Collegiate Councillor (Russian: колле́жский сове́тник, kollezhskii sovetnik) was a civil rank of 6th class in the Russian Empire, according to 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 ...

introduced by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

in 1722. It was equal to those of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Army and

Captain 1st rank Captain 1st rank () is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of List of communist states#Former communist states, former communist states. The rank is the most senior rank in the staff officers' career group. The rank is equivalent to Colone ...

in the Navy. The rank holder should be addressed as '' Your High Well Born'' (, Vashe Vysokoblagorodie).

History of the rank

In 1717, Peter I started to reform the executive institutions. The Collegiums appeared, in which Collegiate Councillor was one of the posts. On 24 January 1722, the

was introduced as a law which regulated employment in the civil service. This law contained the list of new ranks split into 14 classes. The Collegiate Councillor rank was attributed to the 6th class. According to the Table of Ranks, both civil and military ranks were assigned to a person for seniority and/or providing extraordinary services. The people who received a rank of the 6th class were classified as the highest nobility (hereditary), regardless of their origins. Elizabeth Petrovna, the Empress of Russia, by her decree from 23 June 1745, made it obligatory that a person only be promoted to the 6th class from the 7th one (before it had been possible to "skip" the 7th class and to be promoted from the 8th one). The rank was abolished in 1917 by the Soviet decree on estates and civil ranks.

Possible career paths for Collegiate Councilors

As the bureaucracy in the Russian Empire was developing, a Collegiate councillor could serve as a chief of a department, a prosecutor, a chief secretary of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. A marshal of nobility could become a collegiate councillor after three years of service. The changes in services of rank-holders from the 6th class were executed by the "highest orders". According to the law "About the enrollment of the ranks in civil service", issued on 9 December 1856, it was acknowledged that the quality of service is dependent not only on education exclusively, but also on experience and competence. The time of service required of the officials of the 6th class before the next promotion was increased to five years (from four years) in 1898. In 1857, the number of the officials in the 6th class was 2216 (compared to 541 in 1796).

Requirements

The list of requirements for a person to be eligible for a service in the 6th class included: * Russian citizenship * Male * No criminal records * Completed service in the Army * University level of education; and/or * Nobility (personal or hereditary)

References

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Court Councillor , width="40%" align="center",

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

State Councillor A State Councillor of the People's Republic of China () serves as a senior vice leader within the State Council of the PRC, State Council and shares responsibilities with the Vice Premier of China, Vice Premiers in assisting the Premier of China, ...

Titles in Russia Civil ranks of the Russian Empire