Russian Voivode, 14 century
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| A voivode is a Slavic title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. The word gradually came to denote the governor of a province; the territory ruled or administered by a voivode is known as a voivodeship. Voyevodas were elected administrators in Russia who were responsible on a local level only. The voyevodas filled a power vacuum left by the Time of Troubles. The early Romanovs (1613–82) gave all their judicial and police powers to the voyevodas in an attempt to reform them, but problems remained, as their powers became too broad and invited corruption. In 1621, the voyevodas were forbidden by Tsar Michael to take bribes as this had become a problem. Despite this, the administration remained chaotic until Peter the Great's reforms replaced the voyevodas with Burgmesters (Burgomasters, after the German) to collect the taxes. The tradition of electing a voivode is very old and dates back to the times of the early Slavs. Each tribe gathered at a veche (congregation) to elect its own voivode. In war, he was entitled to lead the army. When the war was over, the power reverted back to the legitimate peacetime ruler — be it the veche or a prince. By the end of 8th century, the Slavic tribes established the first organised states in Central and Eastern Europe. The new situation demanded a more flexible command over the state, especially during the conflicts with Turkic, Baltic and German peoples. At that time, the power of the voivode was in most cases extended to include civil command and, in some instances, to religious authority. The chiefs of the tribes, princes and hospodars, delegated part of their authority to lower-ranking voivodes, while retaining the title of highest voivode and the positions of high priest and supreme judge. Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov. The Voyevoda Arrives to a Provincial Town. With the creation of permanent Slavic states in Kievan Rus and Poland, the highest authority was passed to dukes and princes, both terms of Germanic origin[citation needed]. In Kievan Rus, these came from the Varangian nobles (Rurik Dynasty), while in Poland they were of local origin (Piast Dynasty). The basis of the power of a prince was his band of warriors or druzhina. Initially a small group of professional soldiers, the druzhina grew in order to control the vast areas under authority of the prince. In time, the need to split the army into several units became clear and the commander of such a unit was called prince's voivode. The highest ranking of such voivodes formed the princes' courts, while others commanded the troops in distant towns and served as advisors to the prince's delegates. In medieval Russia voyevoda was the governor of a border fortress or town. The rank was abolished by Peter the Great in the mid-18th century. Original article |
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