BLITZ Glossary of Russian Genealogy terms

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In our genealogy reports for clients there are often terms which need explanation. Thus we have created this page -- "BLITZ GLOSSARY OF RUSSIAN GENEALOGY TERMS".


A. TABLE OF RANKS IN TSARIST RUSSIA

CLASS CIVIL RANKS MILITARY RANKS

1. Chancellor General - Field - Marshall
[kantsler] [general - fel'dmarshal]

2. Real Secret Councillor General of cavalry, infantry artillery
[deistvitel'nyi tainyi sovetnik] [general kavalerii pekhoty / artillerii]

3. Secret Councillor General - Lieutenant
[tainyi sovetnik] [general - leitenant]

4. Real State Councillor General - Major
[deistvitel'nyi statskii sovetnik] [general maior]

Ober - Procurator
[ober-prokuror]

Heraldmeister
[geraldmeister]

5. State Councillor --
[statskii sovetnik]

6. Collegial Councillor Colonel
[kollezhskii sovetnik] [polkovnik]

Military Councillor
[voennyi sovetnik]

7. Court Councillor Lieutenant - Colonel

8. Collegial Assessor Captain and Captain of Cavalry
[kollezhskii assessor]

9. Titular Councillor Junior Captain and [tituliarnyi sovetnik] Junior Captain of Cavalry

10. Collegial Secretary Lieutenant
[kollezhskii sekretar] [leitenant]

11. Ship Secretary

12. Provincial Secretary Second Lieutenant and Cornet
[gubernskii sekretar'] [kornet]

13. Senate Registrar Ensign
[senatskii registrator]

Synod Registrar
[sinodskii registrator]

Cabinet Registrar
[kabinetnyi registrator]

14. Collegial Registrar
[kollezhskii registrator]

GENEALOGY BOOKS OF THE NOBLE DEPUTY ASSEMBLY

The Genealogy books of the Noble Deputy Assembly were compiled by provincial Deputy Assemblies. They contain information on people who had irrefutable proof of hereditary nobility and who owned real estate in the province. Such books were divided into the following six parts:

Part I: "grants or existing" noblemen. Usually these were the families whose ancestors owned real estate for less than 100 years before 1785.

Part II: People receiving nobility according to military rank and orders;

Part III: People receiving nobility according to state rank and orders;

Part IV: Foreign noble families;

Part V: Baron, Count, and Princely families;

Part VI: "Ancient Noble Families" - ancestors who possessed noble estates earlier than 1685;

These are handritten volumes which were updated as new people were reckoned into the noble class of a province. They are more like documents than published books. Some of these books are kept in the Russian State Historical Archives in St. Petersburg and others are in the provincial archives.

(Reference: "Svod Zakonov" [Code of Laws of the Russian Empire]. IX volume, articles 1101-1118.)

OLD RUSSIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

sagene (sazhen) .......... 2,134 meters

arshin (arshin) .......... 28 inches

verst (versta) .......... 3,500 feet or 0.6629 miles or 1,067 kilometers

dessiatin (dessiatina) .......... 2.7 U.S. acres

pood (pood) .......... 36 pounds