Privy Councillor () was the civil position (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. Initially, it was a civil rank of the 4th class, but from 1724 it was upgraded to the 3rd class. The rank was equal to those of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in the Army and

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

in the Navy. The rank holder should be addressed as ''

Your Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the right ...

'' (, Vashe Prevoskhoditelstvo).

Overview

The name of the rank can be associated with the original meaning of the words "secret" and "trustworthy". Those awarded this rank occupied the highest public offices, such as Minister or Deputy Minister, the head of a large department, senator, and academic of the

Imperial Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. Occasionally, the rank was awarded to the long-time province governors to recognize their merits before their transfer to the capital. In addition to St. Petersburg, Privy Councillors could serve in Moscow and other large cities of the Russian Empire, for example in Tbilisi. The rector of

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, well-known historians Sergey Solovyov and

Vasily Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (; – ) was a leading Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. He also addressed the contemporary Russian economy in his writings. Biography A village priest's son, Klyuchevsky studi ...

, Professor of the

Moscow Theological Academy Moscow Theological Academy () is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to the Slavic Greek Latin Academy, which was founded in 1685 by th ...

Nicolay Subbotin were Privy Councillors. In 1903, there were 553 Privy Councillors in Russia. The rank was abolished in 1917 by the Soviet decree on estates and civil ranks.

References

{, class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0.5em auto; clear: both;" , - , width="30%" align="center", Junior rank

Active State Councillor Active State Councillor (, deystvitelnyi statskiy sovetnik) was a civil position (class) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. That was a civil rank of the 4th class and equal to those of M ...

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

Active Privy Councillor Active Privy Councillor (, deystvitelnyi taynyi sovetnik) was the civil rank (ru: чин / chin) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. That was a civil rank of the 2nd class and equal to those ...

Titles in Russia Civil ranks of the Russian Empire 1917 disestablishments in Russia

Overview

See also

References