Barkhatnaia Kniga

(Velvet Book), a genealogical book of the most prominent boyar and noble families of Russia (its name derives from its velvet binding). It was drawn up in 1687, prompted by the abolition of mestnichestvo (1682) and the cessation of the compilation of the Books of Ranks. The Barkhatnaia Kniga included the tsar’s Genealogical Directory that had been drawn up in 1555–56, primarily consisting of the genealogical records of the descendants of the Riurikoviches and Gediminoviches (tsarist, princely, and boyar lines), and, in addition, materials from the second half of the 16th and the 17th centuries taken from genealogical lists presented by the representatives of those lines between 1682 and 1687. As a historical source, the Barkhatnaia Kniga must be regarded with a critical eye, as it contains factual errors and falsifications.