The Russian court councillor () was a civilian rank of the 7th class in the

Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks () was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary ...

Table of Ranks

The Table of Ranks was a system of ranks that tied a person's social standing to service in the military, in civil service, or at the imperial court. A court councilor's rank was moderately high on the list. Each category of service had 14 ranks. The court councilor's rank corresponded to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army, the sergeant in the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and captain of the 2nd rank. The official address for a court councilor was "Your Excellency". The signs of the distinction of this rank were double-luminous buttonholes or epaulets with three stars.

History

Until 1745, this rank belonged to the 8th class and later belonged to the 7th class. Initially, persons who had reached this rank were automatically given hereditary nobility. After the reform of 1856, those who served received only personal nobility. After 1803, directors of departments of ministries and provincial authorities (

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

s, stewards,

governors-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

) could confer this rank. Since the 19th century, all persons who had a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

’s degree or academic title of

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

received this rank automatically. This policy led most of the outstanding Russian scientists of that time to receive hereditary nobility. The function of the court councilor was an adviser to the Hofgericht (, through , from – 'imperial court') – the suprime court of one (or sometimes several) territories (

Governorates A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions o ...

) of the Russian Empire. This rank remained in use even after these courts were abolished in 1726. The rank existed until November 25, 1917, when the entire system of rankings was abolished by the Decree Abolishing Classes and Civil Ranks.

Literary characters serving as 7th-grade officials

*Ivan Kuzmich Podkolyosin in the play ''

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

'' by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

*Postmaster Shchepkin and guardian of charitable institutions Zemlyanika in Gogol's comedy ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'' *Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin in

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

’s novel ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' *Modest Alexeyich in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's story "

Anna on the Neck "Anna on the Neck" () is an 1895 short story by Anton Chekhov Publication Chekhov sent the story to Vasily Sobolevsky, the '' Russkiye Vedomosti''s editor, on 15 October 1895.Dolotova, L.M., Ornatskaya, T.ICommentaries to Анна на шее The ...

" *Semyon Petrovich Podtykin in Anton Chekhov's stor
"On Frailty"
*

Erast Fandorin Erast Petrovich Fandorin () is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first Fandorin novel (''The Winter Queen'', Russian: ''Азазель'') was publishe ...

Boris Akunin Grigori Chkhartishvili (; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვილი), better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (, born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian and Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a write ...

's novel ''The Jack of Spades'' *Investigator of the Tsarist Police Nil Alekseevich Kolychev in the novel by Alexey Nagorny and Geliy Ryabov ''The Tale of the Criminal Investigation''", later filmed as the TV series ''Born by the Revolution'' *Andrey Stoltz in

Ivan Goncharov Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov ( , ; rus, Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Гончаро́в, r=Iván Aleksándrovich Goncharóv, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ɡənʲtɕɪˈrof; – ) was a Russian novelist best known for his n ...

's novel ''Oblomov'' *Vasily Petrovich Bachey in the novel by

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Soviet writer and editor who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of ...

''The Small Farm in the Steppe''. In the work ''A White Sail Gleams'', the action of which takes place earlier, Vasily Bachey seems to be an official of a higher 6th class,

Collegiate Councillor Collegiate Councillor (Russian: колле́жский сове́тник, kollezhskii sovetnik) was a civil rank of 6th class in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. It was equal to those of C ...

. *Sozont Ivanovich Potugin in the novel by

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

's ''

Smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

References

Sources

Dmitry Liventsev. A brief dictionary of ranks and titles of state service of the Moscow State and the Russian Empire in the 15th and early 20th centuries.

External links

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Collegiate assessor , width="40%" align="center",

Court Councillor , width="30%" align="center", Senior rank

Civil ranks of the Russian Empire