Society, law and economy in Russian empire from Cambridge history of Russia, volume 2

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Throughout the imperial period Russia's political and social elites were drawn overwhelmingly from members of the hereditary noble estate (soslovie).[1] Even in 1914 the core of the social elite were members of great aristocratic land­owning families.[2] This group overlappedto a still considerable but ever decreas­ing degree with the political elite, whose core were senior civilian and military officials. The aristocrats were all from hereditary noble families, these families usually being both old and titled, as well as rich. Most of the military and bureaucratic elite were also by birth from the hereditary nobility, the majority still coming from well-established though not usually rich land-owning fami­lies of the provincial gentry, or sometimes from well-entrenched service noble 'dynasties'. The still relatively small minority of senior generals and bureau­crats who were not noble by birth had acquired this status automatically by reaching senior ranks in the civil and military service.[3]

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