Podyachy or podyachiy (Russian: подьячий, sometimes подъячий; from Greek hypodiakonos, "assistant servant") is an office (bureaucratic) occupation in prikazes (local and upper governmental offices) and lesser local offices of Russia in 15th-18th centuries. But for an anachronism, it may be loosely translated as clerk. Dyak (дьяк, archaic: diak, диак) was chief of a stuctural division of a prikaz. For example, "посольский дьяк" (posolsky dyak) is a dyak of the Posolsky Prikaz (Diplomacy Department). A duma dyak (думный дьяк) was the lowest rank in the Boyar Duma (15-17th centuries). Podyachyes were classified into junior, middle and senior. A senior podyachy (Старший подьячий) was a councellor to a dyak.
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