Speech etiquette is designed both to prevent the expression of disrespect for the interlocutor, and to emphasize the degree of importance of each participant in society in general and in a particular conversation in particular. Therefore, today strict requirements in this area are made only during socially significant conversations - diplomatic or business meetings. What can not be said about the old days.
Earlier, the equality of Russians at the legislative level was not discussed - before the 1917 revolution, the country's nobility and clergy enjoyed privileges. Therefore, the form of address or naming of a person meant more - it immediately indicated who he was and what requirements he could impose on others.
What forms of address are known? What can history tell about them? Although the forms of titles have long outlived their usefulness, still some echoes of those times are still heard, even more can be said - they still exist, only modified. Let's discuss this issue in more detail.
From the very top
Forms of polite address were first of all linked with titles, indicating the degree of importance of a person in the hierarchy of the nobility. It is clear that the strictest attitude was to the title of the monarch. For the use of the official royal title, as well as words such as "king", "emperor" for other than its intended purpose, severe punishment threatened.
Naturally, there were forms of titles in the Russian Empire of varying degrees of officiality. Many titles were used in the plural: Your Imperial Majesty (the current monarch, his wife or dowager empress), Your Imperial Highness (persons from among the grand dukes, princesses and princesses). It can be seen that such appeals do not distinguish between men and women, referring to all in the middle gender.
It was customary to refer to the monarch himself as the "Most Gracious Sovereign", and to the Grand Dukes as "The Most Gracious Sovereigns" (that's right, with a capital letter!). Even relatives in somewhat formal settings had to adhere to this rule.
First Estate
In Russia there was no such clear-cut design of the division of estates, as, say, in France, but this does not mean that it did not exist. And representatives of the church were officially revered higher than representatives of the secular authorities. This is evidenced by the fact that if a nobleman held an ecclesiastical office, the firstmention his ecclesiastical title, and then a secular noble one.
Here, too, the plural form was used - "Yours" and then the title is more of a neuter gender, although women are not allowed to lead the church. Unlike royal or noble, church ranks are still used officially when naming church leadership, as well as during services and church events. It is supposed to use the following words: “Holiness” (in relation to the patriarch), “High Eminence” (to the archbishop or metropolitan), “Eminence” (to the bishop), “High Reverence (abbot, archpriest, archimandrite), “Reverend” (hieromonks, priests).
It was practically impossible for the laity to turn to priests of a very high rank. At the everyday level, a respectful and kindred “father”, “holy father” was considered a polite appeal to a clergyman.
Princes and counts
This part of the etiquette of address in our time is needed only to understand the meaning of what is written in historical documents and classical literature, as well as to participate in theatrical "noble meetings". But in a society where the nobles were the “main nerve of the state” (this was said by Cardinal Richelieu, but the question was interpreted in the same way in the Russian Empire), the generosity and significance of the nobleman could not be hushed up.
Every nobleman in Russia was "Your Honor". So it was possible to address a stranger, by whose appearance it is clear that he is a nobleman, but the degree of his nobility is not obvious. He had the right to correct the interlocutor, indicating the correct title, and the interlocutor was obliged to apologize andmend.
Nobles with titles (counts, princes, barons) were called "Your Excellency". Just "prince" should be called noble foreigners (most often immigrants from Muslims). "Your Lordships" were distant relatives of the imperial house. Also, the right to be titled "Your Excellency" or "Your Grace" could be obtained as a reward. "Your Highness" was required to refer to a distant descendant of the emperor in a straight line.
Sovereigns without a state
But the word "sovereign", usually perceived as an indication of the monarch, was used in Russia without officialdom. They simply denoted a person of “venerable” origin and used it as a polite address in an informal and semi-official setting. Officially, the form of such an address sounded like “dear sir”, but soon a simplified form “sir” appeared. She replaced many possible options: "master", "master", "noble or respected person."
It should be noted that only representatives of we althy classes were puzzled by such politeness, and only in relation to their own kind. No one demanded special courtesy when dealing with working people and the peasantry. This does not mean that they were rude all the time - the Russian upper classes, for the most part, were sufficiently educated. But no one considered it offensive to call an unfamiliar peasant a “muzhik” (including the peasant himself). A cabbie, servant, or unfamiliar (obviously) philistine was addressed as “dearest” or “most amiable”. It was quite a polite form.
Write with a middle name. Where does this tradition come from?
The tradition of calling a person by his first name and patronymic also belongs to the nobility. In pre-Petrine times, this was done only in relation to the boyars, the nobles were called by their full name and surname (A. Tolstoy in "Peter I" - Mikhailo Tyrtov), and non-nobles - by a diminutive name (ibid. - Ivashka Brovkin). But Peter extended this approach to all cases of respectful mention of a person.
Men were addressed by their first name and patronymic more often than the fair sex - often both the children of their fathers and the wives of their husbands were called that way (in classical literature, you can find many examples). There were also frequent cases of conversion, and even more so, naming simply by last name - this can again be seen in classical literary samples (what was the name of Raskolnikov? and Pechorin?). Addressing a respected man by name was permissible only in the family circle or among the closest trusted friends.
The use of the first name and patronymic is one of the few old traditions that have been preserved in the etiquette of our days. A respected Russian is called without a patronymic only during international meetings out of respect for the traditions of other peoples, in whose language the concept of “patronymic” is absent.
Entry in the Table of Ranks
Peter I introduced not only the use of patronymics - in 1722 he introduced such a document as the "Table of Ranks", which clearly built the hierarchy of state and military service in Russia. Since the purpose of the innovation was just to provide the humble, but talented people with the opportunityto make a career, then often enough high ranks were reached by persons of non-noble rank. In this regard, there were provisions on the right to personal and hereditary nobility by seniority, but they often changed, and in the century it was so that a person of raznochin origin could have a rather high rank.
Therefore, along with the nobility, there was also an official title. If an important position was occupied by a nobleman, he should have been addressed according to his noble right, but if a raznochinets - according to length of service. They did the same in the event that a low-born nobleman served high ranks. At the same time, the seniority title also extended to the wife of an official - she should have been addressed in the same way as her husband.
Officer Honor
At the same time, military men were quoted above all on the report card. Therefore, even the most junior officers of the Russian army were "Your Honor", that is, they enjoyed the right to noble treatment. Moreover, it was easier for them than for civil servants to curry favor with hereditary nobility (for some time it immediately became the property of an officer).
In general, the rules were as follows: employees up to the IX class of military, court and civil service should be called "Your Honor", from VIII to VI - "Your Honor", V - "Your Honor". The title of the highest ranks clearly indicated that among them should be represented not just nobles, but “especially high-quality” - “Your Excellency” (IV-III) and “Your Excellency (II-I).
It was not possible to become "High Excellency" in every field - the highest class of the report cardranks was absent from dragoons, Cossacks, in the guard and in court service. On the other hand, there was no lower, XIV class in the fleet. Other steps may have been omitted depending on the type of service.
Lieutenant Golitsyn
In the officer environment, the custom was widespread and addressing each other by rank. When addressing in a more or less official setting, as well as a junior in rank, the word “sir” should be added to the senior. But the officers called each other by rank and in an informal setting. It was permissible and polite for civilians as well. The officers had epaulettes and other insignia, so it was relatively easy to understand who was in front of you. So almost anyone could call an unfamiliar officer "lieutenant" or "Mr. Staff Captain"
The soldier was obliged to call the commander "nobility", answering the statutory phrases. It was the most common form of courtesy. Sometimes, in a relatively informal setting (for example, reporting on the situation at the position), the lower rank could address the commander by rank, adding "sir." But often I had to “blurt out” an official appeal to a man as quickly as possible, and even loudly according to the charter. As a result, the well-known “your brod”, “your speed” turned out to be. To the credit of Russian officers and generals, they rarely took offense at such soldiers' "pearls". Too rude treatment of the lower ranks was not approved among the officers. Although soldiers in the Russian army were officially subjected to corporal punishment in the middle of the 19th century, and even during the Firstworld scuffle on the part of the officers was not considered a crime, yet it was considered quite bad form. There was no firm rule for an officer how to address soldiers, but most called them "brothers", "servicemen" - that is, familiarly, haughtily, but kindly.
Not always in uniform
Although Russian officials also wore uniforms, yet they appeared in them somewhat less frequently than officers. Therefore, it was not always possible to determine the class of an unfamiliar employee. In this case, one could turn to the person "dear sir" - he approached almost everyone.
If the official presented himself or was in uniform, making a mistake with the title was considered an insult.
Less gentlemen
But the appeal "sir" in a good Russian society was not very common. Yes, it was used, but usually as an addition to the surname (“Mr. Iskariotov”), rank (“Mr. General”) or rank (“Mr. State Councilor”). Without this, the word could acquire an ironic connotation: "good sir." Only the servants used this address widely: "What do the gentlemen want?" But this applies to servants in public places (hotels, restaurants); at home, the masters themselves determined how the servants should address them.
The word "master" at the end of the 19th century was generally considered bad form - it was believed that only cabbies called their riders, and any.
In personal contacts between good acquaintances, many words and expressions were allowed,emphasizing sympathy: “my soul”, “dearest”, “my friend”. If such appeals suddenly changed to the appeal "dear sir", this indicated that relations had deteriorated.
Obsolete never becomes obsolete
Today, such strictness in speech etiquette is not required. But there are situations when this is indispensable. So, in all form, foreign ambassadors and monarchs are still titled today (this was done even in the USSR, although in principle the attitude towards titles was very negative). Strict speech etiquette exists in the judicial procedure. The ancient forms of address in the church have been preserved, and they are also used by secular people in case of business contact with representatives of church authorities.
Modern Russia, as it were, does not have a universal form of polite address (to a man or a woman). "Mr" and "Mistress", in full accordance with tradition, take root no matter. The Soviet word "comrade" was more fortunate - it is still used officially in the Russian army, and on a general level - quite widely. The word is good - in medieval Europe, students of the same community, apprentices of the same workshop or fellow soldiers called each other so; in Russia - merchants selling one commodity, that is, in all cases equal people doing a common useful thing. But some demand to discard it as a "remnant of the USSR." Consequently, the outdated speech etiquette is still not forgotten, and the modern one has yet to develop.
