Boyar Duma

Boyarenduma ( Russian Боярская дума , often just called Duma ) is the name of an advisory body in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and in the Tsarist region of Russia . It existed from the 11th century until its dissolution in 1711.

history

From the Druschinas the Boyar Duma was in the 11th century emerged as the advisory body. Bishops, city elders, confidants of the ruler, heads of administration and influential noble families were represented in it. With the formation of the unified Moscow state, the boyar duma developed into a permanent body. Under the presidency of the tsar, members of the various duma ranks belonged to it. Until the middle of the 17th century, the boyar duma comprised at best two dozen members, while the national assembly of Semsky Sobor, as the second central institution, had significantly more deputies.

The role of the boyar duma was not regulated, it was based on tradition and remained the highest administrative body with an advisory and judicial function in Russia until the end of the 17th century. It was not uncommon for the boyar duma and the tsar to act as a unified power, for example by issuing the formula "The tsar gave orders and the boyars agreed".

In the course of the Petrine reforms , Tsar Peter I dissolved the boyar duma in 1711. The Governing Senate took its place .

literature

• Erik Amburger : History of the organization of the authorities in Russia from Peter the Great to 1917 (= studies on the history of Eastern Europe. Vol. 10, ISSN  0081-7317 ). Brill, Leiden 1966.