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To keep this vast and complex bureaucratic machine in motion it is necessary to have a large and well-drilled army of officials. These are drawn chiefly from the ranks of the Noblesse and the clergy, and form a peculiar social class called Tchinovniks, or men with Tchins.
The letter of the law was observed, but negligence and crime were allowed to go unpunished. While grovelling in the dust before ministers and directors of departments in the hope of receiving tchins and decorations, the officials stole unblushingly; and theft became so common that he who stole the most was the most respected.
The explanation of these anomalies is to be found in the fact that the Russian tchins, like the German honorary titles Hofrath, Staatsrath, Geheimrath of which they are a literal translation, indicate not actual office, but simply official rank.
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