The basis of the Russian army was formed under Peter I. Reforms of Peter I, the creation of a regular Russian army

Peter I is without a doubt one of the brightest and most talented statesmen Russia. The time of his reign fell on the 18th century and it was under him that Russia finally turned into one of the strongest states in Europe, primarily in military terms. The topic of the reign of Peter I is very extensive, so we will not touch on all of his many achievements, but will only talk about Peter’s reform of the Russian army. The reform envisaged the creation of a new type of army, more efficient and combat-ready. The further course of events showed that Peter’s plan was a brilliant success.

1. What is a regular army and how did it differ from the “old type” Russian army?

First of all, let us note the difference between the personnel (regular) army that Russia acquired during the reign of Peter, and the army that Russia had before the military reforms. The Russian army of the old type was actually a militia that gathered in case of military necessity. Such an army was completely heterogeneous in composition - it was recruited from among service people, most of whom were in peacetime lived on lands allocated to them by the state for service and was engaged in occupations far from military affairs (boyars, stolniks, Duma clerks, etc.) This unit, which formed the basis of the Russian army before the reforms of Peter the Great, was distinguished by the lack of constant military training and uniform weapons and supplies - each warrior equipped himself at his own expense.

Another small part of the old type army, somewhat reminiscent of the future regular army, was recruited for permanent service and received a salary from the state (gunners, archers, etc.) This part of the army was more combat-ready and trained, but still its training left much to be desired the best. The numerous difficulties that such an army encountered when faced with well-trained, prepared and armed troops like the Swedish ones put Russia at an extremely disadvantageous position in the event of a war with such a serious enemy.

What is it fundamental difference regular army from the old type army? First of all, a regular army is a standing army. Such an army does not disband in the absence of military necessity, but exists and is in a state of combat readiness even in peacetime. In the absence of military action, she is engaged in military service, training soldiers and officers, maneuvers and tries in every possible way to strengthen her combat potential.

Such an army has a uniform uniform and weapons, as well as a system of organization. The regular army is maintained and supplied by the state. It is more mobile, better armed and trained, and, accordingly, much better suited for solving foreign policy problems than the militia. Peter I understood all this very well. It was simply impossible to create one of the strongest states in Europe without a regular army - and Peter enthusiastically took on this task.

2. Why was a regular army necessary for Russia?

The main foreign policy task of Peter I was to establish control over the Baltic and access to the Baltic Sea, which provided Russia with a favorable economic and political position. The main enemy standing in Russia's way in this matter was Sweden, which had a strong, well-equipped and trained regular army. In order to defeat the Swedes, gain a foothold in the Baltic and finally resolve the issue of control over Baltic Sea In its favor, Russia needed an army not inferior to the Swedish one.

Peter diligently, step by step, moved towards reforming the troops. He drew conclusions from the severe defeat of the Russian army near Narva in 1700, after which he consistently strengthened the combat capability of the Russian army. Gradually, in terms of order, training and organization, the Russian military forces not only reached the level of the Swedish army, but also surpassed it. The Battle of Poltava in 1709 marked the rebirth of the Russian army. Competent tactical actions of the new Russian regular army became one of the significant reasons for the victory over the Swedish troops.

3. How was the regular Russian army created?

First of all, Peter I changed the procedure for recruiting troops. Now the army was equipped with so-called recruitment kits. A census of all peasant households was carried out and the number of recruits - soldiers who were to be sent to the households to replenish the Russian army - was determined. Depending on the army's needs for soldiers, different numbers of recruits could be taken from a certain number of households at different times. During active hostilities, more recruits could be recruited from the yards, and accordingly, in the absence of an urgent need for people, fewer recruits. Recruitments were held annually. Peasants who thus became soldiers received liberation from serfdom.

However, it was not enough to recruit soldiers and form an army - it had to be trained. To do this, Peter I began to hire military specialists from Europe for a lot of money, as well as train his own officers. Military schools were opened - artillery, engineering, and navigation. Commanders were trained on the basis of the best regiments of the Russian land army - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. in 1716, a military charter was created that determined the procedure for military service.

A well-trained and prepared army required good logistics and supplies. This problem was also brilliantly solved by Peter. As a result of the transformation of the control system, Provisions, Artillery, Naval orders, etc. appeared. We are not talking about orders - these “orders” were institutions that supplied the army and were responsible for a certain area.

All these measures made it possible to radically transform the Russian army, which literally in 15 years transformed from a “conciliar” army into a modern, well-organized and armed army, with trained soldiers and officers. Now Russian troops were in no way inferior to European armies. Peter did a truly grandiose job - without the creation of a regular army, the transformation of Russia into a great power with weight in Europe would have been impossible.

Introduction

At all times the Russian state military service was a matter of honor for every citizen, and faithful service to one’s Fatherland was the highest meaning of a warrior’s life and service.

Loyalty to duty and oath, dedication, honor, decency, self-discipline - these are the traditions of the Russian military. They were rightfully treasured by our fathers and grandfathers, who walked the fiery roads of the Great Patriotic War. But for lately, desire to serve in the armed forces Russian Federation decreased slightly. It is difficult to say what this is connected with. In order to find out the reason for the current situation, it is advisable to consider the history of the formation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

From the above it follows the relevance next topic research: “History of the creation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

The purpose of the work is to study the history of the creation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Consider the history of the formation of the Russian army under the reign of Peter I;

Explore the features of the development of the armed forces during the period Soviet Union;

Explore modern stage development of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

The methodological basis of the study is the works of the following authors: V.O. Klyuchevsky, T.N. Nerovnya, T.M. Timoshina and others.

The history of the formation of the Russian army under Peter I

Special attention deserves the period of the Russian army under the reign of Peter I, because. at this moment the navy of the Russian Empire was created.

The beginning of the reform of the armed forces dates back to the second half of the 17th century. Even then, the first reiter and soldier regiments of the new system were created from datochny and “willing” people (i.e. volunteers). But there were still relatively few of them, and the basis of the armed forces was still made up of noble cavalry militia and streltsy regiments. Although the archers wore uniform uniforms and weapons, the monetary salary they received was insignificant. Basically, they served for the benefits provided to them for trade and crafts, therefore they were tied to permanent places residence. The Streltsy regiments, neither in their social composition nor in their organization, could provide a reliable support for the noble government. They also could not seriously resist the regular troops Western countries, and, therefore, were not a sufficiently reliable tool for solving foreign policy problems.

Therefore, Peter 1, having come to power in 1689, was faced with the need to carry out radical military reform and form a massive regular army.

The core of the military reform were two guards (formerly “amusing”) regiments: Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. These regiments, staffed mainly by young nobles, simultaneously became a school for officers for the new army. Initially, the emphasis was placed on inviting foreign officers to serve in Russia. However, the behavior of foreigners in the battle of Narva in 1700, when they, led by commander-in-chief von Krui, went over to the side of the Swedes, forced them to abandon this practice. Officer positions began to be filled primarily by Russian nobles. In addition to training officers from soldiers and sergeants of the guards regiments, personnel were also trained in the bombardier school (1698), artillery schools (1701 and 1712), navigation classes (1698) and engineering schools (1709) and the Naval academy (1715). It was also practiced to send young nobles to study abroad. The rank and file was initially made up of “hunters” (volunteers) and datochny people (serfs who were taken from the landowners). By 1705, the procedure for recruiting recruits was finally established. They were recruited one from every 20 peasant and township households every 5 years or every year - one from 100 households. Thus, a new duty was established - conscription for the peasantry and townspeople. Although the upper classes - merchants, factory owners, factory owners, as well as children of the clergy - were exempt from conscription. After the introduction of the poll tax and the census of the male population of the tax-paying classes in 1723, the recruitment procedure was changed. Recruits began to be recruited not from the number of households, but from the number of male tax-paying souls. The armed forces were divided into a field army, which consisted of 52 infantry (including 5 grenadier) and 33 cavalry regiments, and garrison troops. The infantry and cavalry regiments included artillery.

The regular army was maintained entirely at the expense of the state, was dressed in a uniform government uniform, armed with standard government weapons (before Peter 1, the militia nobles had weapons and horses, and the archers also had their own). The artillery guns were of the same standard caliber, which greatly facilitated the supply of ammunition. After all, earlier, in the 16th - 17th centuries, cannons were cast individually by cannon makers, who serviced them. The army was trained according to uniform Military regulations and instructions. The total number of the field army by 1725 was 130 thousand people; the garrison troops, called upon to ensure order within the country, numbered 68 thousand people. In addition, to protect the southern borders, a land militia was formed consisting of several irregular cavalry regiments with a total number of 30 thousand people. Finally, there were also irregular Cossack Ukrainian and Don regiments and national formations(Bashkir and Tatar) with a total number of 105-107 thousand people.

The military command system has changed radically. Instead of numerous orders, between which the military administration had previously been fragmented, Peter 1 established a military board and an admiralty board to lead the army and navy. Thus, military control was strictly centralized. During Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 under Empress Catherine II, a Military Council was created, which exercised general leadership of the war. Formed in 1763 General Staff as a planning body for military operations. Direct control of troops in peacetime was carried out by division commanders. In the second half of the 18th century. the Russian army had 8 divisions and 2 border districts. The total number of troops by the end of the 18th century. increased to half a million people and they were fully provided with weapons, equipment and ammunition at the expense of domestic industry (it produced 25-30 thousand guns and several hundred artillery pieces per month).

In the second half of the 18th century. the army switched to barracks housing, i.e. barracks began to be built on a massive scale, into which troops settled. After all, at the beginning of this century, only the guards regiments had barracks, and the bulk of the troops were located in the houses of ordinary people. Constant conscription was one of the most difficult for the tax-paying classes. The army, which was recruited through conscription, reflected social structure society. Soldiers, emerging from serfdom from the landowner, became serfs of the state, obligated to lifelong service, later reduced to 25 years. The officer corps was noble. Although the Russian army was feudal in nature, it was still a national army, which sharply differed from the armies of a number of Western states(Prussia, France, Austria), where the armies were staffed by mercenaries interested only in receiving payment and robbery. Before this battle, Peter 1 told his soldiers that they were fighting “not for Peter, but for the Fatherland entrusted to Peter.”

In conclusion, we can say that only under the reign of Peter I the army became a permanent unit of the state, capable of protecting the interests of the fatherland.

The period of the Russian army under the reign of Peter I deserves special attention, because at this moment the navy of the Russian Empire was created.

The beginning of the reform of the armed forces dates back to the second half of the 17th century. Even then, the first reiter and soldier regiments of the new system were created from datochny and “willing” people (i.e. volunteers). But there were still relatively few of them, and the basis of the armed forces was still made up of noble cavalry militia and streltsy regiments. Although the archers wore uniform uniforms and weapons, the monetary salary they received was insignificant. Basically, they served for the benefits provided to them for trade and crafts, and therefore were tied to permanent places of residence. The Streltsy regiments, neither in their social composition nor in their organization, could provide a reliable support for the noble government. They also could not seriously resist the regular troops of Western countries, and, consequently, they were not a sufficiently reliable tool for solving foreign policy problems.

Therefore, Peter 1, having come to power in 1689, was faced with the need to carry out radical military reform and form a massive regular army.

The core of the military reform were two guards (formerly "amusing") regiments: Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. These regiments, staffed mainly by young nobles, simultaneously became a school for officers for the new army. Initially, the emphasis was placed on inviting foreign officers to serve in Russia. However, the behavior of foreigners in the battle of Narva in 1700, when they, led by commander-in-chief von Krui, went over to the side of the Swedes, forced them to abandon this practice. Officer positions began to be filled primarily by Russian nobles. In addition to training officers from soldiers and sergeants of the guards regiments, personnel were also trained in the bombardier school (1698), artillery schools (1701 and 1712), navigation classes (1698) and engineering schools (1709) and the Naval academy (1715). It was also practiced to send young nobles to study abroad. The rank and file was initially made up of “hunters” (volunteers) and datochny people (serfs who were taken from the landowners). By 1705, the procedure for recruiting recruits was finally established. They were recruited one from every 20 peasant and township households every 5 years or every year - one from 100 households. Thus, a new duty was established - conscription for the peasantry and townspeople. Although the upper classes - merchants, factory owners, factory owners, as well as children of the clergy - were exempt from conscription. After the introduction of the poll tax and the census of the male population of the tax-paying classes in 1723, the recruitment procedure was changed. Recruits began to be recruited not from the number of households, but from the number of male tax-paying souls. The armed forces were divided into a field army, which consisted of 52 infantry (including 5 grenadier) and 33 cavalry regiments, and garrison troops. The infantry and cavalry regiments included artillery.

The Russian fleet, created by Peter I, defeated the Swedes at Cape Gangut on August 7, 1714. (Northern War 1700-1721)

The regular army was maintained entirely at the expense of the state, was dressed in a uniform government uniform, armed with standard government weapons (before Peter 1, the militia nobles had weapons and horses, and the archers also had their own). The artillery guns were of the same standard caliber, which greatly facilitated the supply of ammunition. After all, earlier, in the 16th - 17th centuries, cannons were cast individually by cannon makers, who serviced them. The army was trained according to uniform Military regulations and instructions. The total number of the field army by 1725 was 130 thousand people; the garrison troops, called upon to ensure order within the country, numbered 68 thousand people. In addition, to protect the southern borders, a land militia was formed consisting of several irregular cavalry regiments with a total number of 30 thousand people. Finally, there were also irregular Cossack Ukrainian and Don regiments and national formations (Bashkir and Tatar) with a total number of 105-107 thousand people.

The military command system has changed radically. Instead of numerous orders, between which the military administration had previously been fragmented, Peter 1 established a military board and an admiralty board to lead the army and navy. Thus, military control was strictly centralized. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. under Empress Catherine II, a Military Council was created, which exercised general leadership of the war. In 1763, the General Staff was formed as a planning body for military operations. Direct control of troops in peacetime was carried out by division commanders. In the second half of the 18th century. the Russian army had 8 divisions and 2 border districts. The total number of troops by the end of the 18th century. increased to half a million people and they were fully provided with weapons, equipment and ammunition at the expense of domestic industry (it produced 25-30 thousand guns and several hundred artillery pieces per month).

In the second half of the 18th century. the army switched to barracks housing, i.e. barracks began to be built on a massive scale, into which troops settled. After all, at the beginning of this century, only the guards regiments had barracks, and the bulk of the troops were located in the houses of ordinary people. Constant conscription was one of the most difficult for the tax-paying classes. The army, which was recruited through conscription, reflected the social structure of society. Soldiers, emerging from serfdom from the landowner, became serfs of the state, obligated to lifelong service, later reduced to 25 years. The officer corps was noble. Although the Russian army was feudal in nature, it was still a national army, which sharply differed from the armies of a number of Western states (Prussia, France, Austria), where the armies were staffed by mercenaries interested only in receiving payment and robbery. Before this battle, Peter 1 told his soldiers that they were fighting “not for Peter, but for the Fatherland entrusted to Peter.”

In conclusion, we can say that only under the reign of Peter I the army became a permanent unit of the state, capable of protecting the interests of the fatherland.

Armed Forces of the USSR Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Army of Peter I- a regular army created by the first Russian Emperor Peter I on the basis of the so-called troops that began to appear in Russia during the reign of his father. foreign regiments, taking into account the latest European achievements in this area. Replaced the irregular local troops, which were a feudal relic, and the Streltsy units, which opposed Peter I during the struggle for power and were then repressed by him. The army was staffed on the basis of conscription (it also remained until the middle of the 18th century compulsory service nobles). and so, Peter was the first

Russian army before Peter

The introduction of troops of a foreign system changed the composition of the army: it ceased to be based on class. It was impossible to recruit only service people - landowners - into the soldier regiments. The soldiers were required to have constant service and constant exercise in military affairs; they could not be sent home in peacetime and convened only in wartime. Therefore, soldiers began to be recruited into foreign regiments in the same way as later recruits.

Peter's transformations in military affairs

Thus, Peter inherited from his predecessors an army that, if not satisfying all the requirements of the military science of that time, was already adapted for further restructuring in view of new requirements.

In his “amusing” villages, Peter organized two regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky - completely according to the foreign model. By 1692, these regiments were finally formed and trained. Preobrazhensky was headed by Colonel Yuri von Mengden, and Ivan Chambers was appointed colonel of Semyonovsky, “originally a Muscovite of the Shkot breed”.

Other regiments began to be formed based on the model of these regiments, and already in the first Azov campaign four regular regiments took part - Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Lefortovo and the transformed Butyrsky regiment.

The regiment was led by a colonel; According to the regulations, he must “as a captain in his company, have the same and even greater first respect for his regiment.” The lieutenant colonel assisted the regiment commander, the prime major commanded one battalion, the second major commanded another; Moreover, the first major was considered older than the second major and, in addition to command, had the responsibility to take care “whether the regiment is in good condition, both in the number of soldiers and in their weapons, ammunition and uniform.”

Artillery

The cavalry under Peter consisted of dragoon regiments; the artillery of Peter the Great's time consisted of 12-, 8-, 6- and 3-pound guns (a pound is equal to a cast iron cannonball with a diameter of 2 English inches (5.08 cm); the weight of a pound is exceeded by 20 spools (85.32 kg) , one-pound and half-pound howitzers, one-pound and 6-pound mortars (a pound is equal to 16.38 kg). This was inconvenient artillery for transportation: a 12-pound gun, for example, weighed 150 pounds with a carriage and limber; it was carried by 15 horses. Three-pound guns. made up the regimental artillery; at first there were two such guns per battalion, and from 1723 they were limited to two per regiment. These regimental guns weighed about 28 pounds (459 kg) The range of the guns of those times was very small - about 150 fathoms (320 m) on average. - and depended on the caliber of the gun.

From the gunners and grenades of former times, Peter ordered the formation of a special artillery regiment in 1700, and schools were established for the training of artillerymen: engineering and navigation in Moscow and engineering in St. Petersburg. Arms factories in Okhta and Tula, organized by Peter, produced artillery and guns for the army.

Garrison troops

Garrison troops in the Russian Imperial Army they were intended for garrison service in cities and fortresses in wartime. Created by Peter I in 1702 from city archers, soldiers, reiters and others. In 1720, the garrison troops consisted of 80 infantry and 4 dragoon regiments. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, they were transformed into local troops (garrison artillery - into fortress artillery).

Weapons and uniforms

Officer of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment from 1700 to 1720.

Grenadier infantry regiment from 1700 to 1732.

Fuseliers of infantry regiments from 1700 to 1720.

Historical description of clothing and weapons of Russian troops, with drawings, compiled by the highest order: in 30 volumes, in 60 books. / Ed. A. V. Viskovatova.- Part (T.) 2.- Ill. 166. Chief officer and staff officer of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment from 1700 to 1732.

The armament of each soldier consisted of a sword with a sword belt and a fusée. Fusee - a gun that weighed about 14 pounds; his bullet weighed 8 spools; the fusee castle was made of flint; In the necessary cases, a baguette - a five- or eight-inch triangular bayonet - was mounted on the fusee. The cartridges were placed in leather bags attached to a sling, to which a horny powder with gunpowder was also tied. Captains and sergeants, instead of fusees, were armed with halberds - axes on a three-arch shaft.

One of the companies in each regiment was called a grenadier, and a feature of its weapons were matchlock bombs, which the grenadier kept in a special bag; The grenadier's fuses were a little lighter and the soldiers could put their fuses on a belt behind their backs when throwing a bomb. The lower ranks of the artillery were armed with swords, pistols, and some with a special “mortar.” These "mortars" were something between a fusée and a small cannon attached to a fusée stock with a fusée lock; when firing from mortars, they had to be supported by a special halberd; The length of the mortar was 13 inches, and it fired a bomb the size of a pound cannonball. Each soldier was given a satchel for carrying things. Dragoons for foot combat were armed with a fusée, and for mounted combat - with a broadsword and a pistol.

Since 1700, a soldier's uniform consisted of a small flattened cocked hat, caftan, epancha, camisole and trousers. The hat was black, the brim was trimmed with braid, and a brass button was attached to the left side. When listening to orders from the elders, the younger ones took off their hat and held it under their left armpit. Soldiers and officers wore their hair long to the shoulder and powdered it with flour on ceremonial occasions.

The caftans of the infantrymen were made of green cloth, and those of the dragoons were made of blue, single-breasted, without a collar, with red cuffs. The caftan was knee-length and equipped with copper buttons; The cape for cavalry and infantry was made of red cloth and had two collars: it was a narrow cape that reached to the knees and provided poor protection from rain and snow; boots - long, with light bells - were worn only on guard duty and when marching, and ordinary shoes were stockings and blunt-toed greased heads with a copper buckle; Army soldiers had stockings green, and among the Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy after the Narva defeat - red, according to legend, in memory of the day when the former “amusing” regiments did not flinch, despite the general “embarrassment” under the onslaught of Charles XII.

The grenadiers of the guard differed from the fuseliers only in their headdress: instead of a triangular hat, they wore leather helmets with an ostrich feather. The cut of the officer's uniform was the same as that of the soldiers, only trimmed along the edges and sides with gold braid, the buttons were also gilded, and the tie, instead of black cloth, like the soldiers', was white linen. A plume of white and red feathers was attached to the hat. At full dress uniform officers were required to wear powdered wigs on their heads. What distinguished an officer from a private was a white, blue and red scarf with silver tassels, and for a staff officer - with gold tassels, which was worn high on the chest, near the collar. The officers were armed with a sword and in the ranks they also had a protazan, or, in those days, a “partazan” - a type of spear on a three-arch shaft. Grenadier officers had a light fusee on a gold belt instead of a protazan.

By the end of Peter's reign, the regular army numbered in its ranks more than 200 thousand soldiers of all branches of the military and over 100 thousand irregular Cossack cavalry and Kalmyk cavalry. For the 13 million population of Peter's Russia, it was a heavy burden to support and feed such a large army. According to estimates drawn up in 1710, a little more than three million rubles, while the treasury spent only a little over 800 thousand on other needs: the army absorbed 78% of the total expenditure budget.

To resolve the issue of financing the army, Peter ordered, by decree of November 26, 1718, to count the number of the tax-paying population of Russia; all landowners, secular and church, were ordered to provide accurate information on how many male souls lived in their villages, including old people and infants. The information was then checked by special auditors. Then they accurately determined the number of soldiers in the army and calculated how many souls were counted in the census for each soldier. Then they calculated how much the full maintenance of a soldier costs per year. Then it became clear what tax should be imposed on every tax-paying soul in order to cover all the costs of maintaining the army. According to this calculation, for each tax-paying soul there were: 74 kopecks for the owning (serf) peasants, 1 ruble 14 kopecks for state peasants and single-lords; 1 ruble 20 kopecks per tradesman.

By decrees of January 10 and February 5, 1722, Peter outlined to the Senate the very method of feeding and maintaining the army, and proposed to “lay out the troops on the ground.” Military and foot regiments had to support them. In the newly conquered regions - Ingria, Karelia, Livonia and Estland - no census was carried out, and regiments were to be assigned to billet here, the feeding of which was entrusted to individual provinces that did not need constant military protection.

The Military Collegium compiled a list of regiments by locality, and for the cantonment itself, 5 generals, 1 brigadier and 4 colonels were sent - one to each province. Having received from the Senate for layout, and from the Military College - a list of regiments that were to be deployed in a given area, the sent headquarters officer, arriving in his district, had to convene the local nobility, announcing to them the rules of layout and inviting the layoutrs to assist. The regiments were distributed as follows: each company was assigned a rural district with such a population that there were 35 souls for each infantryman, and 50 souls of the male population for each horseman. The instructions ordered the dispatcher to insist on dispersing the regiments in special settlements, so as not to place them in peasant households and thus not cause quarrels between peasants in peasant households and thus not cause quarrels between peasants and inns. To this end, the planners had to persuade the nobles to build huts, one for each non-commissioned officer and one for every two soldiers. Each settlement had to accommodate at least a corporal and be located at such a distance from the other that a cavalry company would be deployed no further than 10 versts, a foot regiment no further than 5 versts, a cavalry regiment no further than 5 versts, a cavalry regiment no further than 100 versts, and a foot regiment no further than 50 versts. . In the middle of the company district, the nobility was ordered to build a company courtyard with two huts for the chief officers of the company and one for lower servants; In the center of the regiment's location, the nobles were obliged to build a courtyard for the regimental headquarters with 8 huts, a hospital and a barn.

Having positioned the company, the dispatcher handed over to the company commander a list of villages in which the company was located, indicating the number of households and the number of souls listed in each; The spreader handed another similar list to the landowners of those villages. In the same way, he compiled a list of villages in which the entire regiment was stationed, and handed it over to the regimental commander. The nobles of each province had to jointly take care of the maintenance of the regiments stationed in their area and for this purpose elect from among themselves a special commissar, who was entrusted with taking care of the timely collection of money for the maintenance of the regiments settled in a given area, and in general being responsible to the nobility as a clerk and intermediary of the class in relations with military power. Since 1723, these elected zemstvo commissars have been given the exclusive right to collect poll taxes and arrears.

The regiment settled in this area not only lived at the expense of the population that supported it, but also, according to Peter’s plan, was supposed to become an instrument of local government: in addition to drill exercises, the regiment was assigned many purely police duties. The colonel and his officers were required to pursue thieves and robbers in their district, that is, the location of the regiment, keep the peasants of their district from escaping, catch those who fled, monitor fugitives coming to the district from the outside, eradicate tavern and smuggling, help forest guards in pursuing illegal forest felling, send their people with the officials who are sent to the provinces from the governors, so that these people do not allow the officials to ruin the district inhabitants, and help the officials cope with the willfulness of the inhabitants.

According to the instructions, the regimental command was to rural population the district “to protect from all taxes and insults.” V. O. Klyuchevsky writes about this:

In fact, these authorities, even against their will, themselves laid a heavy tax and resentment on the local population and not only on the peasants, but also on the landowners. Officers and soldiers were forbidden to interfere in the economic orders of landowners and in peasant work, in the grazing of regimental horses and domestic officers' and soldiers' livestock on common pastures where both landowners and peasants grazed their livestock, the right of the military authorities to demand known cases people for regimental work and carts for regimental parcels and, finally, the right of general supervision of order and security in the regimental district - all this was supposed to create constant misunderstandings between the military authorities and the inhabitants.

Obliged to monitor the payers of the poll tax that fed the regiment, the regimental authorities carried out this supervision in the most inconvenient way for the average person: if a peasant wanted to go to work in another district, he had to receive a letter of leave from the landowner or parish priest. With this letter, he went to the regimental yard, where the zemstvo commissar registered this letter of leave in the book. Instead of a letter, the peasant was given a special ticket signed and sealed by the colonel.

The supposed separate soldiers' settlements were not built anywhere, and those that were started were not completed, and the soldiers were housed in philistine courtyards. In one decree of 1727, introducing some changes in the collection of the poll tax, the government itself admitted all the harm from such placement of soldiers, it admitted that “The poor Russian peasants are going bankrupt and fleeing not only from the shortage of grain and the poll tax, but also from the disagreement of the officers with the zemstvo rulers, and the soldiers with the peasants”. Fights between soldiers and men were constant.

The burden of military billeting became heaviest during periods of collecting the poll tax, which was collected by zemstvo commissars with military teams assigned to them “for anstaltu,” that is, for order, headed by an officer. The tax was usually paid in thirds, and three times a year zemstvo commissars with military men traveled around villages and hamlets, making collections, collecting fines from defaulters, selling goods to the poor, feeding at the expense of the local population. “Each detour lasted two months: for six months of the year, villages and hamlets lived in panic, under oppression or in anticipation of armed collectors. Poor men are afraid of the mere entry and passage of officers and soldiers, commissars and other commanders; There are not enough peasant belongings to pay taxes, and the peasants not only sell livestock and belongings, but also pawn their children, while others flee separately; commanders, often replaced, do not feel such ruin; none of them thinks about anything more than taking the peasant’s last tribute and currying favor with this,” says the opinion of Menshikov and others high ranks, presented to the Supreme Privy Council in 1726. The Senate in 1725 pointed out that “the zemstvo commissars and officers are so oppressed by the payment of per capita money that the peasants are not only forced to sell off their belongings and livestock, but many also give away the grain sown in the ground for next to nothing and therefore are necessarily forced to flee beyond other people’s borders.”.

The flight of peasants reached enormous proportions: in the Kazan province, in the area where one infantry regiment was settled, after less than two years of such military-financial management, the regiment was missing 13 thousand souls in its district, which was more than half of the revision souls obliged to support them.

Production to ranks and training

Promotion to ranks in Peter's army took place in strict gradual order. Each new vacancy was filled by the choice of officers of the regiment; the rank up to captain was approved by the commander of the “generalship”, that is, the corps - general-in-chief, and up to colonel - field marshal. Until 1724, patents for all ranks were issued under the signature of the sovereign himself. Promotion to the ranks of colonel and general depended on the sovereign. To prevent family ties, patronage, affection and friendship from leading people unfamiliar with military affairs into the officer ranks, Peter, by decree of 1714, decreed: “Since many are promoting their relatives and friends as officers from young people who do not know the basics of soldiering, for they did not serve in low ranks, and some served only for appearances for several weeks or months, so such people need a statement of how many such ranks there are since 1709, and henceforth a decree must be issued so that both noble breeds and others from outside should not be written down, which did not serve as soldiers in the guard." Peter often looked through the lists of persons promoted to rank himself.

In 1717, Peter demoted Lieutenant Colonel Myakishev “to the Preobrazhensky Regiment as a soldier in the bombardment company because he got that rank through intrigue and not through service.”

The Tsar made sure that the nobles who entered the guards regiments as soldiers received a well-known military education in them, “decent for officers.”

In special regimental schools, young nobles (up to the age of 15) studied arithmetic, geometry, artillery, fortification, foreign languages. The officer's training did not stop after entering the service.

In the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Peter demanded that officers know “engineering.” For this purpose, in 1721, a special school was established at the regiment.

Having made the guards regiments like schools for studying everything that “a good officer should know,” the practice of studying abroad continued.

In 1716, the Military Regulations were published, which strictly defined the rights and obligations of the military during their service.

The results of Peter's reforms in the army

As a result of Peter's reforms, Russia received a constant, regular, centrally supplied modern army, which subsequently for more than a century (before the Crimean War) successfully fought, including with the armies of the leading European powers (Seven Years' War, Patriotic War of 1812). Also new army served as a means that allowed Russia to turn the tide of the fight against the Ottoman Empire, gain access to the Black Sea and spread its influence in the Balkans and Transcaucasia. However, the transformation of the army was part of the general course towards the absolutization of the power of the monarch and the infringement of the rights of the most diverse social strata Russian society. In particular, despite the abolition of the local system, the duty of service was not removed from the nobles, and the functioning of the industry necessary for the technical equipment of the army was ensured through the use of serf labor along with civilian labor.

He stands among the most educated and talented builders of the armed forces, generals and naval commanders of Russian and world history of the 18th century. His whole life's work was to strengthen military power Russia and increasing its role in the international arena.

According to the remark of the prominent Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, " military reform was Peter's primary transformative work, the longest and most difficult for both himself and the people. She is very important in our history; This is not just a question of national defense: the reform had a profound effect both on the structure of society and on the further course of events."

The military reform of Peter I included a set of government measures to reorganize the army recruitment and military administration system, create a regular navy, improvement of weapons, development and implementation of a new system of training and education of military personnel.

During the reforms, the previous military organization was abolished: the noble and streltsy army and the regiments of the “new system” (military units formed in the 17th century in Russia on the model of Western European armies). These regiments went to form the regular army and formed its core.

Peter I introduced new system recruitment of the regular army. In 1699 introduced conscription, legalized by decree of the emperor in 1705. Its essence was that the state forcibly annually recruited a certain number of recruits into the army and navy from the tax-paying classes, peasants and townspeople. From 20 households they took one single person between the ages of 15 and 20 (however, during the Northern War, these periods constantly changed due to a shortage of soldiers and sailors).

By the end of Peter's reign, the number of all regular troops, infantry and cavalry, ranged from 196 to 212 thousand people.

Along with the reorganization ground army Peter began to create a navy. By 1700, the Azov fleet consisted of more than 50 ships. During the Northern War, the Baltic Fleet was created, which by the end of the reign of Peter I consisted of 35 large battleships, 10 frigates and about 200 galley (rowing) ships with 28 thousand sailors.

The army and navy received a uniform and harmonious organization, regiments, brigades and divisions appeared, in the navy - squadrons, divisions and detachments, a single dragoon type cavalry was created. For management active army The position of commander-in-chief (field marshal general) was introduced, and in the fleet - admiral general.

Military administration reform was carried out. Instead of Orders, Peter I established a military collegium in 1718, which was in charge of the field army, “garrison troops” and all “military affairs”. The final structure of the Military College was determined by a decree of 1719. The first president of the military college was Alexander Menshikov. The collegial system differed from the order system primarily in that one body dealt with all issues of a military nature. In wartime, the army was led by the Commander-in-Chief. Under him, a Military Council (as an advisory body) and a field headquarters headed by the Quartermaster General (assistant to the commander-in-chief) were created.

During the reform of the army, a unified system was introduced military ranks, finally formalized in the Table of Ranks of 1722. The service ladder included 14 classes from field marshal and admiral general to warrant officer. The service and ranks of the Table of Ranks were based not on birth, but on personal abilities.

Paying much attention to the technical re-equipment of the army and navy, Peter I established the development and production of new types of ships, new types of artillery guns and ammunition. Under Peter I, the infantry began to arm itself with flintlock rifles, and a domestic-style bayonet was introduced.

The government of Peter I gave special meaning education of the national officer corps. At first, all young nobles were required to undergo military service in Preobrazhenskoye and Semenovskoye guards regiments, for 10 years, starting at age 15. Upon receipt of the first officer rank noble children were sent to army units, where they served for life. However, such a system of training officers could not fully satisfy the growing needs for new personnel, and Peter I established a number of special military schools. In 1701, an artillery school for 300 people was opened in Moscow, and in 1712 a second artillery school was opened in St. Petersburg. To train engineering personnel, two engineering schools were created (in 1708 and 1719).

To train naval personnel, Peter I opened a school of mathematical and navigational sciences in Moscow in 1701, and a Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg in 1715.

Peter I forbade the promotion to officers of persons who had not received appropriate training in military school. There were often cases when Peter I personally examined “minors” (children of the nobility). Those who failed the exam were sent to serve in the navy as privates without the right to be promoted to officer.

The reforms introduced a unified system of training and education of troops. Based on the experience of the Northern War, instructions and regulations were created: “Military Articles”, “Institution for Battle”, “For Field Battle Rules”, “Naval Regulations”, “Military Regulations of 1716”.

Taking care of the morale of the troops, Peter I awarded distinguished generals with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, established by him in 1698, and soldiers and officers with medals and promotions (soldiers also with money). At the same time, Peter I introduced severe discipline in the army with corporal punishment and the death penalty for serious military crimes.

The military system created by the government of Peter I turned out to be so stable that it lasted until the end of the 18th century without significant changes. In the decades following Peter I of the 18th century, the Russian armed forces developed under the influence of Peter's military reforms, and the principles and traditions of the regular army continued to improve. They found their continuation in the combat activities of Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov. The works of Rumyantsev “Rite of Service” and Suvorov “Regimental Establishment” and “Science of Victory” were an event in the life of the army and a great contribution to domestic military science.

The material was prepared by the editorial staff of RIA Novosti based on open sources