Okolichnye is a court and palace rank in the 13th - early 18th centuries. These were the people who are closest to the prince after the boyars. At first, there were few of them, surrounded by the ruler, but over time their importance and political weight increased, so that over the course of several centuries they were traditionally considered to be advisers and assistants to princes, and subsequently kings.
Characteristic of the era
In medieval Russia, around the princes, a whole staff of servants, advisers and assistants was always formed, which were called by the general term "court people." Among them, several layers stood out: at the top were the boyars, the deceased and the duma nobles. The former came from noble families and constituted a clan nobility. They could be a reliable support of the ruler, but at the same time, due to their noble origin, they were often dissatisfied with the restriction of their power and influence and therefore sometimes became in opposition to their master. In this regard, the deceased boyar was a more reliable support for the sovereign: as close to him, he, nevertheless, being less noble, was more dependent on the ruler than the generic boyars. The clever nobles also formed the backbone of the princes and kings, but they were even less noble than the roundabouts.
Occurrence
Roundabouts are people who performed the most different duties at court. The origin of this term is most likely associated with the word "about" and meant persons who were constantly with the rulers. The first mention of this rank dates back to the end of the 13th century. This post was distributed in the Principality of Moscow. Prince Semyon Ivanovich, nicknamed the Proud, speaks of these ranks in his famous contractual letter with his brothers, drawn up in 1348. At first, there were very few (from three to five people).
Functions
Apparently, some time after the emergence of this post, it was believed that the prisoners were people who performed the duties of the master’s ceremonies, that is, they arranged receptions, ceremonies, and also served the princes and kings in their travels, prepared parking places for them (the so-called camps) , and in addition, were engaged in the reception of foreign ambassadors and delegations.
However, subsequently, the scope of their duties expanded, and these people began to be appointed to more responsible positions: for example, they often became governors of regiments, governors of regions or heads of orders. Their number at the princely court gradually grew, it was very noticeable under Ivan III and Ivan the Terrible. But especially this trend manifested itself during the first Romanovs. Perhaps it was then that this rite became closer to the rulers. The roommates or near neighbors are the closest advisers to the tsar, who in their influence even exceeded the boyars. There were few such persons, but their influence very often could influence the decision of the king.
Boyar Duma
It was a permanent council under princes and kings. He was responsible mainly for economic, administrative and military issues. The composition of the boyar Duma included the prisoners along with the boyars, Duma nobles and clerks. Their position in this governing body was very important, since they were often entrusted with leading regiments in campaigns and holding positions of governors. The role of this governing body especially increased in the middle of the 16th century, when a bureaucratic management system based on orders was finally formed in the Moscow state. Accordingly, the number of people holding this post has also increased.
Value
This rank was finally isolated in a separate group in the 16th century. Then the boyars began to be divided into two categories: the first, close to the prince, the second received the rank of deceit and took a subordinate position in relation to the first category. According to the famous historian Klyuchevsky, who studied the composition of the Boyar Duma in detail, the parishioners mainly consisted of untitled nobility. As a rule, this category consisted of the old Moscow service of the boyars, which was formed in the 14th century, but managed to maintain its position in the following centuries, when there was an influx of new titled nobility from the former specific rulers, who took the first place in the council of the Moscow sovereign.
Abolition
The ranks of the deceased boyar were abolished at the beginning of the 18th century after Peter I published his famous “Table of Ranks”. The main principle of his provisions was the rule of personal service, which implied a promotion, despite the degree of nobility or generosity. This, in principle, changed the entire management system in both the military and judicial systems, which, in turn, changed the social structure of Russian society. In principle, the rank of deceit also partially implied the principle of personal service in the service. After all, the people who held this position were less generous than, for example, the boyars, who were traditionally appointed by the Moscow sovereigns from among the descendants of the oldest princely families of the Rurikovich or Gediminovich. Therefore, the title of deceit was achieved due to personal abilities or qualities. However, nevertheless, the principle of childbirth played a major role here, since only persons of noble origin claimed this place, while duma clerks, for example, very often were people of simple origin, who achieved their position due to their abilities and their ability to conduct business.