Oaths of Allegiance to Russian Monarchs in the 17th Century

This study analyzes the formation and developmental history of the Russian population’s oaths of allegiance to the tsar (often called “cross-kissing,” meaning “swearing” or “oathtaking”), which became a form of State oath. The texts of the oaths and their ceremonial practices reflected the fundamental elements of Russian political culture in the 17th century, based on Orthodox doctrine. This essay focuses on the general normative regulations for the organization of oath ceremonies in Russian cities as well as on the evolution of the ideological content of the oath texts addressed to the Orthodox population. The oath procedures combined secular and religious rhetoric, which substantiated and listed the types of services and duties required of the tsar’s subjects, the failing and breaching of which was a reason for excommunication from the church and/or secular punishment. The Russian state assigned varying degrees of rights and liberties to different social groups, correlating these privileges directly with the specific duties and obligations each group owed to the state. Consequently, the notion of subjecthood differed substantially among the various segments of the population. Although the widespread adoption of loyalty oaths fostered a collective sense of allegiance to the state, the rights of subjects were concurrently constrained by their association with particular social categories. Throughout the 17th century, the administration of the State Oath served to affirm the stability of the governing apparatus and the ruling dynasty and consolidated the loyalty of the population, gradually turning this ritual into an important political institution.