Chelobitnye

(also chelobit’ia), in Russia of the 15th to early 18th centuries, written addresses—particularly requests, complaints, or denunciations—submitted to central and local government institutions by individuals and by groups of, for example, dvoriane (nobles), posadskie liudi (merchants and artisans), or peasants. Persons to whom chelobitnye were addressed included the tsar, pomeshchiki (fief holders), votchinniki (owners of patrimonial estates), and church leaders.