Mestnichestvo

In Russian history, Mestnichestvo (Russian: Ме́стничество, IPA: [ˈmʲesʲtʲnʲɪtɕɪstvə]; from ме́сто, a position) was a feudal hierarchical system in Russia from the 15th to 17th centuries. Mestnichestvo was a complicated system of seniority which dictated which government posts a boyar could occupy. It was based on the individual's seniority within an extended Russian aristocratic family on the one hand, and on the order of precedence of the families, on the other. The hierarchy of families was calculated based on the historical records of senior appointments, going back to 1475. For example, the Odoevskys clan was ranked higher than the Buturlins, but a senior Buturlin could be appointed to a position equivalent to that occupied by a junior member of the Odoevsky family. The mestnichestvo seniority system was most visibly represented in the order of seating of the boyars at the tsar's table. The clans jealously guarded their status. This often led to bitter disputes and physical violence among nobles about their ancestry and their services to the monarch. According to eminent Russian 19th century historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, "you could beat a boyar up, you could take away his property, you could expel him from government service, but you could never make him accept an appointment or a seat at the tsar's table lower than what he is entitled to."