tysyatsky

A tysiatskii, alternatively transliterated as tysyatsky (, , , ) and sometimes translated as dux or herzog, was a military leader in Kievan Rus' and later Russian city-states who commanded a people's volunteer army called a tysyacha (). In the Novgorod Republic, the tysiatskii evolved into a judicial or commercial official and was elected by the boyars at a veche meeting for a period of one year. In cities with no veche, the tysiatskie were appointed by the prince from among the noble boyars and could hand down their post to their sons.

==History== The first tysiatskii of Kiev is mentioned in 1089; Yan Vyshatich, the son of Vyshata, served the grand prince as a general and tysiatskii. His brother Putyata also served the grand prince in a similar capacity, from 1097 to 1106. During the Kievan period, the tysiatskii was a high-ranking position and often the commander of a major city's detachment. As a local leader, he maintained some independence, and in later years, princes tended to replace this position with that of a voivode. In later times, the tysiatskii often became one of the highest-ranking urban officials, particularly in Novgorod and Pskov.