Cossack starshyna
Among Zaporozhian Cossacks, starshyna was a collective noun for administrative categories of military officers and state officials. In common parlance the term referred to the privileged social stratum of the Cossack society.
Starshyna was subdivided into:
- General Starshyna, headed by Hetman
- *Quartermaster General
- *Judge General
- *Secretary General
- *Adjutant General
- *Treasurer General
- *Ensign General
- *Bunchuk General
- Regimental Starshyna, headed by Polkovnyk
- *Regimental Obozni – first Deputy Colonel. He was in charge of artillery and fortress fortifications. In the absence of a colonel he replaced him, but he was not authorized to issue universal orders.
- *Regimental Judge – was in charge of a civil court in the ratusha
- *Regimental Osavul – assistant Colonel in Military Affairs
- *Regimental Khorunzhyi – commander of the "Khorunzhy Cossacks", guarding the colonel and the starshyna. He was in charge of regimental music and was responsible for keeping the khorugv.
- * – secretaries at the ratusha. One was in charge of military affairs, and the other of civilian affairs.
- Starshyna of Hundred – headed by Sotnyk
- *Sotenny otaman – the deputy Sotnyk, implemented the duties of an obozni and a judge on a sotnia level
- *Sotenny Osavul – assistant sotnik in military affairs
- *Sotenny Khorunzhy – headed the sotnia's flags
- *Sotenny Scribe – a secretary
- Junior Starshyna – headed by Otaman
- Chancellery:,
Later, sometime after the Khmelnytsky's Uprising, it was also associated with the Ukrainian nobility which derived out of the officership and the Hetman.