Service class people (russian: служилые люди, sluzhilyye lyudi) were a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of free people in the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

in the 14th to the 17th centuries, obliged to perform military or administrative service on behalf of the state.

Background

There were two main groups of service people: * ''hereditary servitors'' ''("servitors by birth")'', included

Boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s, noblemen and "Boyars' children". They served in the "

Landed army The Landed Army (russian: Поместное войско, Pomestnoe voisko) was the feudal cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia in the 15th to 17th centuries. History In the second half of the 14th century, the Druz ...

", and received land and

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

for their service. * ''chosen servitors ("servitors by contract"),'' included

Streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

and

clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

. They served in the infantry or administration, and were paid in coin. ;In Siberia In early Siberia, service-men and ''promyshlenik''s (

promyshlenniki The ''promyshlenniki'' (russian: промышленники, singular form: russian: промышленник, translit=promyshlennik), were Russian and indigenous Siberian artel- or self-employed workers drawn largely from the state serf and ...

) were the two main classes of the Russian population. Service-men were nominally servants of the tsar, had certain legal rights and duties and could expect pay if they were lucky. ''Promyshlenik''s were free men who made their living any way they could. A minor group were sworn-men (''tseloval'niki'', literally ross or bible'kissers'). These men swore an oath and gained certain rights and duties. In practice the groups blended into each other, and the distinction was most important when dealing with the government. When petitioning the tsar, a service-man would call himself 'your slave' and a promyshlenik 'your orphan'. These people were often called

, but only in the loose sense of being neither landowners nor peasants.

References

Social history of Russia {{Russia-stub

Background

See also

References