Table of Ranks
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The Table of Ranks (Табель о рангах; Tabel o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. It was introduced in 1722, during the reign of Peter the Great, while he engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary nobility, or boyars.
The Table of Ranks determined a person's position and status according to service to the Emperor (tsar or czar) rather than according to birth or seniority. The Table placed every military, civil, or court rank in one of fourteen grades, numbered from 1 to 14. Every officer of state had to qualify for the corresponding grade in order to be promoted; grades 1 through 5 received the personal attention of the Emperor.
Anyone, even a commoner, who achieved a certain level on the Table was ennobled as a result of holding a position at that level. A civil servant promoted to the fourteenth grade was endowed with personal nobility (dvoryanstvo), and holding an office in the eighth grade endowed the office holder with hereditary nobility; at the first, military officers enjoyed hereditary nobility from the lowest, or fourteenth, grade (in 1856, the grades required for hereditary nobility were raised to the fourth grade for the civil service and to the sixth grade for military service). Vladimir Lenin's father, for example, progressed in the management of people's education up to the rank of Actual Civil (State) Councillor (действительный статский советник) (1874), which gave him the privilege of hereditary nobility.
The origins of the Table lie in Russian military ranks, which were extensively modified by Peter the Great with the addition of many distinct ranks and specialities. The first variant of the Table included definition and placement of as many as 262 civil and military positions. By the end of the 1700s, these were removed in favour of universal grade rank (классный чин). Svita titles such as General-Adjutant, Fliegel-Adjutant, etc., were not placed in the Table, as they were personal courtesy titles of the Emperor's aides-de-camp.
With occasional revisions, the Table of Ranks remained in effect until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
| Grade (класс) | Civil ranks (чины статские) | Court ranks (чины придворные) | Style of address |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Канцлер (Chancellor) Действительный тайный советник 1-го класса (Actual Privy Councillor, 1st class) |
none | Его/Ваше высокопревосходительство (His/Your High Excellency) |
| II | Действительный тайный советник (Actual Privy Councillor) | Обер-камергер (Chief Chamberlain) Обер-гофмаршал (Chief Steward Marshal) |
|
| III | Тайный советник (Privy Councillor) |
Гофмаршал (Steward Marshal) |
Его/Ваше превосходительство (His/Your Excellency) |
| IV | Действительный статский советник (Actual Civil Councillor / Actual State Councillor) | Камергер (Chamberlain) (1737-1809 | |
| V | Статский советник (Civil Councillor / State Councillor) | Церемониймейстер (Master of Ceremonies) | Его/Ваше высокородие (His/Your High Ancestry) |
| VI | Коллежский советник (Collegiate Councillor) | Камер-фурьер (Chamber Farrier) (until 1884) Камергер (Chamberlain) (until 1737) |
Его/Ваше высокоблагородие (His/Your High Nobleness) |
| VII | Надворный советник (Court Councillor) (from 1745) | - | |
| VIII | Коллежский асессор (Collegiate Assessor) | Гоф-фурьер (Steward Farrier) | |
| IX | Титулярный советник (Titular Councillor) | - | Его/Ваше благородие (His/Your Nobleness) |
| X | Коллежский секретарь (Collegiate Secretary) | - | |
| XI | Корабельный секретарь (Ship Secretary) | Камер-юнкер (Chamber Junker) | |
| XII | Губернский секретарь (Gubernial Secretary | - | |
| XIII | Кабинетский регистратор (Office Registrar) Провинциальный секретарь (Provincial Secretary) |
- | |
| XIV | Коллежский регистратор (Collegiate Registrar) | - |
Collegiate refers to a system of governmental departments (коллегия, Colleges) created by Peter the Great.
For military and Guards ranks, see Russian military ranks and Russian Imperial Guard.
