Tsar

Tsar /zɑːr/ (Old Church Slavonic: ц︢рь (usually written thus with a titlo) or цар, цaрь; also Czar or Tzar in Latin alphabet languages) is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism. The term is derived from the Latin word Caesar, which was intended to mean "Emperor" in the European medieval sense of the term—a ruler with the same rank as a Roman emperor, with-holding it by the approval of another emperor or a supreme ecclesiastical official (the Pope or the Ecumenical Patriarch)—but was usually considered by western Europeans to be equivalent to king, or to be somewhat in between a royal and imperial rank.

Occasionally, the word could be used to designate other, secular, supreme rulers. In Asia and Russia the imperial connotations of the term were blurred with time, due to the medieval translations of the Bible, and, by the 19th century, it had come to be viewed as an equivalent of King.

Czar (political term)

Czar is an informal title for certain high-level officials in the United States and the United Kingdom. Political czars can run or organize governmental departments, and may devote their expertise to a single area of work. The "czars" have various official titles which may include the terms adviser, director, administrator, or diplomatic envoy, but such titles are often quite long or awkward sounding.

In the United States, czars are generally executive branch officials appointed by the President either with Senate approval or without it. Some appointees outside the executive branch are called czars as well. Specific instances of the term are often a media creation.

In the United Kingdom, the term tsar is more loosely used to refer to high-profile appointments who devote their skills to one particular area.

United States

Development of term

The term 'czar,' is a word of Balkan origin etymologically originating from the name "Caesar," as does the word 'tsar,' a title of sovereignty adopted by late Rurukid-dynasty (Ivan III and Ivan IV the Terrible in particular) rulers of Muscovy. Confusion emerged when a German traveler recorded that the ruler of Muscovy at the time was titled 'czar,' due to a linguistic mistake derived from the fact that the Polish, with which the German had greater familiarity, titled some leaders 'czars.' The term czar was used to designate the Russian, Bulgarian or Serbian monarchs of pre-World War I Europe.

Tsar (disambiguation)

Tsar, Tzar, and Czar are various Latin alphabet spellings of the same Slavic word, the title of a Russian, Bulgarian or Serbian monarch. It is derived from the word caesar, much like kaiser and keizer.

The word may also be:

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