A vozhd (romanised from Belarusian, Russian and , also Bulgarian, Macedonian and , , , , or ), literally meaning "the guidesperson" or "the leader", is a historical title with etymology deriving from the Proto-Slavic *voďь and thus common across Slavic languages. It originally denoted a chieftain of a tribe, whereas upon rise of statehood it was used thereafter also in the context of a supreme leader and/or supreme commander, in particular when both roles were combined in one person.

In most Slavic languages the official and colloquial usage of the designation has nowadays been discontinued in favor of (at least) two more precise derivates, one meaning "a leader" and another one "a commander" (e.g., in and , respectively); therefore, the original term may typically be encountered exclusively in historical or ironic contexts; otherwise occasionally only when referring to extant foreign tribal communities.

History

In Serbia, that title was given to Karađorđe Petrović by all the voivodes who elected him to be their leader at their first Praviteljstvujušći sovjet (Government Council) during the First Serbian uprising in the 19th century. As such Karađorđe was titled Grand Vožd of Serbia.

Later, in Russian, it was often used in reference to Soviet leaders such as Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin as Vozhd of the proletariat (), Vozhd of the Russian Communist Party (), Vozhd of the World Revolution (), Vozhd of the Peoples (), Vozhd of the Soviet people ().

In modern Russian, vozhd became exclusive for Communist leaders or chieftains of aboriginal tribes. The word is becoming somewhat obsolete and is being replaced by its English version, "leader". It is a counterpart to the word Führer in German.

See also

• Tsar

Notes

References

External links

• Vozhdi CCCP at Savok.org