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I started replying to Pete’s post, but then I sort of abandoned it. Beating a dead horse is only interesting at first; without fresh input, the argument starts going in circles with no substantial changes.
So I’ll just ramble in another familiar role. The text below is a compilation of posts by comrade alexandrov_g. That is, it’s not a coherent piece, but rather a set of theses that, if desired, can be pieced together into a complete picture, but I can’t be bothered :).
So then:
You can’t have a state without boyars. In any state. And boyars exist in any state. Any.
In a “slave-owning,” “feudal,” “early capitalist,” “late capitalist,” “post-capitalist,” “socialist” — in short, any kind. They are called differently, of course, and they dress differently, but not only does their boyar essence remain unchanged, but the boyars of different nations also recognize each other unerringly. At the same time, boyars are boyars precisely because they understand that they can remain boyars only as long as the state exists. “Boyarhood” only makes sense in a state context.
If you isolate a conditional boyar with his “fiefdom” into a separate state, neither he nor his fiefdom will be able to survive in that capacity. And it is precisely in order to “stay alive” that he will strive to immediately, if not return to the old state or enter a new state directly, then at the very least he will be forced to “fall” (he himself will seek this) into the “sphere of influence” of a state (any state, even the first one that comes along), which alone can guarantee the very existence of our boyar. “His life and his people.”
For this reason, boyars “of one blood and one faith” try to stick together. “As a pack.” But since they are ambitious people who know their own worth and know what “power” is not from fiction films, the pack turns out to be a wolf pack. A pack of wolves, where each wolf knows not only that he is a wolf, but that all other members of the pack are exactly the same wolves. With exactly the same little eyes, little ears, and little teeth.
But our wolves are not just wolves, but “wolves with principles,” and by virtue of these principles they clearly understand that for “peaceful coexistence” in the pack, they need someone who will force them to tolerate each other’s existence, who will humble each of them individually, and who will reconcile them all.
Boyars are people in wolf’s clothing, and the force of circumstances sooner or later forces them to realize that they need not a leader, but a man who stands outside the pack — they need a judge, an arbiter. They need someone called a Caesar.
They need a Tsar.
They need the “one who restrains.”
And he appears. Inevitably. Because if there is no one to restrain and humble them, the state disintegrates into fiefdoms, and that’s not even the end, as each fiefdom carries the seeds of its own decay, and in the distance glimmer the eyes of a neighboring pack, whimpering with impatience — a wolf is always hungry.
So it turns out that from the people’s point of view, the Tsar is always good, for he is God’s viceroy on Earth, and it is in this capacity — he holds the World back from decay, from Chaos; the Tsar is the living embodiment of the state, the personification of world order.
The System of Power in a state grows by itself, and it always takes the form of a pyramid, in this sense mirroring the shape of the state itself — a broad base, converging sides, and a peak where there is room for only one. The Pyramid of Power and the Pyramid of the State (it is hard to say which is a copy of which in this duality) are similar in one very important detail: they are not solid. Visually, this idea is very clearly expressed in the famous image of the pyramid on the one-dollar bill that circulates throughout the world today.
The peak of the pyramid, that very pyramidion, not only hovers, detached from the base, but is also surrounded by a shining halo, directing our thoughts to that very thing — “there is no authority except from God” — but not only that; the ancient Christian symbol also hints at the obvious fact that one can only control, manipulate the pyramid from outside it; the Ruler cannot be part of the pyramid; a person, upon becoming a Monarch, crosses a certain invisible line.
A boyar may want to become a tsar, yes, and sometimes he does become a tsar. But only in that case does he lose his boyar status, the “material” one, and besides, he ceases to belong to himself — and not everyone is capable of that.
Therefore, a fight for the throne does not always happen. It could even be said that it almost never happens. Very often, a person who does not want it ends up on the throne. What is important is that the boyars recognize the necessity of a “throne.” Who actually sits on the throne is already much less important. Life itself will replace an unsuccessful candidate with a successful one.
Under certain circumstances, a tsar may even be a hindrance; the point is different — the Tsar must suit the boyars as a “judge,” for various reasons, but he must suit them. Each one must see some personal benefit for himself in the candidate. And not a monetary benefit, of course.
But that’s not enough — the boyars are pushed from below by the people; they “feel their mood in their gut,” and it becomes extremely important not only personal gain, but also how much the Tsar will, in the boyars’ expectations, be “beloved” by the people. And when all this comes together, “just right,” it results in a “successful reign.”
The Tsar can get rid of an undesirable boyar only with the help of other boyars, or at least with their tacit support. A situation of universal “boyar opposition” may arise; then the Tsar has no choice but to create another center of power — the “oprichnina.” But this happens extremely rarely, when all options have been exhausted and all other possibilities have been used up, when the state is “at the brink.” Because by doing so, the Tsar starts playing a very dangerous game; the “oprichnina” creates the possibility of maneuvering between centers of power, and “well-wishers” from outside immediately begin to take advantage of this. The conditional “Poles.”