Creation of the Streltsy army. Streletsky army

The Streltsy in Russia formed the first permanent foot army.

Story

Initially, the ancient Slavic word “streltsy” meant archers, who were an important part of any medieval army.

However, later, in Russia, representatives of the first regular troops began to be called this way. In 1550, the pishchalnik-militia were replaced by the Streltsy army, initially consisting of 3 thousand people. The Sagittarius were divided into 6 “articles” (orders), with 500 people in each.

The Streltsy “articles” were commanded by heads of boyar children: Grigory Zhelobov, son of Pusheshnikov, Matvey (Dyak) Ivanov, son of Rzhevsky, Ivan Semenov, son of Cheremesinov, Vasily Funikov, son of Pronchishchev, Fyodor Ivanov, son of Durasov, and Yakov Stepanov, son of the Bunds. The centurions of the Streltsy “Articles” were also children of the boyars. The archers were quartered in the suburban Vorobyovoy Sloboda. Their salary was determined to be 4 rubles. per year, archery heads and centurions received local salaries. The Streltsy formed a permanent Moscow garrison. The formation of the Streltsy army began in the 1540s under Ivan IV the Terrible. In 1550, the Tsar ordered to establish in Moscow

“In the summer of 7058, the Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich made three thousand elected archers from the arquebuses and ordered them to live in Vorobyovskaya Sloboda, and killed the children of the boyars;<…>And he ordered the archers’ salaries to be four rubles a year.”…

This decree laid the foundation for a special unit of the royal army - the Moscow Streltsy army. The Moscow archers received their first baptism of fire during the siege and assault of Kazan in 1552 and subsequently were indispensable participants in all major military campaigns. In peacetime, Moscow and city archers performed garrison service, performing the functions of police and firefighters in cities.

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By the beginning of the 17th century, the estimated number of the Streltsy army was up to 20,000, of which up to 10,000 were from Moscow. In 1632, the total number of archers was 33,775 people, and by the beginning of the 1680s it had increased to 55 thousand. At the same time, the ranks of the Streltsy were replenished, first of all, due to the addition of Moscow Streltsy, of which in 1678 there were 26 regiments with a total number of 22,504 people.

To control the Streletsky army, the Streletsky Izba was formed in the mid-1550s, later renamed the Streletsky Prikaz. The funds and food necessary to support the Streltsy came to the Streletsky Prikaz from various departments, which controlled the tax-paying population of the cities and the black-growing peasantry.

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These categories of residents of the Moscow state bore the brunt of government duties, including the obligation to pay a special tax - “food money”, as well as the collection of “streltsy bread”. In 1679, for the majority of urban residents and black peasants of the northern and northeastern districts, the previous taxes were replaced by a single tax - “streltsy money”.

In the last decades of the 17th century. Moscow archers became active participants in the political processes taking place in the country, and more than once opposed the actions of the government with arms in hand (uprising of 1682, riot of 1698). This, ultimately, determined the decision of Peter I to liquidate the Streltsy army.

Streltsy regiments

Until 1682, the Streltsy regiments were called orders. Initially, the staff strength of the Streltsy Orders was 500 people, divided into five hundred. Subsequently, their numbers constantly increased.

In the second half of the 17th century, a distinction was made between “thousandth” and “seven hundredth” orders. In the 1680s, the staff of the rifle regiments was unified, after which it became “each regiment has 1,000 people, and in the regiment separately the ranks of the five hundredth 1 person, the bailiff 1 person, the Pentecostals 20 people, the foremen 100 people,” but in practice the number The number of archers in the regiments still varied from 600 to 1,200 people.

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Teners and Pentecostals made up the non-commissioned officer corps; bailiffs, re-elected annually, served as adjutants to order commanders. In the 1650s, the position of “bailiff of five hundred” or simply five hundred was introduced, chosen from among ordinary riflemen or junior commanders. He had the responsibilities of deputy commander of the order for organizing logistics support.

Until the middle of the 17th century, the officer corps of the Streltsy regiments consisted of goals And centurions. In the 1650s the position was introduced half-heads- first deputy regiment commander. During the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667, the practice of the Streltsy service introduced the awarding of Streltsy heads with the rank of colonel, which initially had an honorary value. Accordingly, the half-heads complained with the rank of half-colonel.

In 1680 the name was renamed Streltsy heads V colonels, half-heads- V half-colonels, A centurions- V captains. From that time on, senior rifle commanders began to be automatically assigned the court rank of stolnik, after which their official name began to sound like “stolnik and colonel”, “stolnik and semi-colonel”.

Acquisition

The first archers were probably organized from among the best squeakers. In peacetime, recruits were recruited into the Streltsy service from among free “walking” people, sons or relatives of Streltsy.

During periods of hostilities, the authorities often resorted to recruiting “dacha” people into the Streltsy regiments, gathered from a certain number of peasant or townsman households. When entering the service, the archers represented the guarantors.

The service was for life, but it could be left by passing it on “by inheritance.” As a result, a kind of Streltsy class was formed. The service was rewarded with cash and grain salaries. Sagittarius had benefits in paying court fees, as well as in paying taxes when engaging in crafts and trade.

Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov (1864–1910) , Public Domain

At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, ordinary archers received from 4 to 5 rubles a year, as well as 12 quarters of rye and oats.

City archers, in contrast to Moscow ones, had lower cash and grain salaries, but additionally received a land salary in the form of the right to use various land plots.

In addition, Muscovites were given salt and cloth. Teners and Pentecostals, chosen from among the rank-and-file archers, had higher salaries for all types of salaries.

Sotniks, recruited from among the city children of the boyars, received from 12 to 20 rubles, as well as “additions” to their local salaries - 60 quarters of land each. In the second half of the 17th century, ordinary archers also began to be elected as centurions, receiving the title of “centurion”, in contrast to the nobles - “centurion” (since 1680 - captains).

Representatives of the noble class were appointed commanders of the streltsy regiments (heads) (in the 16th century - from among the children of the boyars, later - from among the Moscow nobles or solicitors). For their service, the Streltsy commanders received “additions” to their previous monetary and local salaries. The monetary salaries of the Streltsy heads ranged from 30 to 60 rubles, the “supplement” to their local salaries was equal to 100 quarters of land.

In the second half of the 17th century, the salaries of Streltsy heads could reach 200 rubles. But few received such sums, since according to the existing order, commanders “behind them have many estates and estates, and they have a deduction from their salary, sweeping against peasant households.” The same rule applied to half-heads and centurions.

Location

Moscow archers were located in Moscow, policemen - in border cities: Astrakhan, Kyiv, Belgorod, Kazan and others. Special settlements were allocated for the settlements of the archers, located on the outskirts of the city suburbs.

Slobodas were usually protected by simple fortifications. In Moscow, streltsy settlements were located in Zemlyanoy Gorod or outside it near the city gates. The exception was the Stremyanny Prikaz, which had two settlements located in the White City.

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The archer settled in the settlement had to build a house with a vegetable garden and the necessary buildings. To do this, he was given a sum of money for “yard housing”, which in the 16th century was 1 ruble, in the first half of the 17th century - 2 rubles, and from the 1630s - 5 rubles.

When transferred to a new duty station, the estate could be sold. After the death of the archer, the estate was retained by his family and was inherited along with the service to one of the relatives.

In peacetime, the archers also served as police and firefighters. According to Grigory Kotoshikhin:

“And as it happens in Moscow, there is fire time, and they are the archers who have to go to the fire, to take it away, with axes, and with buckets, and with copper water pipes, and with hooks with which they break down huts. And after a fire, they are inspected so that no one takes away anything from the firemen’s bellies; and whoever is not announced at the review will receive severe punishment from the batog.”

Tactics

At first, during campaigns and battles, the archers were distributed among the regiments of the local army. In the middle of the 17th century they gained independence. During battles, their tasks included shooting at the enemy, as a rule, from behind field fortifications - walk-towns and other barriers, “in the ditch”, “in the dugout”; or under the cover of local cavalry. The presence of barriers protected against enemy cavalry and gave an advantage in defense against enemy infantry.

Later, under the influence of the regiments of the new system, the tactics of the Streltsy troops also changed. From the late 1630s, they began to train as soldiers, and over time, in terms of tactics and weapons, the archers came closer to the soldier regiments, but shooting played a more important role among them.

To test the combat effectiveness of the archers, regular rifle reviews were held until 1673. One of the earliest reviews took place on December 12, 1557, at which the archers destroyed a shaft made of ice blocks from a distance of 50-60 m with squealing fire.

Liquidation

The liquidation of the Streltsy army was started by Peter I in January 1699 after the mass executions of participants in the Streltsy revolt of 1698. The disbandment took place gradually. Some of the archers were dispersed to live in district towns. Soldier regiments were created on the basis of some disbanded regiments. Individual regiments were transferred to distant cities to perform garrison service.

Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848–1916) , Public Domain

However, the events of the initial stage of the Northern War forced the suspension of disbandment. Streltsy regiments took part in many battles at the beginning of the 18th century, including the capture of Narva, near Poltava, and the Prut campaign of 1711. Streltsy also fought as part of the Saxon troops allied with Russia. The streltsy units were finally liquidated only in the 20s of the 18th century... However, as “service men of the old services”, city streltsy remained in some places almost until the end of the 18th century.

Photo gallery

Armament

The Streltsy army was armed with squeaks, reeds, half-peaks, and bladed weapons - sabers and swords, which were worn on a belt belt. To shoot from a squeak, the archers used the necessary equipment: a sling (“berendeyka”) with pencil cases with gunpowder charges attached to it, a bag for bullets, a bag for the wick, a horn with gunpowder for rubbing gunpowder onto the charging rack of the squeak. By the end of the 1670s, long pikes were sometimes used as additional weapons and to form obstacles (“slingshots”). Hand grenades were also used: for example, the inventory of the Streletsky Order of 1678 mentions 267 smart hand grenade cores weighing one, two and three hryvnias each, seven smart grenade cores, 92 skinny grenade cores weighing five hryvnias each.

In the second half of the 17th century, standard bearers and vulture musicians were armed only with sabers. The Pentecostals and centurions were armed only with sabers and protazans. Senior commanders (heads, half-heads and centurions) were given canes in addition to sabers.

With rare exceptions, ordinary riflemen did not use defensive weapons. An exception is the mention by F. Tiepolo, who visited Moscow in 1560, about the limited use of helmets by Russian infantry. Information has been preserved about the review on the Maiden Field in 1664, when in the Streltsy regiment of A. S. Matveev, two bannermen were in cuirasses and one was in armor. In some drawings of the “Book in Persons about the Election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the Tsar” of 1676, the archers are depicted in helmets similar to cassettes, but they are not mentioned in the documents. Such helmets, in the form of a helmet with a brim, were convenient for infantry - they did not interfere with shooting and, at the same time, provided sufficient protection.

Giles Fletcher, who visited Russia in 1588-1589, wrote: “The archers who make up the infantry do not carry any weapons except a self-propelled gun in their hand, a berdysh on their back and a sword at their side. The barrel of their self-propelled gun is not the same as that of a soldier’s gun, but smooth and straight (somewhat similar to the barrel of a hunting rifle); the finishing of the stock is very rough and unskillful, and the gun is very heavy, although they shoot a very small bullet from it.”

The first legislative definition of the weapons of archers dates back to the 17th century. On December 14, 1659, changes in weapons were made in units operating on the territory of Ukraine. In the dragoon and soldier regiments, berdysh were introduced, and in the archers, pikes. The royal decree read: “... in all Saldatsk and dragoon regiments, soldiers and dragoons and in Streltsy orders, the Streltsy ordered to make a short pike, with a kopeck at both ends, instead of berdysh, and long pikes in the Saldatsk regiments and Streltsy orders to make the same by consideration; and he ordered the rest of the soldiers and the archers to have swords. And he ordered berdyshes to be made in regiments of dragoons and soldiers instead of swords in every regiment of 300 people, and the rest should continue to have swords. And in the Streltsy orders, inflict berdysh on 200 people, and the rest will remain in swords as before.”

The archers were armed with smooth-bore matchlocks, and later - flint arquebuses. Interestingly, in 1638, the Vyazma riflemen were given matchlock muskets, to which they stated that “they don’t know how to shoot from such muskets with zhagras, and they never had such muskets with zhagras before, but they did and still have them.” the old locks were squeaking.” At the same time, matchlock weapons were preserved and probably prevailed until the 70s of the 17th century. Firearms were both domestically produced and imported. Screw-mounted arquebuses, the production of which began in the middle of the 17th century, were initially supplied to archers' heads and half-heads, and from the 70s - to ordinary archers. In particular, in 1671, 24 were issued to the rifle regiment of Ivan Polteev; in 1675, the archers going to Astrakhan received 489 rifles. In 1702, rifles accounted for 7% of the Tyumen archers.

By the end of the 17th century, some city archers of small towns far from the borders acquired purely police functions, and therefore only a few of them remained armed with arquebuses, and the rest with reeds. In addition, weapons such as spears, slingshots, bows and crossbows are mentioned in the arsenal of city archers.

Form

The Streltsy regiments had a uniform and obligatory dress uniform (“colored dress”) for all, consisting of an outer caftan, a hat with a fur band, pants and boots, the color of which (except for the pants) was regulated according to belonging to a particular regiment. The ceremonial uniform was worn only on special days - during the main church holidays and during special events.

To perform everyday duties and during military campaigns, a “portable dress” was used, which had the same cut as the dress uniform, but made of cheaper cloth in gray, black or brown.

The distribution of government-issued cloth to Moscow archers for sewing everyday caftans was carried out annually, while to city archers once every 3-4 years. Expensive colored cloth, intended for sewing dress uniforms, was issued irregularly, only on special occasions (in honor of victories, in connection with the birth of royal heirs, etc.) and was an additional form of reward for service. The colors of the regiments stationed in Moscow are known for certain only in the second half of the 17th century.

Streltsy banners

In the first years of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, the Streltsy orders were issued banners of two types: centenary banners and banners of heads.

Streletsky banners were made in the shape of a rectangle with a length of 3 to 4 arshins and a width of 2 to 3 arshins. A cross was sewn into the middle of the banner, dividing the field of the banner into 4 equal parts. An 8-pointed cross was sewn into the upper left quarter. In the remaining quarters, signs were sewn in - that is, stars, circles, braids, etc.

The middle part of the banner could be made of equilateral quadrangles of different colors. This banner was called a chess banner. Sometimes the banner was sewn together from triangles of different colors - such a banner was called a wedge banner. Streltsy banners were always trimmed with a border.

Head banners were sewn from silk fabrics, and signs were written on them in gold and silver. Hundred banners were sewn from kindyak, calico, canvas, calico, and in rare cases from taffeta and other silk fabrics.

During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the use of silk fabrics became more frequent. At the same time, five hundred banners appeared. Five hundred banners are issued to half-heads and are made of silk. Head banners increase in size - sometimes up to 8 arshins in length and 6 in width. Since 1669, sacred images have appeared on head banners. The centenary banners of the Moscow orders were made according to the model: in the middle there was a cross, dividing the banner into 4 equal parts, in the upper left quarter there was an 8-pointed cross at the foot, around it there were stars, the number of which corresponded to the number of the hundred.

After the abolition of the hundreds and the introduction of the Streltsy regiments, they changed their name and banners. Head banners began to be called colonel banners, five-hundred banners - half-colonel banners, hundred-hundred banners - fraternal ones. The banners were made of damask. Sacred images painted in gold and silver are increasingly appearing.

The banner poles are painted, the bags for attaching the banner to the pole are made of red fabric. The tops are iron, the drains are iron and copper.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Streltsy banners remained of the old type. Sacred images appear on the fraternal banners, and the coats of arms of the cities in which the regiments were located appear on the banners of the city archers.

Ensigns

At the end of the 17th century, ensigns of the Streltsy chiefs appeared.

The Streletsky ensigns were built on the model of the boyars, in the center they depicted the Savior and the Mother of God, the faces of the Holy Saints, Archangels and angels. Ensigns of colonels, half-colonels, majors and quartermasters with two slopes, captain's ensigns with one slope.

Famous archers

• Anichkov, Longin Ivanovich (Nekhoroshev) (Onichkov) - head of the Moscow archers, one of the leaders of the defense of Mogilev in 1655.
• Grasshopper, Ivan - archer of Artamonov's order of Matveev; journeyman mason (1660s-1670s); one of the founders of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Izmailovo, the Church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea in Polyanka and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Stolpi (not preserved).
• Lopukhin, Abraham Nikitich - steward and colonel and head of the Moscow archers in 1649-1669, one of the leaders of the defense of Mogilev in 1655. Participant in the Battle of Konotop in 1659. In 1664, together with the Cossacks of the Kyiv regiment, he held a siege in Glukhov. Subsequently, a boyar and manager (judge) of the Order of the Grand Palace,
• Matveev, Artamon Sergeevich - steward and colonel and head of the Moscow archers in 1649-1670. Participated in the capture of Smolensk in 1654, the Battle of Konotop in 1659 and the suppression of the Copper Riot. Subsequently, the great sovereign was a close boyar, judge of the Ambassadorial Prikaz.
• Sukharev, Lavrenty Pankratovich - steward and colonel of the Moscow archers in 1677-1695. He was the first of the Streltsy commanders to openly side with Peter I during the August crisis of 1689. Participant of the first Azov campaign in 1695. The Sukharevskaya Tower in Moscow and a number of neighboring squares and streets got their names from his surname.
• Ievlev, Sylvester Petrovich - steward of Peter the Great, participant in the construction of the Novodvinsk fortress. Together with engineer Georg Rese, he led the actions of coastal batteries during the defense of Arkhangelsk from the Swedish military squadron of Charles XII in 1701. Died in 1708.

There are different opinions about the time of the appearance of the Streltsy army in historical literature. This is explained by the fact that documentary sources testifying to the establishment of the Streltsy army have not been preserved, and perhaps they never existed. Therefore, some researchers of PSRL, vol. VIII, pp. 206, 501, 502 limit themselves to only mentioning the middle of the 16th century. or the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Most pre-revolutionary historians claimed that the archers appeared in 1550; some historians attributed the time of their appearance to the 15th - early 16th centuries, considering the squeakers as archers. By identifying the Streltsy with the Pishchalniki, they thus removed the question of establishing a Streltsy army.

Soviet historians joined the opinion of the majority of pre-revolutionary authors who believed that the Streltsy appeared in Rus' in 1550. For historiography and more detailed information about the Streltsy, see A.V. Chernov, Education of the Streltsy Army, Historical Notes of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, vol. 38, 1951.

A careful study of the sources makes it possible to clarify this issue.

On January 16, 1547, Ivan the Terrible was crowned king. Noting in this regard the position of the military men under the new king, the chronicler points out: “... and again, add to them a lot of fiery archers, much studied in military affairs and not sparing their heads, and at the right time fathers and mothers and wives , and forgetting their children, and not being afraid of death...” PSRL, vol. XIX, p. 44

The chronicler's message gives the right to assert that the Streltsy army was established under Ivan the Terrible. Noting the appearance of the Streltsy in connection with the accession of Ivan the Terrible, the chronicler apparently recorded a fact that took place even before Ivan the Terrible’s accession to the throne, that is, before 1547. Other sources confirm this assumption.

K. Marx points out in his “Chronological Extracts” on the history of Russia that in 1545 Ivan IV established a permanent personal guard (Leibwache), which he called archers, since it was armed with arquebuses, that is, firearms instead of bows and quivers. He sent part of this guard as the main core to the troops. See Archives of K. Marx and F. Engels, vol. VIII, p. 164

K. Marx's instruction is confirmed by some Russian sources.

In June 1546, a supporter of the Moscow government, Kasimov's Tsar Shah-Ali, sent from Moscow on April 7 of the same year, was imprisoned in the Kazan Khanate. “The Legend of the Conception of the Kingdom of Kazan” reports on this occasion that Shah-Ali went to Kazan, accompanied by a three-thousand-strong detachment of Tatars and did not take with him “neither fiery archers” nor “attack” (artillery).

Shah-Ali stayed in Kazan for about a month and was expelled by the former ruler of the Kazan Khanate, Khan Safa-Girey. Sources indicate that the next year after the expulsion of Shah Ali, Ivan the Terrible sent his governors Semyon Mikulinsky and Vasily Obolensky Serebryany to Kazan with a large army, which included the “fiery archers” The most ancient discharge book, p. 128. Thus, the archers took part in the hostilities of the Russian army in 1546-1547. and, therefore, appeared earlier than this time.

In 1550, “elected” rifle detachments were formed. “Russian Chronograph” talks in some detail about the appearance of these archers. Under 7058 we read: “... the tsar created... elected archers and 3000 people from the arquebuses, and ordered them to live in Vorobyovskaya Sloboda, and killed their heads with the children of the boyars...” In total, six “articles” were created "(detachments) of elected archers, 500 people each. The “Articles” were divided into hundreds, headed by centurions from the boyars’ children, and probably into dozens. Sagittarius received a salary of 4 rubles per year.

The creation of elected archers was part of the major military reform of Ivan the Terrible and was closely connected with the establishment of the “chosen thousand” in the same 1550 (see below). The “thousand” was a detachment of elected cavalry; elected archers made up a three-thousand-strong detachment of selected infantry. Both of them were the personal armed guard of the king. The elected cavalry and foot units created by Ivan the Terrible were the predecessors of the Russian Guard.

Elected archers differed from the local militia primarily in that they lived in a special settlement and were provided with a constant cash salary. The Streltsy army in its structure approached the regular army.

The social status of the archers was different from that of the local cavalry from the nobles and children of the boyars; the archers were recruited from the people, mainly from the tax-paying townspeople population Russian Chronicle (Moscow Chronicle), 1894, pp. 177-183.

The structure of the Streltsy army was reminiscent of the existing organization of the Russian army (hundred division), but this army also had its own characteristics (reducing hundreds into five hundred detachments - articles). Streletsky “articles”, later orders (devices), existed until the second half of the 17th century. In the second half of the 17th century. they began to gradually be replaced by combined arms regiments, and hundreds by companies, and soon lost their originality.

The Streltsy received their first major baptism of fire during the siege and capture of Kazan in 1552. Chronicle sources tell in some detail about the actions of the Streltsy army in this campaign.

The Hertaul, advanced and large regiments were sent to storm Kazan. Ahead of the regiments, foot archers and Cossacks went on the offensive with their heads, atamans and centurions.

A shootout ensued, in which the archers also took part. When the mounted Tatars made a sortie against the foot archers, the king indicated the Ertaul commander to the governors. regiment to “help” the archers. By order of the governor, the archers “buried themselves in ditches” on the bank of Bulak and did not allow the Tatars to make forays out of the city.

The second governor of the large regiment, M.I. Vorotynsky, was ordered by the entire regiment to dismount from their horses and ride on foot to Kazan.

Vorotynsky “first ordered the archers led by their heads to go to the city,” then the Cossacks with their atamans, the boyar people with their heads and the tours to roll to the indicated place, “and you yourself go with the boyar children after them.” While the tours were being installed (“50 fathoms from the city”), archers, Cossacks and boyars fired at the city with arquebuses and bows. When the tours were installed, all the people were taken to them. “And before the tours, the archer and the Cossack are ordered to dig into ditches against the city.” The battle lasted all night M. M. Bogoslovsky, A few words about one project of reforms of the 16th century, Proceedings of the Archaeographic Commission of the Moscow Archaeological Society, vol. I, no. 1-3, M., 1898, pp. 5-12.

On Saturday, August 27, Voivode M. Ya. Morozov was ordered to roll out a “large outfit” to the tours. Artillery shelling of the city began. The archers, who were in the trenches before the tours, actively helped the artillery, “not allowing people to be on the walls and climb out of the gates.”

On Monday it was decided to stage tours along the river bank. Kazankas. The governors sent forward the archers under the command of Ivan Ershov and the atamans with the Cossacks, who dug in the ditches. The archers responded to shelling from the city with arquebuses, and the Cossacks with bows. Meanwhile, the governors placed the tours in the designated place. The same thing happened when installing the tour from the Arskoe field; the Kazan forays were repelled by archers, boyar people and Mordovians.

To intensify the shelling of the city, a 12-meter tower was built near the tour, on which guns were raised. Active assistance to the artillery was provided by the archers, who fired at the city walls and streets with hand-held arquebuses day and night.

According to the royal decree, the first to attack the city were the archers, Cossacks and boyars. They had to withstand the main blow of the besieged and capture the city walls. The attackers were helped by the governors with the boyar children from the regiments. The archers and other foot soldiers filled the ditch with brushwood and earth and moved towards the city walls. “And so,” the chronicler adds, “he soon ascended the wall with great strength, and put up that shield and fought on the wall day and night until the city was captured” PSRL, vol. VI, pp. 307, 310.

Sources show that the decisive force in the capture of Kazan were archers, Cossacks and boyar people (slaves), i.e. foot soldiers. The Sagittarius also took an active part in the Livonian War. The siege and capture of all Livonian cities and castles took place with the participation of archers. The siege of Polotsk showed quite well the role and importance of the Streltsy army in the armed forces of the Russian state in the 16th century.

• On January 31, 1563, the Russian army approached Polotsk. On the same day, Ivan the Terrible ordered his regiment to set up a convoy (“kosha”) and placed archers in front of the regiment, near the city, who guarded the royal regiment all day. Polotsk residents opened gunfire on the Russian regiments. Situated on the banks of the river. On the island of Dvina and on the island, the gunners and archers knocked down the enemy gunners from the island and killed many people in the prison. The next day, the king sent two more devices (detachments) of archers with heads to the island; The archers were ordered to dig in and begin shelling the settlement.
• On February 4 and 5, the deployment of tours and detachments began, the protection of which from possible attacks by the enemy was carried out by archers, Cossacks and boyar people. At the same time, the archers of the device of the head of Ivan Golokhvastov lit the tower of the PSRL prison, vol. XIX, p. 425; The Legend of the Conception of the Kingdom of Kazan, pp. 94, 95 from the direction of the Dvina and through the tower entered the fort. However, the tsar ordered the archers to be taken back, “without intent” they went to the fort, since the siege tours had not yet been set up everywhere. In a bold foray, the archers lost 15 people killed.

The enemy tried to stop the siege through negotiations, but the siege continued. The tours were deployed, and the arriving battering squad joined the shelling of light and medium cannons; The archers settled under the tours. On February 9, the Polotsk governor ordered the fort to be set on fire in several places, and the townspeople from the fort to be driven into the city. Streltsy, Cossacks and boyars burst into the fort, and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Reinforcements from the royal regiment were sent to help the archers. After the capture of the fort, tours were placed around the city, followed by large and mounted guns, and they began round-the-clock shelling of the city. The arrangement of the tours and their protection were carried out by archers and boyar people. On the night of February 15, the archers set fire to the city wall. The regiments were ordered to prepare for the assault, but at dawn on February 15, Polotsk surrendered. Russian Chronicle (Moscow Chronicle), 1894, pp. 177-183.

The success of the siege of the city was the result of the active actions of artillery and archers, who numbered up to 12 thousand near Polotsk. Here, as well as near Kazan, the burden of the siege of the fortress fell on foot soldiers, the central place among whom was occupied by “fiery” archers.

Having briefly traced the participation of the archers in the siege and capture of Kazan and Polotsk, we will draw some general conclusions.

The absence of permanent infantry in the Russian army has been felt for a long time. A long and unsuccessful struggle with Kazan throughout the first half of the 16th century. was partly a consequence of the fact that the Russian army did not have permanent detachments of foot soldiers.

The government sent dismounted cavalry to Kazan, but it could not replace standing infantry, especially since the noble cavalry considered it beneath its dignity to carry out military service on foot. Neither the pishchalniks, temporarily convened for military service, nor the Cossacks, armed primarily with bows, could replace the permanent infantry.

The Streltsy were the embryo of that standing army to which F. Engels attached great importance. Localism is the monopoly of the princely-boyar nobility on the highest positions in the army and government.

Engels wrote that in order to strengthen and strengthen the centralized royal power in the West (and therefore the tsarist power in Russia), a standing army was necessary. See K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, vol. XIV, part 1, p. 447.

It is important to note the fact that the archers were armed with arquebuses. For the Russian army, whose noble cavalry was armed with bows and edged weapons, the appearance of detachments with firearms was of great importance. The universal arming of the archers with firearms placed them above the infantry of Western states, where some of the infantrymen (pikemen) had only edged weapons.

Sagittarius were good at using firearms. Already near Kazan, according to the chroniclers, “the archers danced byahu skillfully and learned military skills and arquebus shooting, like small birds in flight, killing with hand arquebuses and bows” PSRL, vol. XIX, p. 425; The Legend of the Conception of the Kingdom of Kazan, pp. 94, 95.

Finally, repeated indications in the chronicles indicate that the archers knew how to adapt to the terrain and use artificial shelters, and this was possible only as a result of the archers being trained in military affairs.

Thus, it is impossible to identify archers with squeakers. Pishchalnikov can be called the predecessors of the Streltsy, but only in relation to the nature of the service (branch of the army) and weapons. Both of them (the squeakers predominantly) were foot soldiers, and both of them had firearms. This is where the continuity ends. The Streltsy army, which was permanent, in its organization and combat capability stood incomparably higher than the detachments of temporarily convened pishchalniks - militias. Therefore, even after the formation of the Streltsy army, the pishchalniks could not have disappeared, but remained part of the march army, although sources, mostly foreign, sometimes call Streltsy by this name.

The Streltsy deservedly considered themselves the military elite of Russia. They heroically fought the enemy, settled new lands, but also the archers, dissatisfied with their position, undermined the foundations of Russian statehood.

How it all started

In 1546, the Novgorod squeakers came to Ivan the Terrible with a petition, but their complaints were not heard by the tsar. The offended petitioners staged a riot, which resulted in mass clashes with the nobles, where there were both wounded and killed. But further - more: the rebels did not let the tsar who was about to go to Kolomna, forcing the sovereign to get there by a bypass road.

This event angered the king, which had its consequences. In 1550, Ivan the Terrible issues a decree on the creation of a permanent streltsy army, which replaced the disgraced squeakers.

The first streltsy were recruited “by instrument” (for hire), and their composition was replenished mainly from former squeakers adapted for military service. At first, the number of Streltsy troops was small - 3,000 people, divided into 6 orders. Most of them included the free townspeople or rural population, but the orders were commanded by people from the boyars.

Despite the fact that the Streltsy recruited mainly people from the poor class, getting there was not so easy. People were taken of their own free will, but most importantly - those who knew how to shoot. However, later they began to demand guarantees. It was enough for a few experienced archers to be responsible for the escape of a recruit from service or the loss of his weapon. The age limit for newly hired workers was no higher than 50 years old - this is quite a lot, given the low average life expectancy at that time. The service was for life, but it could also be inherited.

Life

The archers settled in settlements, receiving a manor place there. They were instructed to plant a vegetable garden and a garden, as well as build a house. The state provided settlers with “yard housing” - monetary assistance in the amount of 1 ruble: a good financial support, considering that a house at 16th-century prices cost 3 rubles. After the death or death of the archer, the courtyard remained with his family.

In remote settlements they lived very simply. The streets were mostly unpaved, and the huts (without a chimney) were covered with birch bark or straw; there were no windows as such, much less ones covered with mica - they were basically small slits in a log wall with oiled canvas. In the event of an enemy raid, the Sloboda residents sat out the state of siege behind the walls of the nearest fortress or fort.
Between military service, the archers were engaged in various trades - carpentry, blacksmithing, wheeling or carriage. We worked only to order. The range of “streltsy” products is impressive - grips, stags, openers, door handles, chests, tables, carts, sleighs - this is just a small part of what is possible. Let's not forget that the archers, along with the peasants, were also food suppliers for the city - their meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits were always welcome in city bazaars.

Cloth

The Sagittarius, as expected in a professional army, wore uniforms - casual and formal. The archers looked especially good in full dress uniform, wearing long caftans and tall hats with fur cuffs. Although the uniform was uniform, there were color differences for each regiment.

For example, the archers of Stepan Yanov's regiment sported a light blue caftan, brown lining, black buttonholes, a crimson hat and yellow boots. Some of the clothes - shirts, ports and zipuns - the archers had to sew themselves.

Weapon

History has preserved for us an interesting document that describes the reaction of the Vyazma riflemen to receiving a new weapon - matchlock muskets. The soldiers said that “they don’t know how to shoot from such muskets with zhagras (matchlocks),” since “they had and still have old squeaks with locks.” This in no way indicates the backwardness of the archers in comparison with European soldiers, but rather speaks of their conservatism.

The most common weapons for archers were the arquebus (or self-propelled gun), the berdysh (an ax in the shape of a crescent) and the saber, and mounted warriors, even at the beginning of the 17th century, did not want to part with their bow and arrows. Before the campaign, the archers were given a certain amount of gunpowder and lead, the consumption of which was monitored by the governors so that “potions and lead would not be wasted.” Upon returning, the archers were obliged to hand over the remaining ammunition to the treasury.

War

The siege of Kazan in 1552 was a baptism of fire for the archers, but in the future they were indispensable participants in major military campaigns, having the status of a regular army. They witnessed both high-profile victories and painful defeats of Russian weapons. The archers were quite actively called upon to guard the always turbulent southern borders - an exception was made only for small garrisons.

The favorite tactics of the archers was the use of field defensive structures called “walk-city”. Streltsy were often inferior to the enemy in maneuverability, but shooting from fortifications was their trump card. A set of carts equipped with strong wooden shields made it possible to protect against small firearms and, ultimately, repel an enemy attack. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, the Crimean Tsar would have beaten us,” wrote the German guardsman of Ivan the Terrible, Heinrich von Staden.

The Streltsy greatly contributed to the victory of the Russian army in the Second Azov Campaign of Peter I in 1696. The Russian soldiers, who had besieged Azov in a long, hopeless siege, were already ready to turn back when the archers proposed an unexpected plan: it was necessary to erect an earthen rampart, bringing it closer to the rampart of the Azov fortress, and then, filling in the ditches, take possession of the fortress walls. The command reluctantly accepted the adventurous plan, but in the end it more than justified itself!

Riot

The Sagittarius were constantly dissatisfied with their position - after all, they considered themselves a military elite. Just as the pishchalniks once went to petition Ivan the Terrible, the archers complained to the new kings. These attempts were most often unsuccessful and then the archers rebelled. They joined the peasant uprisings - the army of Stepan Razin, and organized their own revolts - “Khovanshchina” in 1682.

However, the riot of 1698 turned out to be the most “senseless and merciless.” Princess Sophia, imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent and thirsty for the throne, with her incitements, heated up the already tense situation within the Streltsy army. As a result, 2,200 archers who removed their commanders headed to Moscow to carry out a coup. 4 selected regiments sent by the government suppressed the rebellion in the bud, but the main bloody action - the Streltsy execution - was ahead.

Even officials had to take on the work of executioners by order of the tsar. The Austrian diplomat Johann Korb, who was present at the executions, was horrified by the absurdity and cruelty of these executions: “one boyar distinguished himself with a particularly unsuccessful blow: without hitting the condemned man’s neck, the boyar hit him on the back; the archer, cut almost into two parts in this way, would have suffered unbearable torment if Aleksashka (Menshikov), deftly using an ax, had not hastened to cut off the unfortunate man’s head.”

Peter I, who urgently returned from abroad, personally headed the investigation. The result of the “great manhunt” was the execution of almost all the archers, and the few survivors were whipped, branded, some were imprisoned, and others were exiled to remote places. The investigation continued until 1707. As a result, the archers' yard positions were distributed, houses were sold, and all military units were disbanded. This was the end of the glorious Streltsy era.

It was the middle of the 16th century

It all started in 1546, when squeakers from Novgorod came to Ivan the Terrible with a petition. They wanted to tell the sovereign about their disadvantageous position, but the king did not listen to them. Without thinking twice, the soldiers rebelled. They not only began to measure their strength with the nobility, but also blocked the tsar’s path to Kolomna.

Ivan the Terrible could not forgive this. Therefore, in 1550, he signed a decree on the creation of a new permanent army - the Streltsy. It was supposed to replace the disgraced squeakers.

Sagittarius appeared under Ivan the Terrible

True, the newly formed “caste,” especially at the beginning, recruited the same former squeakers and people from the poor segment of the population. Only people from the elite were in charge. The number of archers did not exceed 3 thousand; they were divided into 6 orders.

In general, it was not easy to get into the archers. The main criterion for selection was the ability to shoot well. But then, due to the unreliability of the contingent, they demanded guarantees for the newly minted archer. Simply put, one of the experienced soldiers had to be responsible for ensuring that the “newcomer” did not run away or lose their weapon.

Service was considered lifelong and could be inherited.

Way of life

The archers lived (settled) in settlements. There, the soldiers were ordered to build a house and also develop the land for agricultural purposes. The state also paid the archers an impressive allowance of 1 ruble at that time. For example, in the 16th century a house cost 3 rubles. Another important thing was this: in the event of the archer’s natural death or death on the battlefield, his yard remained with the family.

They were paid a large allowance for those times - 1 ruble

The farther the settlement was from the capital, the simpler and poorer they lived there. The houses were small, without a chimney (kurnaya), covered with birch bark or straw. Instead of windows there are tiny slits, which were used as loopholes in the event of an enemy attack.

In peacetime, the archers did not disdain fishing. They were engaged in various crafts: blacksmithing, carpentry, wheelwork. Moreover, they worked exclusively to order. Soldiers could make expensive chests, tables, doorknobs, carts, or even sleighs. In addition, together with the peasants, they were the main city suppliers, supplying vegetables, fruits and meat to the local market.

The clothing of the archers was divided into two types: casual and formal. Their dress uniform is known to everyone - these are long caftans, high boots with fur cuffs. Each regiment had its own colors. Some are light blue, others are bright red. It is interesting that the soldiers sewed their own shirts, zipuns and trousers.

Baptism of fire

The archers had a chance to smell gunpowder for the first time in 1552, when the siege of Kazan took place. They performed well in this battle and have since become the main striking force of the Russian kingdom. In addition, they were often sent to guard the state border. Most often - to the southern, most turbulent borders.

The baptism of fire of the archers took place during the capture of Kazan

During the war, the archers often resorted to the use of “walking cities” - field defensive structures. The fact is that the soldiers were much inferior to the Tatars in maneuverability, but they shot better. Therefore, they quickly erected an outpost protected by shields from carts. This made it possible to repel an attack with little bloodshed. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, the Crimean Tsar would have beaten us,” Heinrich von Staden, a German guardsman from the time of Ivan the Terrible, wrote in his memoirs.

The archers reached the peak of their glory under Peter I. They took part in the Second Azov Campaign in 1696. It was the archers who then proposed a plan to capture the fortress: using an earthen rampart to fill up its ditches.

Enemies of the State

It must be said that the archers were always dissatisfied with their position. They constantly demanded more privileges and financial support. But the kings could not always fulfill their inflated demands. And then the archers began to rebel.

First, several streltsy detachments went over to the side of Stepan Razin in 1682. But the peak of discontent came in 1698. Princess Sophia, while imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent, nevertheless managed to incite the archers to revolt. More than 2 thousand dissatisfied archers went to Moscow “for the truth.” And at the same time for carrying out a coup d'etat. The idea failed.

This riot is known primarily for the Streltsy execution. Moreover, even officials acted as executioners on Peter’s orders. This is how the Austrian diplomat Johann Korb describes these events: “One boyar distinguished himself with a particularly unsuccessful blow: without hitting the convict’s neck, the boyar hit him on the back; the archer, cut almost into two parts in this way, would have suffered unbearable torment if Aleksashka (Menshikov), deftly using an ax, had not hastened to cut off the unfortunate man’s head.”

Peter I brutally dealt with the rebels

Almost all the Streltsy were executed as a result of the “great manhunt.” And those who escaped the death penalty were imprisoned or exiled. Their houses were sold, and all military units were quickly and quietly disbanded.

Until recently, practically the only source of information on the issue that interests us here was the 1st part (volume) of A.V. Viskovatov’s “Historical Description of Clothing and Weapons of the Russian Troops.” Over the century and a half that has passed since its publication, enough new information has accumulated that makes it possible to compile a more complete and accurate description of the Streltsy costume, and to correct the mistakes made in this famous work.

The history of the Streltsy as a regular Russian infantry begins in 1550, when 3,000 pishchalniks that existed by that time were selected, forming 6 articles (later - orders) of 500 people each. They were settled in Moscow, in Vorobyovoy Sloboda. Already under Ivan IV, the number of archers reached 7,000 (of which 2,000 were cavalry), commanded by 8 heads and 41 centurions. By the end of this reign there were 12,000 streltsy, and at the coronation of Fyodor Ioannovich in the summer of 1584 - 20,000. All streltsy affairs were initially in charge of the “Streltsy Izba”, and then the “Streltsy Prikaz”, mentioned for the first time in 1571. On June 28, 1682 during After the Streltsy rebellion, the Moscow Streltsy, who practically seized power in the capital, renamed themselves “outdoor infantry”, and their order into “Order of Outward Infantry”, but already on December 17, the previous names were restored. In 1683, the orders were renamed regiments, and the hundreds that made them up were renamed companies.

Streltsy service was mainly hereditary. Streltsy received an annual salary, were exempt from taxes and, in addition to service, were engaged in the same types of activities (crafts, trade, etc.) as the rest of the townspeople.

In addition to Moscow, there were also city archers. Those from Moscow undoubtedly occupied a more privileged position - their salaries and various “dachas” (grants in things) were much greater than those of the policemen.

Orders (regiments) were called by the names of their commanders and had serial numbers, in each city starting with the number 1. The lower the number, the more honorable - for service the order could, for example, be promoted from the 11th to the 6th, etc. .d. In Moscow, the first in number was the so-called stirrup order (regiment), usually 1.5-2 times larger in number than the rest - the Streltsy of this unit were partially or completely mounted on horses, were never sent from Moscow to border cities for service and were constantly were with the king's person. From this, in fact, the name “stirrup” came from - located at the sovereign’s stirrup. Among the city archers, mounted units were encountered quite often, but in the full sense they could not be called cavalry - they were only infantry mounted on horses.

The command staff of the order (regiment) - the “initial people” - consisted of the head (thousand), half-head (five hundred), centurions and constables (pentecostals and tens). Senior leaders were recruited from nobles and boyar children, and princes were also heads; The constables are from the archers themselves. On March 25, 1680, despite the reluctance of the archers, they were ordered to “lead against the foreign rank” - the initial composition should be “from heads to stolniks and colonels, from half-heads to half-colonels, from centurions to captains.” This renaming took place as part of the general reorganization of the army initiated by Prince V.V. Golitsyn.

As is known, Peter 1 abolished the Moscow archers in 1711, but separate city formations existed until 1716.

Let us now turn to the Streltsy costume - the immediate topic of our article.

Very little is known about him; the main sources can be easily listed. Let's start with the visual materials of the era, on which we, in fact, will rely in this small study:

- image of a Sagittarius in the book of travel notes by A. Meyerberg (1661 - 1662);

- “picturesque sheet” from the collection of the manuscript department of the State Public Library. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in Leningrad, - “Drawing of the image in the faces of the release of archers in ships by water to Razin” (1670);

- drawings in the “Book of the election to... the throne... of Mikhail Fedorovich” (1672-1673);

- drawings in the book of travel notes by E. Palmquist (1674).

It should be noted that the drawings from the “Book of the election to... the throne...” cannot be used to reconstruct the costume of 1613 - the time of the event (as was erroneously done in the “Historical Description...”), but only for that period when they were performed - early 1670s. We deliberately refuse to develop one of the well-known sources - a series of etchings by J.-B. Leprince depicting various Streltsy ranks - their historical authenticity is doubtful, because They were created already in the second half of the 18th century. (1764).

Officials of Moscow orders in ceremonial “colored” caftans. 1670 (based on the watercolor “Drawing of the image in the faces of the release of the archers in the courts by water to Razin”): 1. Half-head of the 3rd order Fyodor Lukyanovich Yashkin 2. Standard bearer of the 3rd order with the hundredth banner 3. Head of the 3rd order Ivan Timofeevich Lopatin 4. Head Guard 5. Elected archer from the head guard 6. Sagittarius 7. Sagittarius with the “fraternal” (fiftieth) banner 8. Uryadnik (Pentecostal) 10. Drummer from the juvenile archers

The written sources that we have are the memories of foreigners who at various times placed the Russian state, and the few surviving domestic documents with occasional mentions of the supply of Streltsy - the archive of the Streletsky Prikaz itself died in a fire under Anna Ioannovna.

Let's try to create a description of Streltsy clothing based on this very meager information.

Most likely, at the time of formation, and for a long time after that, the archers did not have any regulated costume in cut and color. D. Gorsey, speaking about the Moscow archers during the time of Ivan the Terrible, noted that they “were very neatly dressed in velvet, multi-colored silk and steel (woolen kosanite fabric - R.P.) clothes.” He also pointed out the variety in the colors of the Streltsy caftans: “... a thousand Streltsy in red, yellow and blue clothes, with shiny guns and arquebuses, were placed in ranks by their commanders.”

In 1588, J. Fletcher gave a detailed description of the weapons: “The archer or infantryman has no weapons except a gun in his hand, a berdysh on his back and a sword at his side. The stock of his gun is not like that of a musket, but smooth and straight, somewhat similar to the stock of a hunting rifle, the finish of the barrel is rough and unskillful, and it is very heavy, although they fire a small bullet from it.”

V. Parry, describing the royal departure in 1599, mentions the royal “...guard, which was all cavalry, numbering 500 people, dressed in red caftans, they rode three in a row, having bows and arrows, sabers at the waist and axes on the hip...” However, we have no solid grounds to consider this the first mention of a uniform red color for the Streltsy caftans - a foreigner could call both the residents and someone else from the “Sovereign Regiment” “guard”.

We can talk about the presence of something similar based on Paerle’s testimony dating back to May 1606: “... Moscow foot archers, up to 1000 people, in red cloth caftans, with a white bandage on the chest, were lined up in two rows. These archers had long guns with red stocks; not far from them stood 2,000 mounted archers, dressed in the same way as foot soldiers, with bows and arrows on one side and with guns tied to the saddle on the other.” Such a number of streltsy - many more than one order - allows us to assume that during this period all Moscow streltsy were already dressed in red and had relatively uniform equipment and weapons. This, naturally, is not yet a uniform, but only a partially regulated general civilian costume, so characteristic of permanent military formations in Europe in the 17th century. Later, in 1658, “service dress” was mentioned for the first time - apparently a special term for this type of clothing.

The following information refers to 1661 - 1662. A. Meyerberg gives an image of archers in high hats with fur lapels, long caftans with an unclear collar and boots with heels. It is noteworthy that their saber does not hang on a belt belt, as was customary at that time, but on a sling over the right shoulder. If Meyerberg only mentions “... an honor guard of 50 archers, dressed in scarlet cloth,” then Kemfer, who visited Moscow in the same years, gives a fairly detailed description: “Their (the archers. - R.P.) weapon consisted of a gun, whom they saluted; a reed, shaped like a half moon, stuck in the ground in front of each person, and a saber hanging from the side. Their caftans were quite elegant, one flap was made of light green, the other was made of dark green cloth, fastened, according to Russian custom, on the chest with gold cords one quarter long.” From this we can say that by the beginning of the 1660s. Moscow archers already wore caftans of distinctive colors according to orders, but we know nothing about other color options besides those mentioned.

The watercolor we mentioned among the main sources, depicting the departure of a combined detachment from units of all 14 Moscow orders to fight the troops of Stepan Razin in 1670, does not clarify this issue. Unfortunately, only the semantic center of the picture is carefully painted and described - the streltsy head and his immediate environment. However, here the details of the costume, weapons and job differences of most of the depicted 845 archers and the initial people who made up the detachment are clearly visible. Let's list some of them:

- the colors of the clothing parts are red, crimson and green in different shades (distribution of color options according to individual orders is impossible due to the lack of specific instructions and careless coloring of the main space of the picture);

- the colors of the clothing details of the Streltsy head (detachment commander), the Pyasotsky and the bannerman, depicted in the semantic center of the picture (crimson hat, light green upper and red lower caftans, yellow boots), correspond to the colors of the hundredth banner (light green cross on a crimson background with white frame) and, most importantly, are identical to the colors of the clothes and banner of the 3rd Streltsy Order, as they were later depicted by E. Palmquist (more on this below);

- the initial people (five hundred and 12 centurions), except for the head itself, are armed with protazans with crimson tassels; some hold gloves with cuffs, decorated with embroidery and fringe;

- constables are armed with spears, halberds and protazans (more modest than those of the initial people), and ordinary archers, with the exception of musicians and flag bearers, are armed with reeds and self-propelled guns;

- near the head there are archers in richer caftans, and clearly fur coats - that is, with fur (apparently, personal guards - the so-called elected archers).

You can see the reconstructions made on the material of this painting in our illustrations.

The Moscow archers, who endured the main hardships of the military operations of 1670-1671, undoubtedly suffered heavy losses (the combined detachment we described was completely destroyed by the rebels). Therefore, already in 1672-1673. Along with the replenishment, a significant “re-uniforming” of the tattered Moscow orders was apparently carried out. We should not forget that the award of colored cloth was considered one of the forms of reward for service (if we take into account the fact that the cloth used for ceremonial caftans was made in Western Europe and was very expensive). For example, in 1672 in Kyiv, among military supplies, “405 caftans of Streltsy Onburg (Hamburg - R.P.) cloth of green and azure” were stored. Such large awards are indirectly indicated by the demands of some of the Moscow archers, dating back to 1682, to be given the cloth that was finally promised in 1672-1673 - then, apparently, not everyone was given it. Apparently, for the period from 1672 to 1682. there was practically no supply, except perhaps for the award for the “Chigirin seat” in 1677.

One way or another, by 1674, the Moscow archers, when the Swedish officer E. Palmquist saw and sketched them, were dressed in new elegant caftans, somewhat different in cut from the previous ones. The color drawings in Palmquist's book are the most detailed and thorough source on Streltsy costume. On them we see color options for clothing details of all 14 orders. We cannot say whether this multicolor (see table at the end of the article) was an innovation of 1672-1673. or the new costumes repeated the color system established long before. On the one hand, we have no mention of any colors other than shades of red, crimson and green until 1672, on the other hand, there is obviously a complete coincidence of the colors of the costumes and the banner of the ranks of the 3rd order on the “picturesque sheet” and in Palmquist’s drawing .

Information about coloring (according to Palmquist) is given in the “Historical Description”, but, apparently, the compilers, copying colors from miniature pictures, made at least one serious mistake. Immediately cause concern is the indicated colors of the chest laces - buttonholes (raspberry and black, and in one case green). The fact is that none of the written sources - neither before nor after 1674 - mention colored laces; they only talk about gold, less often silver, stripes (for example, in 1680, in the description of the royal retinue during the trip of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, “400 mounted archers in scarlet caftans with gold and silver stripes” are mentioned (obviously, a “stirrup” regiment - R.P. Having carefully examined the original drawings, we came to the conclusion that Palmquist really tried to depict). gold and silver laces, although at first glance they look like crimson and black (there are no green ones in the pictures at all - this is an obvious mistake) because in Rus' at that time it was the practice to add red or crimson threads to gold ones). cords to achieve the effect of scalloped (red) gold - visually this mixture could be perceived as raspberry-gold - but conscientious reproduction of this in miniature led to the suppression of the color of gold by a more intense crimson; While working on the texture of the silver cords, the draftsman involuntarily depicted them as almost black.

From Palmquist's drawings we cannot determine the colors of the ports, lower caftan and sash. Presumably the latter was the color of the cap - judging by the 3rd order. In Rus', such a practice existed even later: on February 25, 1700, Peter I ordered the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Dragoon Regiment “...to make themselves cloth caftans of dark green color and buy red hats and sashes.”

Having examined the drawings, let’s try to make some generalizations that are not reflected in the “Historical Description”:

- all archers wore gloves with brown leather cuffs;

— during the campaign, the muzzle of the musket was covered with a short leather case;

- the berdysh was worn behind the back over any shoulder;

- a sash was worn over the waist belt, to which a Polish-type saber was attached;

- there were no buttonholes on the traveling caftan;

- the external distinction of the initial people was a fur-lined outer caftan, an image of a crown embroidered with pearls on a cap and a staff;

- the head differs from other commanders in the ermine lining of the upper caftan and hat (although, most likely, this indicates not rank, but princely origin).

In general, pearl embroidery is often indicated as a characteristic feature of a Streltsy chief. Thus, in 1675, in the description of the “Trinity Campaign,” a head in “rich clothes studded with pearls” was mentioned.

Almost the latest information we have about the Streltsy costume, dating back to 1682-1683, concerns only supply issues - they do not add anything significant to our information.

Let us now try to summarize all the materials we have collected, consistently describing the items that were part of the complex of the ceremonial streltsy costume.

The hat is velvet, with a rather high cap, and almost always with a fur trim; among the Sagittarius it is sheepskin, and among the early people it is more likely to be sable.

The outer caftan is of the Eastern European type, with two small slits on the sides on the floors. Length above the ankles. It was fastened from right to left, buttons were round or oval (ball-shaped), buttonholes were made of gold or silver cord with tassels at the ends or made of flat braid. There is an arbitrary number of buttonholes on the chest, and from one to three on the side slits. Presumably from 1672 it had a small stand-up collar, before that, apparently, a turn-down collar - a “shawl”. For the initial people, it was lined with sable or other expensive fur, for ordinary archers - with mutton or goat ("fur caftan"), or colored cloth.

The lower caftan is a zipun. The same as the top one, but shorter and in any case without a fur lining.

The ports are quite narrow at the knees, length to the middle of the shin.

Boots are leather, mostly yellow, knee-length, with heels. The shape of the sock is varied.

Gloves - among the archers, were brown leather, with soft cuffs; among the early people there were also hard cuffs, decorated with embroidery, galloon and fringe.

The sash is made of colored fabric, among the initial people with gold embroidery and fringe.

As for camping clothing, we find a detailed listing of it in the list of things sent in 1677 from Voronezh to the Don to the Streltsy: “... sheepskin hats under various colored bad cloths 160 ... gaiters with shanks 100, fur coats. .. 859, ... gray and black homespun caftans 315 ... homespun cloth, black and white 1500 arshins...” Camping caftans, also called “porters,” were made from homespun cloth of gray, black or brown color and did not have stripes. At the same time, the hats remained in bright colors.

The archers received caftans from the state or built them in regiments according to “samples” from the cloth they received. There were even special books about “giving fur coats to basic people and soldiers.” Attempts to force the archers to make clothes at their own expense met with fierce resistance on their part. Let us cite here a typical document - on April 30, 1682, a decree was issued to Streltsy Colonel Semyon Griboedov on the resignation and punishment for oppressing his subordinates. One of the sections of this decree read: “I ordered colored kaftans with gold stripes, velvet hats, and yellow boots for them (Pentecostals, foremen and ordinary riflemen of their regiment. - R.P.).”

Let’s finish this conversation with information from Kotoshikhin’s book, published in Sweden in 1660, regarding the Moscow archers: “Yes, they are all given cloth from the royal treasury for clothes every year.” And about the archer policemen: “... and cloth is sent for clothes at three and four years old.” It is unlikely that such a truly remarkable supply existed for a long time and existed at all. City archers, apparently, did not have ceremonial “colored” caftans at all.

Something is also known about those cases when ceremonial caftans should have been worn. On December 30, 1683, in a report on the removal of unreliable archers from Moscow and their settlement in cities, there is an interesting mention of this: “And they (Moscow archers. - R.P.) should go on those (great lord’s holidays and their sovereign angels. - R.P.) and on other deliberate days in colored caftans, against the same as in Moscow.”

The ranks of the Moscow orders after 1672 (according to E. Palmquist): 1 Head of the 1st order Egor Petrovich Lutokhin 2 Banner bearer with the hundredth banner of the 3rd order 3 Sagittarius 6th order 4 Sagittarius of the 13th order in a traveling (“portable”) caftan 5 Initial man (five hundred or centurion) of the 3rd order 6 Sagittarius 8th order

“Colored dress” and hundreds of banners of the Moscow Streltsy orders. 1674 (according to E. Palmquist): 1st (stirrup) - Egor Petrovich Lutokhin - (1500 people) 2nd - Ivan Fedorovich Poltev - (1000 people) 3rd - Vasily Borisovich Bukhvostov - (1000 people) 4th - Fyodor Ivanovich Golovlinsky - (800 people) 5th - Fedor Vasilyevich Alexandrov - (800 people) 6th - Nikifor Ivanovich Kolobov - (900 people) 7th - Stefan Fedorovich Yanov - (1000 people) 8th - Timofey Fedorovich Poltev - (800 people) 9th - Peter Abramovich Lopukhin - (1200 people) 10th - Fyodor Abramovich Lopukhin - (1000 people) 11th - Davyd Grigorievich Vorontsov - (600 people) 12th - Ivan Ivanovich Naramansky - (600 people) 13th - (?) Lagovskina (600 people) 14th - Afanasy Ivanovich Levshin - (1000 people)

Now about the hairstyles. Neither the Moscow Council of 1551, which ordered that “beards should not be shaved or trimmed, and mustaches should not be trimmed,” nor Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich’s ban on cutting hair forced all archers to wear beards and long hair. In reality, judging by the images, they cut their hair “in a circle”, and they decided on their own whether to wear a beard, mustache, or completely shave their faces.

An idea of ​​the entire complex of the Streltsy military suit will be far from complete if we do not consider the details of the weapons. Traditionally, an ordinary archer is represented as armed with a self-propelled gun, an oriental-type saber and a reed. However, this was not always the case. And if the berdysh can really be considered an integral part of rifle weapons, then the situation with the rest is more complicated. The saber, for example, in 1674 had a Polish-style guard, and some city archers were generally armed with Western European swords (Savvino-Storozhevsky in 1659, Kirillo-Belozersky in 1665, etc.). Self-propelled guns (Russian-made guns) were in service with the archers only until the second half of the 17th century, and then were gradually replaced by larger-caliber, reliable and lightweight Western European muskets. By the way, the Moscow archers did not favor flint weapons; almost all of them were armed with matchlock muskets until the end of the 17th century. Among the archers there were also those armed with protazans - protazans. The armament of the flag bearers and musicians (vise players and drummers) was quite diverse. Although the Streltsy were sometimes armed with spears, they did not know how to use them, and there was not even such a category - “spearman” - among the Streltsy until the 1690s.

There were several types of reeds. Many of them have holes punched on the blunt side, and some contain images whose purpose is not yet clear. The most common is the fight between a horse and a snake. The size of the reed shaft should have ensured that it could be used as a rest for firing a musket. At the bottom of the shaft, faceted or oval in cross-section, a small spear was made for sticking the reed into the ground. During the campaign, the berdysh was worn behind the back on a shoulder strap, attached to two rings on the shaft.

The Streltsy commander was armed only with a saber. The rest of the initial people, in addition to sabers, also had richly decorated protazans.

Quite often, for special occasions, archers took special, richly decorated weapons from state reserves, but then handed them back.

The entire range of rifle weapons was either personal, or partially personal, or was completely issued by the state.

Regarding protective armor, we note the mention of such among the Streltsy bannermen. Thus, when describing the royal review on the Maiden Field in 1664, the flag bearers of the order of A.S. Matveev are mentioned, two of whom came to the review in cuirasses and one in armor.

Since the 40s of the 19th century (the time of the publication of the 1st part of the “Historical Description”), images of archers of the early 17th century in steel helmets of a not very clear style appeared in all publications with the light hand of Viskovatov. However, it is not difficult to recognize them as Western European cones of the Schutzenhaube type, standard for the second half of the 17th century. As noted above, the drawings from the “Book of the Election to the... Throne...”, which depict Streltsy in helmets, can be used as material for reconstructing the Streltsy costume of the 1670s, and not at all from the beginning of the 17th century.

The only known mention of the protective headgear of the Streltsy is found in the “Notes of Zhelyabuzhsky” in the description of the campaign to the Kozhukhov maneuvers on September 23, 1694: “... five Streltsy regiments marched: 1) Stremyannaya Sergeev, 2) Dementyev, 3) Zhukov, 4) Krivtsova, 5) Moksheeva. All these five regiments consisted of 3522 people. They were dressed in the old-fashioned way (in Eastern European dress - R.P.) in long caftans, wide trousers, with small helmets on their heads, they carried guns on their shoulders, and blunt spears in their hands.”

This mention is also interesting because the costume described is clearly of Polish origin, since it was the Poles who had lower caftans that were no less long than their upper ones and wore wide, not narrow, trousers.

In conclusion, a few words should be said about the numerous banners of the Streltsy orders (regiments). There were three types of banners: order (regimental), hundred (company) and “brotherly” (fiftieth). The regimental banner - a richly decorated large panel depicting various religious subjects - was brought into service extremely rarely; on special occasions, the function of permanent regimental distinction was performed by the centenarian banners, which were assigned to each hundred (company). Their colors often coincided with the colors of formal clothing. Finally, “brotherly banners” - rather badges - were small square pieces of colored fabric, sometimes decorated with some kind of geometric figure, such as an image of a cross.

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