«Русские бояре» в Эстляндии (конец XVI – начало XVII в.)
The «Russian Boyars» in Estonia (late 16th – early 17th century)

Summary/Abstract: During the Russo-Swedish wars in the 1580s and 1590s several Russian noblemen entered into the service of the Swedish realm and gained from the Swedish administration manors in Estonia. In the late 16th century in Estonia settled the well-known families of Baltic «Russian boyars»: Baranoff, Nasakin, and Rosladin (Rasladin). The genealogical information confi rms that the «boyars» during a short time integrated into the local German noble society. Entering the Swedish service more or less involuntarily necessitated the acceptance of the Lutheranism. It did not happen due to any administrative pressure. Accepting the Lutheranism was an inevitable and automatic effect of taking part in the life on the local nobility. As manorial lords they had to take part in the religious disciplining of peasants, patronize the local church etc. Consequently the social role of a manorial lord proved to be more important than his precise ethnic or cultural origin.

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