{{Short description|Class of historical Russian landed gentry}} {{expand Russian|date=November 2023}} In the history of Russia '''pomeshchiks''' ({{langx|ru|помещик}}) were the class of Russian nobility who owned a ''pomestye'' ({{langx|ru|поместье}}), i.e., an estate.<ref name=pom>{{cite Efron|Поместье}}</ref> The term ''pomeshchik'' is commonly translated in English as "landlord".
==History== It terms of land ownership, there used to be two major categories. In {{ill|pomestye system|ru|Поместная система}}, a sovereign (tsar or ''knyaz'') could grant a piece of state-owned land to a person for his service (usually military) into personal ownership, for the term of the service or for life.<ref name=pom/> Its temporary and conditional character constituted the difference from the ''votchina'' system, whereby land ownership was hereditary. Over time the two systems blended into one under the term ''pomestye ownership''. This was finalized by Peter the Great in his 1714 {{ill|Decree on Single Inheritance|ru|Указ о единонаследии}}, whose main rule of law was inheritance of the real estate regardless its type by a single son, hence the name. It was influenced by the European concept of "Majorat". The "single inheritance" clause was amended in 1730 by Empress Anna of Russia, and the only consequence of Peter's decree left was unification of ''pomestye'' and ''votchina'' types of ownership.<ref>{{cite Efron|Единонаследие}}</ref>.
==See also== * Russian rank titles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Russian nobility Category:Landlords Category:Land law Category:Social history of Russia