Features of the "boyar children" marking them out from other representatives of the service class

The author presents a detailed description of the upper stratum of Siberian servicemen called boyar sons. The main aspect of this description is their symbolic differentiation from the main contingent of service people in the 17th century. The author defines the features marking out the boyar sons in both official activity and everyday life. These are personal activity, aptitude to adaptation, initiative, search for compromise solutions, literacy, broad knowledge in the military, technical and diplomatic aspects, and knowledge of Turkic languages. Boyar sons got higher salaries and benefits, used prisoners in the household; they were actively involved in trade and farming. The symbolic differentiation is also reflected in the fact that boyar sons lived in compact settlements in Siberian towns. The author concludes that the symbolic differentiation of boyar sons corresponded to reality that was characterized by transformation of the Siberian servicemen into an active driving force.