Starshina, or Starshyna (, , from старший, starshyi, "senior"), initially was a Cossacks officership, but in Soviet time it was, and in the Russian Federation it is used as the Company sergeant major at the one hand and the top non-commissioned officer at the other hand. In Tsardom of Russia and later Imperial Russia of 17-20th centuries a volostnoy starshina was a chief of a volost (a rural administrative unit). He was in charge of the distribution of taxes, resolving conflicts within obshchina, distribution of the usage of community lands, assigning people for military service, etc.