Guards regiments in the 18th century. Russian guard. I am a Guards Infantry Division

To which all the economic and administrative resources of the empire were subordinated, was the creation of the army, as the most effective state machine.
The army, which was inherited by Tsar Peter, who had difficulty perceiving the military science of contemporary Europe, can be called an army with a big stretch, and the cavalry in it was much less than in the armies of the European powers.
The words of one of the Russian noblemen of the late 17th century are known:
“It’s a shame to look at the cavalry: the horses are worthless, the sabers are blunt, they themselves are scarce, without clothes, they don’t know how to wield a gun; some nobleman does not even know how to charge a squeaker, not only to shoot at a target; they kill two or three Tatars and marvel, bet on their success, but even if they put a hundred of their own - nothing. Many say: "God forbid the great sovereign to serve, and do not remove the saber from the scabbard." 1
And the Brunswick envoy Weber, who lived at that time in Russia, characterized the local cavalry as "a deplorable crowd" ...
The basis of the local cavalry was the lower nobles and landowners (“sleepers, and stewards, and lawyers, and Moscow nobles, and residents” 1), as well as their armed servants. As a rule, noble boyars commanded these detachments.

In pre-Petrine times, detachments were given as a reward for wounds received and shed blood, to those who returned from enemy captivity, as well as to the sons of boyars who died in battles and campaigns.
The stewards and solicitors joined the ranks of the local cavalry not only because of the need to replenish the army after the losses suffered - the service made it possible to obtain a higher noble rank. One way or another, but between 1681 and 1700 the number of local cavalry increased from 6835 to 11533 sabers.
By order of the king, they had to come to the service not only "horse and arms", but also accompanied by their armed servants; it was also allowed to replace personal participation in the campaign by placing a hired equestrian warrior in his place.

On November 8, 1699, Tsar Peter began the formation of a new army on the Western model, and by the time of his death in 1725, Peter the Great managed to bring Russia into a number of leading states and created a military machine that changed the balance of power in Europe.
At the end of January 1700, two new dragoon regiments were created in the village of Preobrazhensky near Moscow, the organization and training of which were entrusted to two Saxon officers - Colonel Joachim Gulitz and Colonel Schneventz. According to the custom of that time, the regiments bore the names of their commanders, and for reinforcement and better training, these dragoon regiments were reinforced by more experienced cavalrymen from other units.

The number of the first and second regiments was equal to 998 and 800 officers and soldiers, respectively. These regiments had ten companies of 80 to 100 men each. According to the staffing table, the company was supposed to have a captain, a lieutenant, an ensign, eight non-commissioned officers and two musicians; the rest are soldiers.
The companies were reduced by two into squadrons. Thus, the full strength regiment consisted of five squadrons. The squadron was commanded by a staff officer or staff captain (most of whom were Germans).

In 1702-03, three more dragoon regiments were formed, and the same number - in 1705.
The horse composition of the dragoon regiments was of very low quality. heavy horses, necessary for actions in a closed cavalry formation, in Russia at that time was not. Undersized light steppe horses, which were issued to the dragoons, were burdened with heavy "German" saddles, ammunition, and harness. Even after several decades, the horses in the Russian dragoon cavalry remained so small that "the dragoons, getting off their horses, knocked them to the ground."
In 1705, a cavalry grenadier company of 100 sabers (soldiers and officers) was established in each regiment. Soldiers of the regiment were transferred to the mounted grenadiers at the choice of the commander.
By decree of March 10, 1708, it was ordered that from now on all linear dragoon regiments were named after the place of their formation (city or province), and not by the name of the commander.
The decree of February 19, 1712 became the basis for further reforms of the Russian army. According to this document, the number of personnel of the dragoon regiment was set at 1328 people, reduced to ten companies, with 1100 combat horses.
The list of the regiment included:
Colonel;
Two staff officers;
22 chief officers;
10 ensigns;
40 sergeants and senior non-commissioned officers;
60 corporals;
One timpani player;
11 drummers;
two trumpeters;
900 enlisted dragoons;
94 servants;
31 craftsmen;
100 baggage;
34 non-combatants.
The total number of the regiment in 1720 was somewhat reduced: in peacetime, the regiment provided for the presence of 35 officers, 1162 "lower ranks" and 54 servants.
These states remained until the death of Peter I in 1725.

In the winter of 1699-1700, when Tsar Peter established two new dragoon regiments, he was given a uniform"French style", that is, immediately upon formation, the Russian dragoons received uniform, which did not differ in essence from the attire of the dragoons of the European armies. At the same time, the local metropolitan and provincial cavalry retained their old “Russian” style clothing, as did the irregular cavalry.
As in the infantry "new instrument" regiments, the color of the dragoon caftans remained at the discretion of the regimental commanders. Their decision was determined for the most part by the availability of fabric of one color or another and the cost of "building" the uniforms themselves.

Cut uniforms was established uniform for the entire army, and both foot soldiers and dragoons wore generally the same clothes.
The caftan was supposed to be knee-length. Collar in the form of a very low stand or turn-down. Sleeves with large cuffs, with three cuff buttons. Cuffs and lining of caftan loops made of “instrument” (regimental) color cloth.
On the caftan floors there are two large pockets with "toothed" flaps and four small tin buttons, 13-16 tin buttons were sewn along the side of the uniform.
The camisole, which was worn under the caftan, had the same cut, but was narrower and shorter, and also did not have a collar and cuffs. Along the side, the camisole was fastened with 18 buttons; three more buttons were sewn on each sleeve, and four on the pocket.

The main difference between the dragoon uniforms from the "soldier" was shoes. Instead of shoes, each dragoon received a pair of heavy black cavalry over the knee boots with square toes. On foot, the boots could be turned down.
Under the boots, the dragoons wore knee-length white woolen stockings, which were held in place by black leather garters.
The color of ties and capes-epanches in the dragoon regiments varied even more widely than in the infantry. Yet, apparently, epanches and ties of various shades of red predominated. However, here the choice remained with the colonel.
Leather gloves with leggings, fawn in color, were more often worn in horseback ranks. Rough gloves gave some protection from the blow of an enemy sword, but made it difficult to handle the fusee and pistol.
Hats, as in the infantry, were varied. Some regiments received black cocked hats, in others the soldiers wore cheaper caps ("karpuzy") with regimental color trim. Mounted grenadiers received grenadier miter hats, similar topics that were given to the grenadiers of the infantry.
There were no special differences between the shelves. The variety of colors and shades of uniforms in the regiments, and even in the smoke, dust and dirt of battles, led to serious embarrassment. There is a well-known story about how in one of the battles, while lining up ranks for the next attack, the Swedish guards dragoons found six Russian dragoons in their ranks, falling into place in their squadron: the soldiers confused their squadron with the enemy ...
Some idea of ​​diversity uniforms Russian dragoons of the first decade of the 18th century are given by the following table:

And only in 1720, with the introduction uniforms new sample, the prescribed colors were clearly defined. From now on, Russian dragoons received blue caftans with a white turn-down collar and red cuffs, folded lapels and trimmed loops.
Under the caftan it was supposed to wear a light brown camisole. Short pants, the color of a camisole, were supposed to be worn over blue woolen stockings.
The uniform was complemented by red neck ties and epanches.

The equipment of the dragoons originally included a black leather ammo bag. It was supposed to be worn on a wide leather sling (light yellow or fawn) over the right shoulder. The sum, thus, was located on the left, next to the scabbard.
Later, large cartridge bags were replaced by small ones - carcasses, according to appearance similar to the grenadier's frogs. Lyadunki could be worn both on slings and directly on waist belts.
The second sling, over the left shoulder, was intended to carry a carbine. To fasten the weapon, the sling was supplied with an iron hook. Behind the bandage had a massive copper or brass buckle.
A heavy leather saddle of the “German” (Western European) type was placed on a saddle when saddling a horse. The color of the saddlecloth was set by the regiment commander (in most regiments the saddlecloths were red).
The saddle and saddle were held in place by a wide leather girth. On the left, a large leather pistol holster-olstra was attached to the front pommel of the saddle; The olstra was fixed with crosswise superimposed belts.
In addition to the girth, stirrups and bushmat were attached to the saddle - a leather glass into which the end of the carbine barrel was inserted. Thus, in the equestrian formation, the carbine was fixed on the right side of the rider with a sling hook fastened to the bracket and a bushmat located in front.

Peter I did not consider it necessary to form an elite cavalry unit, but his two commanders created their own escort units. These were the Life Squadron of Prince Menshikov and the General's Dragoon Company of Count Sheremetev. Both units were formed in 1704 and were more purely cavalry than dragoon training.
A uniform these squadrons as a whole was the same as that of the linear dragoons.

In the Sheremetev company, the caftans were red, and in the Menshikov squadron, the soldiers wore the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment (administratively, the squadron was assigned to this regiment).
In 1719, Peter the Great ordered the squadrons of Menshikov and Sheremetev to merge with the dragoon company of the governor of St. Petersburg (this company was formed in 1706 as a police unit of the capital). New part received the name of the Life Regiment (or the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment).

After a number of Cossack actions against the tsar, Peter I decided, as an experiment, to create a light cavalry regular unit and place it along the border with Austria. If successful, it was supposed to form several regular regiments on its base and replace unreliable Cossacks with them.
In 1707, the first hussar "gonfalon" (squadron) of 300 sabers was created. It was commanded by the Wallachian nobleman Apostol Kigich, and the hussars themselves were recruited from the Wallachians, Serbs, Hungarians and Moldovans who had previously been in the Austrian service.
This unit was deployed on the Russian border with Turkish Wallachia and served as a border garrison cavalry.

Task 1. Arrange historical events in chronological order. write down
the numbers that indicate historical events, in the correct sequence.
1) Pereyaslav Rada, unification of Left-bank Ukraine with Russia
2) Neva battle
3) signing the Munich Agreement
Task 2. Establish a correspondence between events and years: for each position of the first
column, select the appropriate position from the second column.
Events
years
A) the Battle of Zorndorf
1) 1036
B) the transition of the Bolshevik government
2) 1097
towards a new economic policy
C) the congress of princes in Lyubech
3) 1597
D) the introduction of "lesson years"
4) 1758
5) 1921
6) 1964
Task 3. Below is a list of terms. All of them, with the exception of two, are
events, phenomena of the XIX century.
1) food dictatorship; 2) justices of the peace; 3) Decembrists; 4) Trudoviks;
5) zemstvo chiefs; 6) landlords.
Find and write down the ordinal numbers of terms related to another history.
the Czech period.
Task 4. Write down the missing word.
__________ regiments - special privileged units of the Russian army, created
Peter I from the "amusing" troops after the battle of Narva in 1700 and played a significant
role in the era of palace coups.
Task 5. Establish a correspondence between processes (phenomena, events) and facts,
related to these processes (phenomena, events): for each position of the first column
select the appropriate item from the second column.
PROCESSES
(PHENOMENONS, EVENTS)

A) the reign of the Seven Boyars

1) the conclusion of the Stolbovsky peace between
Russia and Sweden
2) an invitation to the Russian throne
Polish prince Vladislav
3) Creation of the Salvation Union
4) military conflict with Japan on the river
Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia
5) the capture of Vasily II by Khan Ulu_Mukhammed
6) the offensive of the troops of General N.N. Yudenich on
Petrograd

B) internecine war in Moscow
state in the second quarter of the fifteenth century.
C) Russian Civil War
D) the Decembrist movement

Task 6. Match the fragments historical sources and their brief
characteristics: for each fragment marked with a letter, select two
corresponding characteristics indicated by numbers.
FRAGMENTS OF SOURCES
A. “... The Great Prince obeyed their pleas: taking a blessing, he went to the Ugra and,

Arriving, he stopped at Kremenets with a small number of people, and let all the rest of the people go to the Ugra.
Then in Moscow, his mother, the Grand Duchess, with Metropolitan Gerontius, and Archbishop Vassian,
and Trinity Abbot Paisius asked the Grand Duke to welcome his brothers. The prince accepted them
request and ordered his mother, the Grand Duchess, to send for them, promising to welcome them.
The princess sent to them, ordering them to go straight to the Grand Duke as soon as possible for help.
B) “... And the blessed Prince Mikhail, whose name was Svyatopolk, died, a month
on April 16 outside Vyshgorod, they brought him in a boat to Kyiv, and brought the body into proper shape
him, and put him on a sleigh. And the boyars and his squad wept for him
all; having buried the songs over him, they buried him in the church of St. Michael,
which he built himself. The princess (wife) generously divided his wealth according to
monasteries, and priests, and the poor, so that people marveled, for no one
can create. After that, on the tenth day, the people of Kiev arranged a council, sent to Vladimir
(to Monomakh), saying: "Go, prince, to the table of your father and grandfathers." Hearing this, Vladimir cried a lot.
and did not go (to Kyiv), grieving for his brother.
The Kievans plundered the yard of Putyaty tysyatsky, attacked the merchants, plundered their property.
And the people of Kiev sent again to Vladimir, saying: "Go, prince,
to Kyiv; if you don’t go, then know that a lot of evil will happen, this is not only Putyatin’s yard or
Sotsky ... and they will also attack your daughter-in-law, and the boyars, and the monasteries, and you will keep the answer,
prince, if the monasteries are also plundered." Hearing this,
Vladimir went to Kyiv.
CHARACTERISTICS
1) The events described took place in the 15th century.
2) During the reign of the prince referred to in the passage, the Muscovite state was
Novgorod annexed.
3) Vsevolod the Big Nest was a contemporary of the events described.
4) The described events took place in the XII century.
5) During the reign of the prince, which is discussed in the passage, "Russian Truth" was supplemented.
6) The described events took place in the XIV century.
Task 7. Which of the following activities reflected the policy of "enlightened
absolutism" Catherine II? Choose three answers and write down the numbers under which
they are indicated.
1) establishment of provinces
2) convocation of the Legislative Commission
3) liquidation of the patriarchate
4) the proclamation of freedom of enterprise
5) publication of the Letter of Complaint to the cities
6) change in the order of succession to the throne
Task 8. Fill in the gaps in these sentences using the list below.
missing elements: for each sentence marked with a letter and containing_
number of the desired element.
A) In June 1941, the defense of _______ began.
B) Soviet designer small arms, which were in service with the Red Army in
years of the Great Patriotic War — .
C) The Red Army launched a counteroffensive near Stalingrad in _______.
Missing items:
1) V.A. Degtyarev
2) 1943
3) Sevastopol
4) 1942
5) S.V. Ilyushin

6) Brest Fortress

Task 9. Write down the selected numbers in the table under the corresponding letters.
Establish a correspondence between events and participants in these events: for each position
the first column, select the corresponding position from the second
column.
Events
Members
A) The first visit of the top leader of the USSR to
1) F.I. Sheludyak
USA
B) Battle of Grunwald
2) Vitovt
C) Cancellation of internal customs duties
3) L.I. Brezhnev
D) The uprising led by S.T. 4) N.S. Khrushchev
Razin
5) Elizaveta Petrovna
6) Yuri Dolgoruky
Task 10. Read an excerpt from the memoirs of a politician and indicate the sovereign,
mentioned in the text.
“... The situation by this time was far from reassuring ... In the afternoon
telegrams were received from the capital, in one of which the Chairman of the State_
Noah Duma M.V. Rodzianko informed General Ruzsky that, in view of the removal from management_
of the entire former Council of Ministers, government power passed into the hands of the Times_
a committee of members of the State Duma, which, after all, was formed arbitrarily.
Then, from the Headquarters, information was received that an uprising had begun in Moscow and gar_
its nizon goes over to the side of the rebels; that the riots spread to Kronstadt,
and that the commander Baltic Fleet found it impossible to protest against the
knowledge by the fleet of the above-mentioned Provisional Committee of the State Duma,
All these data, General Ruzsky had to report to the sovereign upon his arrival in
Pskov.
Task 11.
Century

Domestic event
stories

Events
foreign
stories

The beginning of the reign of Rurik
in Novgorod

Decay
Frankish
empire

__________(D) Beginning
board
Andrei Bogolyubsky in
Vladimir_Suzdal
principality
Missing items:

Education
sacred
Roman
empire

1) XIII century.
2) the defeat of the Khazar Khaganate
3) the invasion of Batu in Rus'
4) IX century.
5) the defeat of the Pechenegs near Kyiv
6) the division of the Christian Church into Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic)
personal)
7) XII century.
8) first convocation States General in France
9) Second Crusade
Task 12. Read an excerpt from the notes of a contemporary.
“As soon as a strong battle began, the Scythians, surrounded by the master Sklir,
could not withstand the aspirations of the cavalry phalanx, took to flight and, pursued
to the very wall, with infamy fell dead on the spot. Myself<...>, wounded and expired
blood, would not have survived if the coming night had not saved him.
The enemy, they say, in this battle, 15 thousand people were killed, it was taken
20 thousand shields and many swords; our dead had only 350 men and many
the wounded. The Romans won such a victory in this battle.<...>mourned all night
beating his rati, was annoyed and blazed with anger. But, feeling that nothing can
to make our army invincible, I considered it the duty of a prudent commander, not
indulging in sadness in extreme circumstances, try with all your might to save
the remaining soldiers. So, the next day, in the morning, he sends to the emperor to ask for peace
with the following conditions: the Tauro-Scythians must give Dorostol to the Romans, send the prisoners
and return to their own country, and the Romans must let them sail safely in ships
their own, not attacking them with fiery ships (for they were extremely afraid
Median fire, which can even turn stones into ashes), allow the transport of
bread and those sent for trade to Byzantium to count, according to the old custom,
friends.
The sovereign willingly accepted the offer of an alliance (he preferred peace to war, knowing that
one saves, and the other, on the contrary, destroys the peoples), approved the conditions and gave
each two measures of bread.
Those who received bread were 22,000 people who remained from the 60,000 Russian troops;
consequently, the other 38,000 fell by the Roman sword. According to the peace<...>requested
permission from the sovereign to come to him for personal negotiations. He agreed, and
gilded weapons, on a horse came to the coast of Istra, accompanied by a large_
by a detachment of horsemen, shining with armor.<...>crossed the river for some_
swarm the Scythian boat and, sitting at the oar, rowed along with the others, without any difference
chiya."
Using the passage and knowledge of history, choose three correct ones from the list below.
judgments.
1) The events described in the document refer to the X century.
2) During the battles mentioned in the text, Russian army, according to the author, lost killed
almost two-thirds of its warriors.
3) The author writes about the thousands killed in the ranks of the Roman army.
4) The name of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich is missing in the text.
5) The agreement, the conclusion of which is mentioned in the document, maintained trade relations
between Russia and Byzantium.
6) The author of this document is the ancient Russian chronicler Nestor.
Task 13.

13. Insert a missing word in a sentence:
“The diagram shows the events that took place in one thousand nine hundred
year.
Task 14. Write the name of the commander in chief of the troops whose actions are noted in
legend of the scheme with arrows "1", in the area indicated on the diagram by the letter "B".
Task 15. Write the abbreviated name of the government, which during the period of events,
marked on the diagram, operated in the city marked with the letter "A".
Task 16. What judgments related to the events indicated in the diagram are
true? Choose three sentences from the six offered. Write down the numbers in the table
by which they are indicated.
1) Among the troops whose actions are indicated in the legend of the scheme by arrows "1" and "3",
were German military units.
2) The diagram shows the maximum success of the armies in this war, the actions of which
are marked in the scheme legend with arrows "1", in the area marked with the letter "B".
3) Troops, whose actions are indicated in the legend of the scheme by arrows "1", in the area,
marked with the letter "B", headed by A.I. Denikin.
4) The scheme covers the entire theater of military operations on the territory of the Russian state in
given historical period.
5) The government of the country that operated in the city indicated by the letter "A" moved there
about a year before the events indicated in the diagram.

6) The participants in the war, the events of which are indicated in the diagram, were M.V. Frunze and S.M.
Budyonny.
Task 17. Establish a correspondence between cultural monuments and their brief
characteristics: for each position of the first column, select the appropriate position from
second column.
cultural monuments
Characteristics
A) Tsar Cannon
1) Author - V.I. Surikov.
B) "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
2) This cultural monument is dedicated to the struggle
Russ with Polovtsy.
C) the monument "Millennium of Russia"
3) This cultural monument was created
in the 18th century
D) the painting "The Rooks Have Arrived"
4) Author - M.O. Mikeshin.
5) This cultural monument was created
in the 16th century
6) Author - A.K. Savrasov
Task 18.

What judgments about this medal are true? Pick two out of five
proposed. Write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table.
1) The medal was issued during the reign of the last Russian emperor.
2) The beginning of the industrial development of the region mentioned on the medal is associated with the dynasty
Russian industrialists Demidovs.
3) The event to which this medal is dedicated took place during the Seven Years' War.
4) One of the emperors, whose symbolic monogram is present in this image,
published the Manifesto "On the Inviolability of Autocracy".
5) industrial development the region mentioned on the medal was suspended in the second
quarter of the 20th century

Task 19. What sculptural monuments were installed to the ruler in whose reign pro_
occurred the event to which this commemorative medal is dedicated? Answer two
the numbers under which these sculptural monuments are indicated.

Answers
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

Answers
213
4523
14
Guards
2563
1245
245
614
4251
Nicholas II
245679
125
nineteenth
Kolchak
Council of People's Commissars
356
5241
12
23

“... All the inconstancy of the world cannot be compared with the inconstancy of the Russian court,” wrote the Saxon envoy de Ford in January 1728, writing a report to his king. The diplomat's irritation can be understood: after the death of Emperor Peter the Great, there was no need to talk about a strong, stable position in the capital - palace coups, large and small, the fall of emperors and favorites, the disgrace of nobles and entire families. Petersburg layman fell asleep, not knowing exactly whose subject he would be declared in the morning.

How a typical upheaval took place in the 18th century can be judged from the “Notes” by B.X. Minich: “After the death of this great sovereign (Peter I. - Auth.) all the senators and dignitaries of the empire agreed to enthrone the Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the grandson of the emperor. The next day, early, before Prince Menshikov arrived, they gathered in the imperial palace. In general, everyone hated the prince, and in particular the Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky. Guards were placed in front of the hall where the senators had gathered. Prince Menshikov appeared there, but they did not let him in; then, without making any noise, he returned to his palace, which now houses the cadet corps, called Ivan Ivanovich Buturlin, lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, and asked him to bring a company of guards as soon as possible. When this was done, Prince Menshikov went with a company straight to the imperial palace, broke down the door of the room where the senators and generals were, and declared Catherine the empress and legitimate Russian empress, crowned emperor in Moscow in the month of May of the previous year.

This vivid, although perhaps somewhat exaggerated description of the coup of 1725, as a result of which the wife of Peter I, Ekaterina Alekseevna, was elevated to the Russian throne, is very revealing.

In particular, the behavior of the guardsmen in this situation attracts attention: they surrounded the palace, broke down the door and achieved their demands.

Researchers have noted more than once: the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments, created by Peter the Great, actively participated in the coups of 1725, 1730, 1741, 1762, 1801. However, pointing to this, it is customary to say that the guard was only a tool in the struggle for power.

The last statement is hardly substantiated: the guard was by no means a toy in the hands of certain political forces. By the time of the death of the reformer tsar, it had become an independent and extremely influential force, capable of formulating, expressing and implementing its own political program.

Elite military units, called guards, arose in modern times in many countries of the world. They exist to this day. In Russia, the guard appeared at the very beginning of the 18th century. It was then, in 1700, that the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments were declared the Life Guards. However, their history is much older and goes back to the previous century.

Back in 1682, before the accession of Tsarevich Peter to the throne, his choir in the village of Vorobyov had something like a military camp. A small area was cleared, on which a funny hut, a wooden tent, wooden cannons and slingshots were placed. In the troubled year of 1682, Peter did not particularly have to deal with games, in the next year - just the opposite. At this time, according to contemporaries, under the command of Peter there were probably up to 50 people. Thus a company was formed, later called Poteshnaya.

It accepted the children of boyars and commoners, Russians and foreigners. The first company commander was a Swiss, a descendant of a Huguenot who fled from France, Franz Lefort.

By 1689, the number of amusing people had grown to about 250. This fact is established for certain: on August 8, 1689, Peter, as you know, fled to the Trinity Monastery, and accompanied by them. For the Trinity campaign, a funny reward was granted at a salary of 5 rubles. And since Peter I personally took 1200 rubles from the monastery chamber, it is not difficult to make a calculation.

From the beginning of 1690 to 1692, judging by the number of sergeants, there were from 2 to 4 amusing companies. Since 1687 they were located in two villages - Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky, which, I think, had no fundamental significance for their then life. Firstly, both villages were adjacent and separated from each other only by the Khapilovsky stream. And secondly, according to the exact remark of Lieutenant-General P.O. Bobrovsky, the author of a number of works on the Peter's army, "in essence, until 1690, both of them made up one common team, one squad." But if we talk about the commonality of ideas, plans and their direct implementation, then Preobrazhensky and Semenovtsy made up a single team for much longer.

It was these units, having received the honorary name "Life Guards", that became, as you know, the basis for the formation of the Russian regular army. It was they who turned the tide of events on the fields of wars in the first quarter of the 18th century. Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy actively participated in the Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695, 1696), the battles of the Northern War (1700-1721), as well as in the Prut (1711) and Caspian (1722-1723) campaigns.

However, the functions performed by the Preobrazhenians and Semenovtsy in the time of Peter the Great, and much later, were never limited to military service proper. The Russian Guard of the first quarter of the 18th century, in fact, was a completely unique structure within the Russian system of statehood, because. had enormous powers in the field of government.

Information obtained from sources allows us to conclude that from the end of the 1690s. and until the death of Peter the Great, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments performed a wide variety of functions related to almost all spheres of government and public life.

First of all, we are talking, of course, about state-representative duties: participation in ceremonies and rituals.

Military ceremonies, of course, were of paramount importance for the guard. These could be both small parades associated with the arrival of any army units, and celebrations of national importance (the entry of Russian troops into Moscow on the occasion of the Poltava battle
January 1, 1710, the celebration of the anniversary of this victory on July 8, 1710, the ceremony in honor of the victory over the Swedes at Gangut in 1714, and many others).

Moreover, any more or less significant ceremony was opened by the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The first company of the Preobrazhenians was often led by the emperor himself. The ceremony ended with a parade of Semenovites. If one of the guards regiments, for some reason, could not participate in the action, then the personnel of the other was divided into two parts. Thus, the ceremony looked as if the guards regiment or regiments "framed" the entire procession.

The guard is also beginning to be actively used in celebrations associated with religious holidays, or important events for the Church. This is connected, on the one hand, with the increasingly active interference of the authorities in the life of the latter, and, on the other hand, with the desire to give such rituals a secular character. An example is the participation of the guards in the transfer of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky in St. Petersburg. Holidays, like the Epiphany blessing of water, turn into ceremonies that outwardly represent a cross between a religious rite and a review of troops.

In addition, a number of church ceremonials in the time of Peter the Great ended with fireworks. The guard, especially the bombardment company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, was indispensable in such cases.

The burial of any of the members of the royal family, the reception of ambassadors, the arrival of representatives of the ruling European dynasties, secular holidays and festivities also could not do without the participation of the Preobrazhenians and Semenovites.

At the same time, the need for the presence of the guard at the ceremonies seemed to the sovereign almost absolute. So, in 1709, the guards accompanied Peter I on his trip abroad.

In September, he returned to Moscow with a small retinue, leaving the main units in Poland to participate in the Northern War. However, the Preobrazhenians were soon ordered to immediately follow the tsar in order to be in time for the solemn parade in honor of the Poltava victory, scheduled for December of that year. Probably, the replacement of the Life Guards with other units seemed to Peter I so unequal that he preferred to incur the costs associated with the unplanned return of the regiments to Russia.

However, in the first quarter of the XVIII century. the role of the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites in the life of society becomes more significant. Guard at this time practically participates in the work of the state apparatus, becoming a kind of parallel control apparatus, a special superstructure over the main civil system.

Preobrazhenets and Semyonovtsy are used to perform police duties, such as the collection of indemnities, the seizure of contraband goods, the detention of the accused, the guard of the arrested and their property. During the first quarter of the XVIII century. they invariably deliver recruits for the army, craftsmen for "hasty" construction projects, clerks and clerks for work in the Holy Synod, carpenters for resettlement in the new capital, blacksmiths for the construction of wharfs. They “forced the governors and vice-governors and the voivode to deport to St. Petersburg any rank of people who should be a builder on Vasilyevsky Island”, escorted those arrested, oversaw the felling of trees, performed various courier duties, accompanied cargo and the “treasury”.

The execution of minor police tasks was combined with participation in significant political actions, for example, in the suppression of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698, the Bulavin uprising of 1707-1708, the detention and subsequent delivery to Moscow of Tsarevich Alexei and his supporters.

The role assigned to the guards in this case was not limited to the simple use of military force. So, during the period of the Bulavin uprising, one of the battalions of the Preobrazhensky Regiment was sent to protect the shipyards of Voronezh, and individual guard officers who were confidants of Peter I (V.V. Dolgoruky, A.I. Ushakov, M.I. Shchepotev), controlled punitive actions in areas covered by the rebellion.

With time ranks of the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments began to be involved in the investigation and trial procedure.

At the same time, the guardsmen were entrusted with investigations of a very different order, ranging from domestic theft to cases of state crimes and corruption.

The granting of a number of police, investigative and judicial powers to the guards was connected with the very system of command and control of the regiments. Being under the jurisdiction of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, the main investigative body of the country during the period under review, guardsmen of any rank were inevitably involved in cases of this kind. Regiment commanders gradually turned into heads of political police.

The guardsmen were involved in the investigation at all its stages. They could directly investigate the case. For example, the search that began in 1714 in the case of the Arkhangelsk governor was conducted by Major M. Volkonskaya of the Semyonovsky regiment. Cases on charges of the former Siberian governor M.P. Gagarin and his son, dated 1721, were also given into the hands of the guards.

In the middle of the 1710s. the participation of Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites in the procedure of investigation and trial became even more active. In 1715-1717. in Russia, by special decree, temporary commissions were established to consider cases of state crimes of "stealing the treasury", or the so-called major's search offices.

The course of affairs in these offices resembled the procedure of a military investigation and trial. Guard officers I. Pleshcheev, G. G. Skornyakov-Pisarev and others were authorized to head them by the same decree. The population was instructed to provide all possible assistance to the guards.

To complete the picture, it should be said that the work in the major’s search offices was carried out very regularly, and such persons as Prince A.D. Menshikov, Count F.M. Apraksin, the Siberian governor Prince M.P. Gagarin and many other.

According to the historian Yu.N. officials» .

The procedure of the major's search offices was also used during the investigation and trial in the case of Tsarevich Alexei. Even during his stay abroad, he was monitored by the captain of the guard A.I. Rumyantsev. After the return of the heir to Russia, the office of "secret investigation cases" was created, which included A.I. Ushakov, G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev, I.I. Buturlin, P.A. Tolstoy. All of them, with the exception of the last one, were guardsmen. Tolstoy, who had nothing to do with either the Preobrazhensky or the Semyonovsky regiments before, at the end of the case received the rank of captain of the guard.

Major's investigative offices were liquidated in 1724, however, the Secret Office that arose after them in its form and essence practically repeated this entire system.

The Guard also took the most active participation in the system of administrative management of the country.

This concerned the management of front-line areas or territories occupied by Russian troops during the Northern War. Thus, the captain M.A. Sukhotin was the commandant of Narva from 1715 to 1723, and the Semyonov officer P. Lodyzhensky in 1714 became the vice-governor of the Arkhangelsk province, replacing A.A. Kurbatov in this post. However, guardsmen were often appointed to administrative positions in areas remote from the centers of war. For example, in 1719 the Senate announced a decree instructing the guards to captain-lieutenant Yu.A. Rzhevsky to manage the Nizhny Novgorod province.

In addition, a huge number of small, but extremely important cases for a state in a state of war, were entrusted to the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites. As a rule, as leaders, they participated in strengthening urban structures (Azov, Kiev, etc.), building the cities themselves (St. Petersburg and Kronstadt), fortifications, roads and bridges, canals and locks, wharves and ships, casting cannons and delivery of provisions, organization of work at shipyards and at new industrial enterprises, planning gardens and parks new capital, collecting statistical information.

The guardsmen were also used to carry out diplomatic missions. These were both minor assignments for the performance of the duties of diplomatic couriers, and serious political assignments. The appearance of the latter tradition can probably be dated back to the end of the 17th century. In 1697, Major of the Preobrazhensky Regiment A.A. Veide was sent to the Duke of Courland, the Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony on a mission to prepare the arrival of the "Great Embassy" in Europe.

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. this practice has become widespread. So, in Poland, the guards were almost constantly (for example, V.V. and A.L. Dolgorukov, I.P. Izmailov). Captain of the Preobrazhensky Regiment L.V. Izmailov in 1719-1721 was the Russian envoy to China. The first Russian memoirist, who also served in the guard, B.I. Kurakin - the king's representative at the "papa's court" in Rome (1706-1707), Holland (1712), England and France (1720s). Major of the Preobrazhensky Regiment A.I. Rumyantsev defended Russian interests in Tsargrad (1724), S.G. Naryshkin became ambassador to Tuscany (1711). At the same time, the content of the missions assigned to the guardsmen could be very different - from official diplomatic representation to top-secret espionage activities.

The guardsmen were also entrusted with a kind of humanitarian mission. For example, in 1722, the Preobrazhensky G.G. Skornyakov-Pisarev was assigned to compile the New Chronicler. And although we do not have the opportunity to evaluate the results of his work, it is obvious that Skornyakov-Pisarev took the assignment seriously. According to the decree of February 16, 1722, for this work “from all the dioceses and monasteries” were taken “chroniclers, power, chronographs and others”, as well as “curious”, i.e. informative, manuscripts for making copies of them.

Perhaps the guardsmen took part in the creation of some legislative acts. Historian S.M. Solovyov, dealing with the issue of authorship of the "Table of Ranks", believed that the specified document was actually written by Ya.V. Bruce, G.I. Golovkin, D.I. Dmitriev-Mamonov and M.A. Matyushkin. The last two were senior officers of the guard.

The number of duties assigned to the guards was so great, and the number of people who were, in the terminology adopted at that time, "in absences", increased to such an extent that the guards were actually unable to ensure the safety of the life of Peter I. That is why in his message from Dubna dated May 4, 1707, addressed to A.D. Menshikov, you can read: “... From the regiment of my soldiers, take someone with you on top ... I ask that several dragoons be sent towards Lublin to see off ... for the sake of the current need.” Three days later, on May 8, 1707, Peter once again pointed out to His Serene Highness the insecurity of such a situation: “... I confirm that I do not have more than three dragoons that went with me from Zholkieva” 10 .

All these facts clearly show that in the time of Peter the Great, as mentioned above, the guard became a kind of parallel administrative apparatus, a superstructure over the civil administration and the judicial system. It is worth talking about the reasons for creating such a system ...

The active involvement of the guards in the system of government of the Russian Empire was initially associated with the need to establish an effective system of government, especially during the period of the breakdown of the old apparatus and the conduct of a difficult war.

The use of the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites in the second half of the 1710s - early 1720s. apparently due to the fact that Peter I understood all the shortcomings of the civil structure he created. The sluggishness, sluggishness of the latter, as well as the corruption of officials, did not in any way combine with the tsar's desire to carry out reforms as quickly as possible.

It is also understandable that the choice of Peter I fell precisely on the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. In fact, this decision was the most acceptable.

Firstly, reliance on military structures in governing the state was quite traditional in Russia and was practiced long before the 18th century: the military element was an ordinary civil component. Let us recall the position of the archers at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who, in addition to their military service, also performed police duties. The Streltsy Regiment, close to the court, was inseparable from the sovereign in his trips and campaigns to monasteries and surrounding villages, and took part in religious ceremonies at the court.

Secondly, it is necessary to mention the devotion of the guards to their emperor. It is quite understandable that Peter's desire to entrust responsible tasks to persons who enjoyed his special trust. And who was more devoted to the emperor than his "retinue", the guard? After all, it was Peter I who owed the guards their creation. They remembered him as a prince, for many of them he was a friend, for others even a relative (guardsman I.I. Dmitriev-Mamonov, for example, was married to the daughter of Tsar Ivan and, accordingly, Peter's niece, Princess Praskovya Ivanovna), for everyone but - he was a commander, a man whom they idolized.

And, finally, using the guards to participate in the system of state administration, the emperor created an extremely simple and effective structure based on the direct subordination of the guards to Peter I. Reporting for their actions to the emperor himself, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovites always realized the inevitability of the most severe punishment for failure to comply with one or another another duty or, moreover, for bribery.

So in the history of Russia in the first quarter of the XVIII century. a structure emerged that combined the military and civil beginning and gave life to a new self-awareness, which largely determined the subsequent events of the 18th century - a sense of its significance, the importance of a common cause, the energy of public service and the desire for effective action.

Along with a huge number of duties, the guard during the period of Peter's reign received an incredibly many privileges.

So, from the first years of the Northern War, a higher status of guardsmen was established in relation to army soldiers and officers. On August 20, 1706, the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites were granted seniority in one rank, and on January 24, 1722, guard officers received an advantage of two ranks in relation to the army and one in relation to the artillery ranks. And this despite the fact that the guards received the next rank much faster than in the army.

The privileged position of the guard was also associated with benefits in salary. This was expressed not only in the regularity of receiving payments, which was so rare for that time, in extraordinary awards, or in a constant increase in salaries. The sums of maintenance of the officers of the guard were exceptional for that time. The already mentioned B.I. Kurakin, talking about his receipt of the rank of colonel of the Semyonovsky regiment in 1706-1707, among other things, reports that "... the salary was paid close to 1000 rubles" 12 .

Indeed, officer and soldier salaries in the guards were 2-3 times higher than in the army. Judging by the available data, the content in the field regiments was meager. So, the captain received 8 rubles a month, the lieutenant 6 rubles, and the ensign 4 rubles. For comparison: at the same time, in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, the content of a captain-lieutenant was 20, and a lieutenant - 17 rubles. per month.

It is not surprising that officers who moved from the guard to the army, even with an increase in rank, often turned to the government with requests for a guard salary. For example, in 1712, G. Ovtsyn, a major of the Velyaminov-Zernov regiment, who once served as a lieutenant of the Semyonovsky regiment, achieved a Senate verdict, according to which he had to continue to receive a salary "according to the salary of the lieutenant of the Semyonovsky regiment, 12 rubles each." Thus, the colonel of an army regiment preferred a salary equal to the content of a lieutenant of the guard.

The desire of Peter I to make the guards regiments a structure with a high status both within the army and the whole society was expressed not only in good salaries and additional incentives. The government tried to solve any problems they had. The Preobrazhenians and Semyonovtsy got the most comfortable winter apartments, horses and fodder, they were allowed to build houses in best areas new capital, in the event of conflicts or litigation the decision in favor of the ranks of the guard was undeniable.

Over time, the number of privileges grew into quality, and the guard became a very special social unit. The position of a Preobrazhensky or Semyonovtsy gave a certain freedom in relation to a number of existing social norms in the first half of the 18th century. The rank of guards became a kind of safe-conduct in situations that, for the majority of the Russian population of that period, would have caused troubles and misfortunes. Understanding by Peter the Great of the value of the guard was accompanied by a desire to give people involved in it a certain protection from the arbitrariness and cruelty of the norms he himself created for all other subjects. .

At the same time, the functional purpose, the level of privileges, as well as the principles of replenishment of the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments (the principle of nepotism was cultivated here) turned the guard of the first quarter of the 18th century. into an increasingly closed structure.

The special status of the guard influenced its relations with the army units and the metropolitan nobility. Emerged at the end of the 17th century. the superiority of the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments, due to their exceptional combat capability, was now accompanied by an emphatically arrogant attitude of the guards towards the soldiers and officers of the army, based on an understanding of their superiority. The attitude of the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites towards the metropolitan elite was also similar.

In essence, the guardsmen, who were in the vast majority of nobles, during the reign of Peter the Great were able to receive enormous rights, privileges and, in many respects, freedom of action. At the same time, we can talk about the formation of a special collective self-consciousness here. Moreover, we are not talking about a modest group of close associates of the sovereign, not about dozens or even hundreds, but about more than four thousand people.

That is why the opinion that in the era of palace coups the Preobrazhenians and Semenovtsy, for a number of reasons (among which minor awards and vodka are often mentioned) seems to be completely untenable, became only a convenient and obedient tool for the fulfillment of someone's will.

Moreover, the self-identification of the guardsmen, their consciousness, belonging to a military corporation, support by the guards of Peter's reforms, personal devotion to the emperor allows us to see the roots of the ideas of the Russian officers and, in general, the Russian nobility of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. about himself, his country, his monarch and, of course, his role in the life of the Empire. It is no coincidence that the lists of the personnel of the guards of the time of Peter the Great are full of names that made up the Russian noble elite of subsequent centuries. Rumyantsev, Bestuzhev, Tolstoy, Rokotov, Rachmaninov, Turgenev, Kutuzov, Bolotov, Ushakov, Naryshkin, Golitsyn, Lvov, Meshchersky, Durnovo, Musin-Pushkin - all these names determined the state, social and cultural development of Russia for a long time.

Notes

Diplomatic documents relating to the history of Russia in the XVIII century // Collection of the Russian Historical Society. SPb., 1870. T. 5. S. 295.

Minich B.X. Notes of Field Marshal Count Munnich. SPb., 1874. S. 27-28.

Bobrovsky P.O. History of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (1683-1900). T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1900-1904. S. 153.

Bobrovsky P.O. Amusing and the beginning of the Preobrazhensky Regiment: According to official documents. SPb., 1899. S. 13.

Letter from Peter I to M.M. Golitsyn dated October 31, 1709 // Letters and papers of Emperor Peter the Great (hereinafter - Letters and papers). SPb. - L. -M., 1887-1918-1992. T. 9. Issue. 1.
pp. 443-444.

About not making denunciations and about anonymous letters and about burning them in front of witnesses on the spot,
January 25, 1715 // complete collection laws of the Russian Empire since 1649 (hereinafter - PSZ). St. Petersburg, 1830. V. 5. No. 2877; About being at the search affairs of the guards to headquarters and chief officers, about sending them, according to their requirements, to search for various ranks of people and cases, and about giving without detention for the supply of running money, December 23, 1717 // PSZ. T. 5. No. 3138.

Smirnov Yu.N. The role of the guard in strengthening the authorities of Russian absolutism in the first half of the 18th century. // Government policy and class struggle in Russia during the period of absolutism. Kuibyshev, 1985, p. 24.

Manifesto on the deprivation of Tsarevich Alexei of the throne, February 3, 1718 // Ustryalov N.G. History of the reign of Peter the Great. T. 6. St. Petersburg, 1859. S. 438-444; Letter from A.I. Rumyantseva I.D. Titov dated July 27, 1718 // Ustryalov N.G. History of the reign of Peter the Great. T. 6. St. Petersburg, 1859.
pp. 619-628.

The highest decree of Emperor Peter I on the ancient chroniclers and the chronograph of February 16, 1722 // RNB. Manuscript fund. F. 542. D. 716. L. 1-1 rev.

Letter from Peter I to A.D. Menshikov dated May 4, 1707 // RNB. Manuscript fund. F. 1000. Op. 2.
D. 1443. L. 2v.-3; Letter from Peter I to A.D. Menshikov dated May 8, 1707 // Ibid. L. 3 about.

Militsin S.D. The legal status of the guard and its role in the state mechanism of Russia in the XVIII century. // Legal problems of history public institutions. Sverdlovsk, 1983, p. 63; Table of Ranks, January 24, 1722 // PSZ. T. 6. No. 3890.

Kurakin B.I. The life of Prince B.I. Kurakin. // Archive book. F.A. Kurakina. Book. 1. St. Petersburg, 1890. S. 276.

Painting salaries for officers and privates of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, October 19, 1708 // Letters and papers. T. 8. Issue. 1. S. 226.

Ekaterina BOLTUNOVA,
Candidate of Historical Sciences
(Institute of Russian History RAS)

The prototype of the new army

In the autumn of 1690, the first maneuvers took place, organized according to all the rules of military art. On the one hand, a regiment of archers acted, on the other, amusing battalions and a detachment of noble cavalry. The archers were defeated. A year later, the forces of the opposing troops increased significantly. The forces of amusing and soldier regiments were led by F. Yu. Romodanovsky, and I. I. Buturlin was at the head of another army, consisting of archers. Both "commanders" were in the rank of "generalissimo". The total number of troops reached three thousand people. In general, all maneuvers have become a serious school of military science. The practical development of interaction in combat conditions, the training of siege operations, the study of weapons skills - everything was laid down in improving the quality of the army. Representatives of many noble families of that time participated in the reforming activities of Peter.

PREOBRAZHENSKIY REGIMENT, Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment - one of the two (along with Semenovsky) of the first Russian guards regiments.

The Preobrazhensky Regiment had a leading position in the Russian army. The colonel or colonel of this regiment were all Russian emperors or empresses.

The regiment was created by Tsar Peter I in the spring of 1692 from a "amusing" detachment stationed in the village of Podkovskaya near Moscow. Preobrazhenskoe. The final arrangement of the regiment was completed in 1693.

Preobrazhensky took part in all the main battles and campaigns of the time of Peter the Great. After the Azov campaigns, the company composition of the regiment was determined, which significantly outnumbered other parts of the army. It consisted of 16 fuselery (musketeers), 1 grenadier and 1 scorer companies. On August 22, 1700, when the Preobrazhensky regiment set out on the Narva campaign, it, together with the Semenovsky regiment, was first named the Life Guards. In the 1st floor. 18th century from the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment, mostly nobles, officers were trained for army regiments.

Subsequently, the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739, distinguished himself at the siege of Ochakov (1737), Khotyn (1739), in the battle of Stavuchany in 1739, in coalition wars with Napoleonic France, distinguished himself in the battle near Friedland (1807), near Borodino (1812), at Kulm (1813). Some of his guard detachments took part in the Russian-Swedish wars of 1788-1790 and 1808-1809, the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878. The Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment fought the enemy at Etropol, Adrianople, San Stefano and Tashkisen.

During the 1st World War, the Preobrazhensky participated in battles with German and Austro-Hungarian troops on the North-Western and South-Western fronts and distinguished themselves in the battle on the river. Stokhod (1916). The units of the regiment stationed in Petrograd took an active part in the revolutionary events of 1917.

In March 1918, the Preobrazhensky Regiment was disbanded. V.V.

SEMENOVSKY REGIMENT, Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment - one of the first (along with Preobrazhensky) Russian Guards Regiments.

The Semyonovsky regiment was formed by Tsar Peter I in the spring of 1692 from a “amusing” detachment stationed in the village of Semenovsky near Moscow. Semenovskoe. Semyonovtsy participated in all the main battles and campaigns of the time of Peter the Great. After the Azov campaigns, the composition of the regiment was determined, which was somewhat inferior in the number of companies to the Preobrazhensky regiment. The Semyonovsky regiment consisted of 12 fuselery (musketeers) and 1 grenadier company. In August 1700, when the Semyonovsky regiment, together with the Preobrazhensky, set out on the Narva campaign, they gave it the title of the Life Guards. In the 1st floor. 18th century from the soldiers of the Semenovsky regiment, mostly nobles, officer cadres were trained.

Subsequently, the Semenovsky regiment participated in the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Swedish wars, coalition wars with Napoleonic France. Its personnel distinguished themselves in the Stavuchany (1739) and Borodino (1812) battles, the Battle of Kulm (1813). In 1820, the soldiers of the Semyonovsky regiment rebelled against the inhuman treatment and drill. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878. The Life Guards Semyonovsky Regiment distinguished itself in battles near Gorny Dubnyak and Pravets. During the 1st World War, the Semenovites participated in hostilities with the German and Austro-Hungarian troops on the North-Western and South-Western fronts and distinguished themselves in the battle on the river. Stokhod (1916). The reserve and rear units of the regiment stationed in Petrograd took an active part in the revolutionary events of 1917.

In January 1918, the Semyonovsky regiment was disbanded. V.V.

A?RMIA - the totality of the enemy forces of the state; part of the armed forces, primarily the ground forces.

To con. 17 - beginning. 18th century the old structure of the army no longer met the requirements of the defense of the state and the tasks foreign policy. Peter I started the military reform and finished it by 1709, the year of the Battle of Poltava. It can be divided into 3 stages.

The preparatory stage was 1690–1699, when the “amusing” regiments of Peter I turned into the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, and two “elective” Moscow regiments were formed from the most combat-ready archers - P. Gordon and F. Lefort.

The stage of transition to a regular army can be called 1699-1705. In 1699, royal decrees were issued on the entry into the soldier and dragoon regiments of "all kinds of free people", and then "private people". As a result, 29 infantry and 2 dragoon regiments were formed (1200 privates per regiment). Streltsy regiments and noble cavalry were eliminated after the battle of the Russian and Swedish armies near Narva on November 19, 1700. In November 1700, the Swedes destroyed 6,000 Russians and all artillery near Narva. Streltsy regiments and noble cavalry could not resist the army of Charles XII.

The final stage took place in 1705–1709. The place of the noble equestrian militia was taken by the dragoon-type cavalry. In 1705, recruitment duty was introduced in Russia. In all provinces of the country, "stations" were set up - points for collecting recruits. As a rule, 1 recruit was recruited from 500, less often from 300 and in exceptional cases from 100 male souls. The peasant lads who were recruited experienced the transition from domestic to military life very deeply. This was exacerbated by a harsh system of punishments for mistakes in exercises. Corporal punishment and the death penalty in the army of the 18th century. were commonplace. Disastrous for recruits were long transitions, and poor food, and lack of medicine. They got sick and died even when there was no hostilities.

In the 18th century recruits were recruited only among the Russian population. From con. 18th century Ukrainians and Belarusians began to be recruited, and in the 19th century. representatives of other Christian peoples of Russia. The term of service was then "before disability", in fact, life.

The new regular army and navy were created according to the Western European model.

The army was divided into divisions and brigades, which, however, did not have a permanent composition. the only permanent unit in the infantry and cavalry was a regiment. The infantry regiment until 1704 consisted of 12 companies, consolidated into two battalions, after 1704 - from 9 companies: 8 fusilier and 1 grenadier. In each company there were 4 chief officers, 10 non-commissioned officers, 140 privates. The company was divided into 4 plutongs (platoons). Each of the plutongs had 2 corporals.

The infantrymen were armed with smooth-bore guns with a baguette (cold weapons in the form of a long blade, the handle of which was inserted into the gun barrel during hand-to-hand combat, forcing the soldiers to stop firing). In 1706–1708 these guns were replaced by guns with triangular bayonets. In addition to rifles (fuzei) and pistols, the infantrymen of the time of Peter the Great were armed with swords.

The infantry smooth-bore gun (fuzeya) had a caliber of 19.8 mm, weighed 5.69 kg with a bayonet, and reached 1560 mm in length. The mass of each bullet was 33 g.

The cavalry (dragoon) regiment consisted of 10 companies, including one cavalry grenadier. Every two companies made up a squadron. Each company had 3 chief officers, 8 non-commissioned officers and 92 dragoons.

The dragoons were armed with lightweight rifles (fuzei), broadswords and pistols in olsters (saddle holsters). The dragoon fuzeya had a caliber of 17.3 mm, weighed 4.6 kg with a bayonet, and reached a length of 1210 mm. The mass of each bullet was 21.3 g.

In 1708, grenadier regiments were created in the Russian army, which possessed great firepower. The grenadiers were armed, in addition to guns, also grenades, and some of them were hand mortars. Each grenadier regiment had 12 cannons, while the infantry regiments had only 2 light cannons and 4 mortars.

Artillery has undergone significant changes. Disappeared diverse calibers and types artillery pieces. In field artillery, the division into guns, howitzers and mortars has been preserved. There were permanent commands for the transportation of guns - furshtat.

In 1701, the first artillery regiment was formed in the Russian army. According to the staff in 1712, it consisted of 6 companies (1 bombardment, 4 gunnery, 1 miner), engineering and pontoon teams.

The Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky Guards regiments were the training school for army officers. Young nobles served there as privates, and then received an officer rank. Military specialists were trained by artillery schools, for example, at the Bombardier School, opened in 1698, at the Moscow Cannon Yard, etc. The School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences was founded (1701, from 1715 the Naval Academy in St. Petersburg), the Nautical School in Azov, Engineering School in Moscow (1712, later moved to St. Petersburg).

The Russian army almost constantly lacked officers, since they usually became nobles. It was difficult for people from other classes to get into the officer service. However, according to the Petrine Table of Ranks, the lower ranks for “immaculate” service were promoted to non-commissioned officers, and those for special success in military service could be promoted to officers, which automatically brought the nobility.

The total number of Russian armed forces by 1725 (the end of the reign of Peter I) reached 220 thousand people. V.V.

GUARDIA, Life Guards (from Italian Guardia - protection) - originally military units that guarded royal persons; subsequently - selected and privileged military units. In Russia, guard units were formed at the end. 17th century from the "amusing" regiments of Peter I - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. On May 30, 1700 (another named date is 1687), on Peter's birthday, these regiments were given the status of guards.

The guard was a military school where officers were trained for the Russian army. In accordance with the Table of Ranks, guards officers had an advantage of two ranks over army officers. For example, a guards captain was equated with an army lieutenant colonel. Since 1884 this advantage has been reduced to one rank. Until con. 18th century the guards were mostly nobles, including privates. At this time, the guard had great political influence, actively participated in palace coups 18th century

In the 18-19 centuries. the number of guards units was constantly growing. They were in all branches of the military. In 1722, the Horse Guards Regiment was formed, in 1730 - Izmailovsky, in 1796 - Jaegersky, Hussar, Cossack, in 1799 - Cavalry Guards, in 1809 - Ulansky, in 1811 - Finland and Lithuania , 1813 - Cuirassier, Grenadier, Pavlovsky, in 1814 - Horse Jaeger. Subsequently, other guards units were formed. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the regiments assigned to the guard, starting from 1813, began to be called the "Young Guard", and the former guard regiments - the "Old Guard".

The guards selected men of high stature, good looks, strong, well-wielding weapons and politically reliable. In the 1830s there was a tradition to select recruits for the guards regiments according to the color of their eyes, hair and facial features. Blondes were recruited for the Preobrazhensky Regiment, brown-haired men for the Semyonovsky Regiment, brunettes for the Izmailovsky Regiment, red-haired men for the Moscow Regiment, blue-eyed blondes for the Cavalry Guards Regiment, snub-nosed blondes for the Pavlovsky Regiment, in memory of its creator, Emperor Paul I. Service in the guard was prestigious, but for officers - very expensive. The uniform and ammunition were expensive, and even more expensive was a horse worthy of a guards officer. Belonging to the guards corporation imposed certain restrictions on the officer: for example, he could not marry if the bride was not approved by the commander and the officers' meeting did not make an appropriate decision. All the great princes, including the princes, served in the guard. From the service of ordinary guards, sons from noble noble families began their careers. To get an officer's rank, one had to serve for several years. The chiefs of the guards regiments were members of the imperial family.

Guards regiments participated in all the wars waged by Russia in the 19th - early. 20th century In con. 1917 the guard was abolished. During the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Guards status in the Red Army was revived. V. G.

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At all times, every significant ruler was obliged to have a personal guard - this was a necessary and prestigious attribute. The kings of Persia had "immortals", the praetorians served the Caesars, the Byzantine emperors hired the Varangians and Slavs, the Scottish kings had drabants, the dukes of Burgundy were guarded by "black Walloons", and their overlords Valois and Bourbons preferred mercenaries from Scotland and Switzerland.

Any monarch, assuming the throne, immediately began to carry out reforms. First of all, this concerned the personal guard, which was inherited from its predecessor. But the reform was even more thorough if not only the monarch was replaced, but also the dynasty itself.

The last dynasty of Russian autocrats was no exception. A well-known opinion ascribes merit in the founding of the Guards and Guards Infantry to Peter the Great. But this is not entirely true, because guards units began to be created back in pre-Petrine times. The first was Mikhail Fedorovich, who thoroughly shook up the personnel of the inherited guard, which was the stirrup streltsy regiment. Then the sovereign conceived the creation of a new personal guard.

The process of reform did not stop throughout the entire period of the reign of the Romanov dynasty, which lasted more than three centuries. It is worth dwelling in detail on some interesting facts and important points.

1. The beginning of the guards units of the Romanovs was laid by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Moscow elective soldier regiments.

The first was formed on June 25, 1642. This happened during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich. The unit became known as the Lefort infantry regiment (after the commander of the Lefort regiment, commander of the guards since 1692). But on January 14, 1785, the regiment was renamed the Moscow Grenadier. After 6 years, the regiment was disbanded and became part of the Yekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment.

The formation of the second regiment also refers to 1642. It consisted of 52 companies, each of which had a hundred soldiers and was called Butyrsky. On March 9, 1914, he became the Life Grenadier Erivan Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Regiment. The disbandment of the guards unit took place in 1918.

The third division was created half a century after the formation of the first and second - in 1692.

2. The original design of such regiments assumed their existence as cadre units.

That is, in peacetime they were based on the "initial" people - from the foreman to the colonel. During the hostilities, the personnel were replenished with rank and file archers, which made it possible to deploy units of up to several regiments each.

Subsequently, the principle of framing was rejected, but the unusual division of regiments into shelves continued. Therefore, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd elective regiments consisted of five, six and two regiments respectively.

3. The first elected regiments participated in the Battle of Narva, which took place in 1700 and ended in failure for the Russian army.

One of the results of the battle was the receipt of the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments, which were part of the 3rd elected, the status of the Life Guards. It is generally accepted that Preobrazhensky is the oldest guards regiment. However, from the time of its foundation until 1706, along with the Semyonovsky regiment, it was part of the same military unit, and the command of the regiments was carried out by a single chief. At first, they were commanded by Major General A. M. Golovin, and from 1700, I. I. Chambers, who had the same military rank, became the head of the regiment.

Historically, the primacy of education was given to the Preobrazhenians and Semenovtsy. But the version of the “primogeniture” of the Preobrazhenians had strong arguments, backed up by facts from the history of the unit. The regiment was condemned by some influential historians for the "revolt" that took place in it on October 16, 1820. The commander of the regiment, Schwartz, forbade the military to engage in crafts, and, in response to this, the soldiers of the head company filed a petition to change the commander. The result of such actions was the disarmament of the regiment and the direction of all personnel to the Peter and Paul Fortress. But the Semyonovites were not treated kindly by Soviet historians either. They were guilty of suppressing the insurgent Moscow workers in 1905.

4. The regiments of the Life Guards were conceived by Peter I as an effective personnel reserve.

Initially, all guardsmen were placed above the military personnel of other units by two ranks. Subsequently, this advantage remained only with the officers, and later the guard was divided into "old" and "young". In the first, the former superiority was preserved, and in the second it amounted to only one rank.

By the beginning of the last century, all guards officers had just such an advantage. During this period, there was no rank of lieutenant colonel in the guard, which was convenient for captains, who immediately became colonels.

5. The beginning of the twentieth century was the culmination in the development of the Russian guards infantry.

Now it consisted of 12 infantry and 4 rifle regiments and another separate company. Of this number, 12 regiments (including Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky) were originally created as guards, and the rest of the units were awarded a similar status for exceptional merits.

In 1914, three infantry divisions and one rifle brigade were created from these guards units. The participation of the guards in the First World War was the most significant event in their history. The main operations in which she proved herself in the first year of the war were Lublin, Warsaw-Ivangorod, Czestochowa-Krakow. In 1915, the Guards troops participated in the battles near Lomzha, Kholm, Vilna, and the following year they fought for Kovel, Vladimir-Volynsky and on the banks of Stokhoda. In 1917, the guards actively participated in the Galician operation.

Since the guards units were used as shock infantry, they suffered colossal losses. The first war year claimed the lives of 30% of the officers, and up to 80% of soldiers and non-commissioned officers died.

6. By the beginning of the last century, recruits to the guards were supplied mainly by the Great Russian provinces.

To get into the elite troops, it was necessary to obtain a certificate from the local police, which testified to the reliability of the applicant. And recruits were distributed into regiments according to their appearance.

• Only tall blondes were suitable for Preobrazhensky, and in order to get into the 3rd and 5th companies, blondes had to have beards.
• For Semyonovsky, tall brown-haired men were required.
• Izmailovsky and Grenadier were completed with brunettes, and in the company of His Majesty brunettes with solid beards were required.
• Tall blonds were selected for Lithuanian, smooth-shaven brown-haired women were selected for Kexholmsky, and only brunettes were accepted for St. Petersburg.
• Jaeger, Volyn and Finland were considered the most democratic parts. People with any hair color, but with a light physique, could serve in them.
• The personnel of the rifle regiments were selected according to the same principle. Blondes were required to serve in the first, brunettes in the second, and people with short noses were accepted in the fourth.

The military training of the army and guards units was carried out according to uniform standards and had specific disciplines.

• Rifle. The soldiers took the initial course, acquired the skills of field observations, learned to determine the distance to the targets, conducted training and live firing.
• Shooting training of commanders was carried out.
• Engineering. Its goals are the development of self-digging, camouflage and the ability to build primitive engineering fortifications.
• Conducting a bayonet fight.
• Physical training. She came to the army units precisely from the troops of the guards. It included all kinds of exercises, field gymnastics, running, marches. Group exercises were also used, and since 1908 football appeared in them.

7. Changes in the name of the regiments took place exclusively during the reign of Paul I.

In the entire history of the Guards infantry units, only three of them changed their names. On August 24, 1914, due to the renaming of the capital, the St. Petersburg Regiment received the name of Petrogradsky.

On October 12, 1817, the Lithuanian regiment received the name of the Moscow one, but on the basis of its third company a new regiment was formed, which was given the former name.

In 1855, the Jaeger Regiment was given a new name - Gatchina, but 15 years later the name was restored. There is a legend explaining this fact. The restoration of the name of the regiment is associated with the resourcefulness of a certain wise general, whose prototype is Ivan Gavrilovich Chekmarev. When the emperor greeted him at the review with the words: "Hello, old huntsman!", He wittily replied: "I'm not an old huntsman, but a young Gatchina citizen!" All this is more like a historical anecdote, but so far no one has refuted it.

8. Traditionally, the location of the guards units was St. Petersburg. But for the 3rd Guards Division, Warsaw was chosen as the base. This division was created on the basis of guards brigade Polish Corps and consisted of four regiments.

9. Even honored guardsmen could not do without a penal unit.

After the performance of the Decembrists, in 1826, the Life Guards Consolidated Regiment was organized. Soldiers from the lower ranks and officers who took an active part in the rebellion got into it. According to the bureaucratic canons of that time, they were considered "unwittingly fallen into misconduct." The regiment consisted of several battalions from the Grenadier, Moscow and Karabiner (training) regiments.

The created unit was hastily sent to the Caucasus, so that in the battles with the Persian troops, the penalized men would wash away the heavy guilt before the fatherland with their blood. In the next two years, the regiment was actively replenished with employees, who also stained themselves with participation in a significant December speech.

Only at the very end of 1828 did the guards unit return to the capital, and the battalions that made up it joined their native regiments.

10. For a long time there have been disputes not only about the seniority of the guards regiments, but also about which of them was the last to be disbanded.

Controversy is facilitated by the restoration of guard units during the Civil War. Historians tend to assign this title to the Company of the Palace Grenadiers ( image in header), formed on October 2, 1827. After the events of February 1917, it was named the St. George Grenadier, and on February 4, 1921, it was disbanded.