Okolnichy

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Okolnichy (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ in Russian) was an old rank and a position at the court of Moscow rulers from the Mongol invasion of Rus' until the government reform undertaken by Peter the Great. The word is derived from the Russian word for "close," "near," meaning "sitting close to the Tsar." The duties of first known okolnichies included arranging the travel and quarters of grand princes and tsars and accommodating of foreign ambassadors and presenting them to the court. Initially their number was very small, but it grew over time and they acquired more duties. An okolnichy could head a state office (prikaz) or a regiment, could be an ambassador or a member of the state duma.