The article provides an example of the use of the Books of Ranks for reconstruction of military careers of the Russian military and political elite in the 16th–17th centuries. The Books of Ranks are the most important source for biographical studies of the period in question, since they contain the information on the most significant appointments to the positions in army regiments and fortress garrisons. Prince V.I. Shuisky, the future czar, attracted the scholarly attention mainly as a political figure of the Time of Troubles. There is still no research on the initial stage of the prince’s career and his military activities. The objective of this article is to reconstruct the military service of Prince V.I. Shuisky in the last third of the 16th century and to fill the gap through studying the Books of Ranks. The work characterizes the official position of the Shuiskys, who occupied an important place in the military hierarchy. The Rise of Prince I.A. Shuisky after the Polotsk campaign shows an increase in the influence of the middle branch of the family. The author analyzes the early years of Prince V.I. Shuisky’s service, represented only in the Books of Ranks, and concludes that the prince fell behind in his career growth. The study reveals the relationship between the prince’s official appointments and the service of his ancestors and relatives. A sharp change of the prince’s official position occurred, most likely, at the will of the czar. The author stresses the link between the military ranks and involvement in the political struggle under Feodor Ivanovich and Boris Godunov. Prince V.I. Shuisky possessed significant military and administrative experience and he was in demand by the army, but did not belong to the most active noblemen in the military service. Despite his high noble status and the subsequent fate of the prince, the information on the first years of his life and activity unrelated to politics is contained mainly in the Books of Ranks, and they have to be deployed as a principal source for biography studies of Russian nobles.

The article explores the possibilities of using the Books of Ranks (razriad) to identify the “honor” of precedence of city voivodeship appointments. In the context of the constant active warfare conducted by Russia in the 16th century, city voivoda appointments could give an important advantage in the precedence disputes and provided significant voivodeship experience. It can be assumed that in connection with changes in the tactical and strategic situation, the “informal” status, “honor status” of city voivodeship appointments also changed. The analysis of the documents of the Razriad Department in a number of cases makes it possible to reveal the dynamics of the “honor status” of voivodeship appointments to specific cities in different periods. An appointment to the same city for the same voivodeship position at different times and in different conditions can be interpreted as career advancement or as a form of disgrace. The author chose the example of the city of Velikiye Luki: its importance changed from the late 15th to the early 17th century and the voivodas appointed there received different (within very wide limits) status in the voivodeship hierarchy. The work defines the circle of voivodas who were appointed to Velikie Luki during this period and characterizes their status in the frames of mestnichestvo system and their position in the voivodeship hierarchy. It also identifies the periods of greatest activity when governors of the city were appointed. Conclusion is made about the correlation between the frequency of voivodeship appointments to the city and the situation on the Russian-Lithuanian border. The author indicates the growth of “status” and the demand for governors appointed to the city during periods of exacerbation of diplomatic relations and the conduct of active hostilities. Suggestions are also made about the influence of other reasons on the dynamics of the “honor status” of the city. The author analyzes the influence of city appointments in Velikiye Luki on the careers of a number of representatives of the Russian military-political elite. The article also emphasizes the need to take into account the “informal” status of the city at a particular moment when doing biographical studies of representatives of the Russian military-political elite of the late fifteenth - early seventeenth centuries.