Editing Boyar (section)

===Tsardom of Russia===
[[File:Russian boyar from XVII century.JPG|thumb|A mounted Russian boyar from the 17th century]]
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the boyars of Moscow had considerable influence that continued from the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Muscovy]] period. However, starting with the reign of [[Ivan III]], the boyars were starting to lose that influence to the authoritative [[tsars]] in Muscovy. Because of Ivan III's expansionist policies, administrative changes were needed in order to ease the burden of governing Muscovy.<ref name="Reflections on the Boyar Duma">{{cite journal|last1=Gustave|first1=Alef|title=Reflections on the Boyar Duma|journal=The Slavonic and East European Review|date=1967|volume=45|issue=104|pages=76–123|jstor=4205832}}</ref> Small principalities knew their loyal subjects by name, but after the consolidation of territories under Ivan, familial loyalty and friendship with the boyar's subjects turned those same subjects into administrative lists.<ref name="Reflections on the Boyar Duma"/> The face of provincial rule disappeared.

Boyar membership, until the 16th century, did not necessarily require one to be Russian, or even Orthodox, as historians note that many boyars came from places like [[Lithuania]] or the [[Nogais]], and some remained [[Muslims]] for a generation after the [[Mongols]] were ousted.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bushkovitch|first1=Paul|title=Princes Cherkaaskii or Circassian Murzas: The Kabardians in the Russian Boyar Elite, 1560–1700|journal=Cahiers du Monde Russe|date=2004|volume=45|issue=1/2|page=10|jstor=20174844}}</ref> What is interesting about the boyars is their implied duties. Because boyars were not constitutionally instituted, much of their powers and duties came from agreements signed between princes. Agreements, such as one between Ivan III and Mikhail Borisovich in 1484 showed how allegiances needed to be earned and secured, rather than implied and enforced.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kleimola|first1=A.M|title=The Duty to Denounce in Muscovite Russia|journal=Slavic Review|date=1972|volume=31|issue=4|page=762|doi=10.2307/2493761|jstor=2493761|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Instead of the grand prince personally overseeing his lands, he had to rely on his captains and close advisors to oversee day-to-day operations.<ref name="Reflections on the Boyar Duma"/> Instead of the great voice the boyars had previously in their advisory roles, they now had less bargaining power and mobility.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gustave|first1=Alef|title=Reflections on the Boyar Duma|journal=The Slavonic and East European Review|date=1967|volume=45|issue=104|page=78|jstor=4205832}}</ref> They answered questions posed by the grand prince, and Ivan III even made sure to get their approval on special events, such as his marriage to Zoe Paleologa, or the attack on [[Novgorod]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gustave|first1=Alef|title=Reflections on the Boyar Duma|journal=The Slavonic and East European Review|date=1967|volume=45|issue=104|page=79|jstor=4205832}}</ref> This was to ensure the boyars and their military power remained loyal to the tsar.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|last1=Vernadsky|first1=George|title=Feudalism in Russi|journal=Speculum|date=1939|volume=14|issue=3|page=315|doi=10.2307/2848599|jstor=2848599|s2cid=162612902}}</ref>

The [[grand duke]] also made sure that peasants could not leave the princes' lands, or from one place to another, in the mid-1400s, effectively establishing [[serfdom]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The boyars gained rewards and gifts as well. Some boyars were sent to regions as governors, and could “feed off” the locals in this way.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alef|first1=Gustave|title=Reflections on the Boyar Duma|journal=The Slavonic and East European Review|date=1967|volume=45|issue=104|page=79|jstor=4205832}}</ref> Still, by the end of the 15th century, boyar membership had declined, and merit rather than family background decided who became a boyar.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gustave|first1=Alef|title=Reflections on the Boyar Duma|journal=The Slavonic and East European Review|date=1967|volume=45|issue=104|page=109|jstor=4205832}}</ref> When [[Ivan the Terrible|Ivan IV]] became the tsar, more radical changes were implemented to limit boyar influence.

Ivan IV became the grand prince of all Muscovy in 1533 at the age of three, but various boyar factions tried to compete for control of the regency.<ref name="Muscovite Period">{{cite web|last1=Curtis|first1=Glenn|title=Muscovite Period|url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Muscovy.html|website=Sam Houston State University|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=12 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521210802/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Muscovy.html|archive-date=21 May 2016}}</ref> When Ivan IV came to power in 1547, much more of the boyars' independent political power became obsolete. The independence and autonomy experienced by the princes of the regions in Muscovy was abolished under Ivan IV by the end of the sixteenth century, making them "the prince's sons", or just simple boyars serving the Grand Prince.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vernadsky|first1=George|title=Feudalism in Russi|journal=Speculum|date=1939|volume=14|issue=3|page=318|doi=10.2307/2848599|jstor=2848599|s2cid=162612902}}</ref> Ivan IV divided Muscovy into two parts in 1565, and in the private part, the terror began.<ref name="Muscovite Period"/>

The boyars attempted to band together and resist, but instead of constitutionally establishing their role in government, Ivan IV ruthlessly crushed the boyar opposition with the use of the [[oprichnina]] terror purges.<ref name="Feudalism in Russi">{{cite journal|last1=Vernadsky|first1=George|title=Feudalism in Russi|journal=Speculum|date=1939|volume=14|issue=3|page=319|doi=10.2307/2848599|jstor=2848599|s2cid=162612902}}</ref> Land grants were also given to subjects that provided military service, and soon this type of land grant became the more common compared to inherited land among the boyars.<ref name="Feudalism in Russi"/> Ivan IV consolidated his power, centralized royal power, and made every effort possible to curb the influence of the princes.

After Ivan IV, a time of troubles began when his son Fedor died without an heir, ending the [[Rurik]] dynasty.<ref name="Muscovite Period"/> The boyar [[Boris Godunov]] tried to proclaim himself tsar, but several boyar factions refused to recognize him.<ref name="Muscovite Period"/> The chaos continued after the first False Dmitriy gained the throne, and civil war erupted.<ref name="Muscovite Period"/> When the [[Romanovs]] took over, the seventeenth century became one filled with administrative reform. A comprehensive legal code was introduced, and a merging of the boyars into the elite bureaucracy was beginning to form.<ref name="Muscovite Period"/>

By the end of the [[Time of Troubles]], the boyars had lost nearly all independent power. Instead of going to Moscow to gain more power, the boyars felt defeated, and felt compelled to go to Moscow to maintain a united and strong Russia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kliuchevskii|first1=V.O.|title=A History of Russia, Volume 2|date=1960|publisher=Russell and Russell|location=New York|url=http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/A%20History%20of%20Russia,%20Volume%202,%20V.O.%20Kliuchevsky.pdf|access-date=2016-05-12|archive-date=2021-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128083438/http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/A%20History%20of%20Russia,%20Volume%202,%20V.O.%20Kliuchevsky.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Second, the boyars lost their independent principalities, where they maintained all their power, and instead governed districts and regions under the grand prince of the time. Boyars also lost their advisory influence over the grand prince with tools such as the duma, and instead the grand prince no longer felt compelled to listen to the demands of the boyars. The tsar no longer feared losing their military support, and unification of Muscovy became paramount in importance. With [[Peter the Great]], the final nail in the coffin happened for the boyars' power, and they would never recover from his administrative reforms.

Peter the Great, who took power in 1697, took it upon himself to westernize Russia, and catch it up with the modern world. After the [[Streltsy Uprising|revolt of the streltsy]] regiments in 1698, Peter the Great returned to Russia, forcing government officials and those that were financially able to have clean shaven faces and wear Western clothing.<ref name="Makers of the Western Tradition">{{cite book|last1=Kelley|first1=J.|title=Makers of the Western Tradition|date=1991|publisher=St. Martin's|location=New York|page=29}}</ref> Peter also reformed the judicial system, and created a senate with members appointed by him, replacing the old council of boyars that originally advised the tsar.<ref name="Makers of the Western Tradition"/> This move he made was one of many that dismantled the powers and status the boyars previously possessed.<ref name="Makers of the Western Tradition"/>

Peter was driving out the conservative and religious faction of the boyars out of the courts, and instead using both foreign and Russian officials to fill the administrative system. Several boyars, as well as other nobility, spoke out against these reforms, including historian Mikhail Shcherbatov, who stated that the reforms Peter made helped destroy Russian tradition, and created people that tried to "worm their way up, by flattering and humoring the monarch and the grandees in every way."<ref name="Makers of the Western Tradition"/> Still, the reforms continued, as by this point, the tsar possessed too much power, and Russia became an absolute monarchy more and more with each ruler.