''Gosudarev Rodoslovets'' ( rus, Государев родословец, p=ɡəsʊˈdarʲɪf rədɐˈslovʲɪt͡s, t=The Sovereign's Pedigree Book) was the first official
genealogical
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...
register ever compiled in Russia. It was compiled about 1555 under the rule of
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
for the purposes of settling
mestnichestvo
In Russian history, ''Mestnichestvo'' (russian: ме́стничество, ; from ме́сто, a position) was a feudal hierarchical system in Russia from the 15th to 17th centuries. ''Mestnichestvo'' was a complicated system of seniority wh ...
disputes between high-ranking officials. Historian
Nikolay Likhachyov
Nikolay Petrovich Likhachyov (russian: Николай Петрович Лихачёв), alternatively Romanization of Russian, transliterated as Likhachev (12 April 1862 – 14 April 1936) was the first and foremost Russian sigillographer (that ...
identifies Yelizar Tsiplyatev, a
diak
Diak (russian: дьяк, ) is a historical Russian bureaucratic occupation whose meaning varied over time and approximately corresponded to the notions of "chief clerk" or "chief of office department".
A diak was a title of the chief of a structur ...
, as its main editor. The register was later incorporated into the
Velvet Book
The Velvet Book (russian: Бархатная книга, Barkhatnaya kniga) was an official register of genealogy, genealogies of Russia's most noble families (Russian nobility). The book is bound in red velvet, hence the name.Genealogy publications
1555 in Russia1555 books