1856, it was acknowledged that the quality of service is dependent not only on education exclusively, but also on experience and competence. The time of service required of the officials of the 6th class before the next promotion was increased to five years (from four years) in 1898. In 1857, the number of the officials in the 6th class was 2216 (compared to 541 in 1796).

Requirements

The list of requirements for a person to be eligible for a service in the 6th class included: * Russian citizenship * Male * No criminal records * Completed service in the Army * University level of education; and/or * Nobility (personal or hereditary)

References

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Court Councillor , width="40%" align="center",

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State Councillor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. ...

Titles in Russia Civil ranks of the Russian Empire