boyarism
/ˈbɔɪəˌrɪzəm/
noun
- The system or practices of the boyars; rule or influence by a privileged noble class.
- The novel explores the tensions between the monarchy and the entrenched boyarism of the old nobility.
- The historian argued that boyarism prevented Russia from modernizing as quickly as Western Europe.
- Some critics saw the concentration of wealth among a few families as a modern form of boyarism.
Synonyms