Russia's Table of Ranks

Peter the Great in 1722 introduced an entirely new system of ranking for the government service. His system embodied two marked departures from former practice. It provided for the separation of the civil from the military service, and it promised ennoblement to any commoner who attained a sufficiently high level of rank. A promotional ladder of fourteen steps was established, the eighth step from the top being designated as the one that would confer upon its fortunate possessors the status of nobility (dvorianskoe svanie)—that is, if they did not already enjoy such distinction through birth or royal favor.
This system, maintained with modifications until the downfall of the Russian Empire, was officially entitled the Table of Ranks (Tabel' o rangakh).1 Various principles were expressed in the Table of Ranks, and it is the purpose of this study to discover what meaning they had in eighteenth-century practice. Some principles the government consistently attempted to uphold, some it violated, and in certain cases practices were established that the Table had not dealt with at all. I have concerned myself almost entirely with the civil service and have relied particularly upon legislation of the period as an indicator of administrative developments. An understanding of the fate that befell the Table of Ranks should provide insights into the problems of eighteenthcentury Russian administration.