noun
- members of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in medieval Russia and other Slavic countries
Usage: historical
Examples
- The boyars held vast estates and wielded considerable political power.
- Ivan the Terrible reduced the influence of the boyars to strengthen his rule.
- Many boyars opposed the reforms introduced by Peter the Great.
- The boyar council advised the tsar on matters of state.
- Wealthy boyars lived in elaborate mansions in Moscow.
- The rise of the service nobility diminished the traditional power of the boyars.