The Russian nobility (Russian: Дворянство Dvoryanstvo) arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.
The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo (дворянство), derives from the Russian word dvor (двор), meaning the Court of a prince or duke (kniaz) and later, of the tsar. A nobleman is called dvoryanin (pl. dvoryane). As in other countries, nobility was a status, a social category, but not a title.
Read more about Russian Nobility: Categories, History, Acquisition of Nobility, Privileges of The Nobility, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words russian and/or nobility:
“Who are we? And for what are we going to fight? Are we the titled slaves of George the Third? The military conscripts of Napoleon the Great? Or the frozen peasants of the Russian Czar? No—we are the free born sons of America; the citizens of the only republic now existing in the world; and the only people on earth who possess rights, liberties, and property which they dare call their own.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The army is the true nobility of our country.”
—Napoleon Bonaparte III (1808–1873)