office
Village Elder
the elder
also: староста, starosta
The elected head of a Russian peasant village commune (starosta), a real administrative office of the period -- here reduced to lighting the visiting gendarme's pipe rather than exercising any authority of his own.
Reading notes
- The New Villa §19 the village elder
The elected head of the peasant village commune (starosta), called on here to witness the damage claim against the engineer's stray livestock.
- On Official Business §38 The village elders
The starosta, the elected head of a peasant village commune; here, one of the few figures who treats Loshadin kindly, standing him tea at the tavern.
- The Village Elder §2 elder
The starosta was the elected head of a Russian peasant village commune (mir), responsible for local order, tax collection, and representing the commune to higher authorities. It was an unpaid, three-year elected office that ordinary peasants could be compelled to fill -- as the story's central anecdote turns on.
- The Village Elder §5 the Replovo village elder
Sets up the story's framing device: the tale that follows concerns how the office of village elder itself -- ordinarily a burden peasants tried to avoid -- became the mechanism used to trap a prosperous returning villager.
- The Village Elder §11 the elder's badge
The starosta's badge of office (\emph{бляха}), a metal token of authority worn by the elected village elder -- the peasants' trap for Yevdokim: electing him to an unwanted, unpaid, three-year post he cannot legally refuse, in revenge for his refusal to buy them drink.
- The Trial §26 The village elder
The elected head of a Russian peasant village commune (starosta), here reduced to lighting the visiting gendarme's pipe rather than exercising any real authority.