Table of Ranks

The Table of Ranks (Russian: Табель о рангах, romanized: Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary nobility, or boyars. The Table of Ranks was formally abolished on 11 November 1917 by the newly established Bolshevik government. During the Vladimir Putin presidency a similar formalized structure has been reintroduced into many governmental departments, combined with formal uniforms and insignia: Local Government, Diplomatic Service, Prosecution Service, Investigative Committee.