Almost every year, usually during the latter part of summer, a Ukaz was issued by the imperial authorities to the Kazennaya palata, or the local government officer who would then set up a recruitment board made up of civilian and military officials.
The board was headed by a military receiver or voyennyy priemschchik. The Ukaz was accompanied by an imperial writ which stated how many recruits were needed, usually between one to twenty 'souls' from a serf's district. [1]
From 1796 to 1815 18 levies produced 1,616,199 recruits. In 1812 three levies were imposed,
the country which had been overrun by the enemy was exempted, but were charged at an increased rate in 1813. After vagrants, criminals and servants, had been sent to the army by their masters as punishment, [2} the recruiting board, or rekrutskoye prisutstviye would make up the levy required from the poll tax population of peasants and townspeople. Lots were drawn to see which families would have to supply a recruit. [3]
The family was then informed that they had to choose someone in their household to become a soldier. This Hobson's choice usually fell upon a brother, son or cousin who had the least responsibility within the Household. To prevent their relation from fleeing, which would mean
another member of the family with more responsibilities would have to go, it was not unknown for the family to place him under guard. [4] Later in the Nineteenth
Century it became the practice that if the chosen recruit ran away, then two members of the family would be conscripted. Though single men were preferred by their families to enlist, this was not always possible as the recruits sent to the Azov Infantry Regiment clearly shows.
[a]
However the authorities had to be careful not to ruin a family, because they still had to pay the poll tax and work the land. A household with two or more males would be chosen infavour of a family with just one man. In areas, like Siberia, conscription was kept to a minimum in order not to depopulated these districts. Monitory payments could also be made in lieu of a recruit or to bribe an official not to choose them. The richer peasants could also hire a poorer one to take his place, a practice which is known to have taken place in the province of Arkangel, at least.
[5]
There also appears to have been merchants trading in substitutes, who bought serfs from their masters and then sold them on to a would-be conscript. To stop abuses, these merchants were only allowed to buy one serf at a time and no serf could be sold within three months of the Ukaz being issued and all had to be registered. Nobles, merchants and the clergy were exempt from service
Another way of avoiding conscription was self mutilation, this could be through a loss of a finger or teeth, or by mange which was passed down from father to son, so that they would fail the medical. [6] Ear infections and hair loss were also considered as grounds for discharging a recruit from service. If a peasant was found to have deliberately made himself unserviceable then he would be severely punished. The authorities argued the only way to prevent these mutilations was to accept these recruits. It was only in 1828 that recruits with mange were to be enlisted in the ranks. [7] These reforms continued during the 1840s and 1850s, and so self mutilation declined. Alternatively a doctor could be bribed into accepting a recruit who was unfit for service. [8] [b]
The conscripts were taken to the recruiting officer, where if they were found to be fit for service they had their foreheads and beards shaved off to identify them as recruits. From 23 May 1808 recruits were dressed a fatigue outfit made of course grey cloth, instead of their peasants clothes, which further distinguished him from the serf population, incase he decided to desert.
[c] The recruit then swore an oath of allegiance to the Tsar and then was handed over to an escort. Their community had to pay for their uniforms, provisions and guards until they reached their new regiments.
English Eye Witnesses
Sir Robert Wilson's scene of new recruits leaving their villages is often quoted in English sources.
'The day of nomination is passed in general grief and each family is in unaffected affliction at the approaching separation of a son or a brother. But no sooner is the head of the reluctant conscript shaved, according to military habit; no sooner is he recognised as a defender of his country, than the plaints and lamentation cease, and all the relatives and friends present articles of dress or comfort to the no longer reluctant recruit; then revel, with the music and dance, until the moment arrives when he is to abandon his native home, and the adored tomb; with cheers the eternal farewell is mutually expressed, and the exulting soldier extends his regards to his country, and devotes his new life to the glory and prosperity of his sovereign and Russia."
[d]
However another contemporary of Wilson's, Robert Lyall records a very different scene;
'Contrary to the most lively part of the above description of Sir Robert Wilson, I have seen the recruits upon telegas and sledges, drawn at a solemn pace, and surrounded by their relations and friends who bewailed their fate in the most lamentable manner; while they dejected and absorbed in grief, sat like statues or lay extended like corpses. In fact a stranger would assuredly have imagined that he saw a funeral procession, and heard the lamentations and the wild shrieks, which in Russia are uttered for the dead. Nor, indeed, would the mistake be great according to the ideas of the peasantry who take ever lasting farewell of their children, brothers, relations and friends, and considered their entrance into the army as their moral death. They seldom indulged the hope of seeing them, or hearing from them again, especially in the distant governments of the empire, and but too often their anticipation proved correct. [e]
Year 1795 1811 Size of sample 198 547 average age 23 22 married % 50 56 Fathers % 22 35 literate 3 9 Trained in a craft 0 1 Social origin % Serfs 74 37 State peasants 24 53 Townsmen 2 1.6 Minorities
(inc. Tatars, Cheremis etc.)0 8 Others 0 0.4
'The lack of trousers
probably caused frostbite
in their groin area.'
The recruits were taken to their regiment, or from 30 October 1808 to one of 27 Zapasnyya Rekrutskiya Depo [9] or Replacement Recruit depots, which were hundreds of miles from their homes, to prevent them deserting. [f] While on the march the recruits were given basic drill on the march and were allowed to rest every third day. The long march was the least of the recruit's worries, from now on disease and corporal punishment was meeted out to him for any minor offence. Suicide was not unknown.
There were some bonuses, except on campaign. He would be fed regularly and new uniforms were
issued every year, according to the 1797 drill book this was 1 May, [10] however there is some evidence to suggest that this was later changed to 24 December.
[g]
Though the officials preferred single men, married men's wives and children would be free from their landlord or community. In theory they could either join their husbands or if living in a village get a grant of land. [11] However in practice the landlord or local authority no longer had any obligation to provide for her, she could only throw
herself on their mercy or turn to prostitution. She could not remarry until she had proof of
her husband's death. The soldier's sons could enter a military school, where they taught a
trade or join the army when they became of age. However there were very few provisions
for soldiers' daughters.
Training Camp
Once at training camp the recruit became a 'recruit-soldier', they were divided into small groups, under the guidance of an old soldier. In 1813 it was recommended for a soldier to be drilled for two to three hours in the morning and the same during the afternoon, each day except for Saturdays and Sundays. However it was up to the individual regiment to impose its own drill periods, which resulted in well trained and poorly drilled regiments. These drill sessions were carried out by the officers and NCOs, using the 1797 drill book which was based on Frederick the Great's drill manual, or their own version, until superseded by the 1812 regulations. Military discipline and drill was literally beaten into the recruits, despite efforts to stop this abuse. If a recruit moved, talked or even held his musket wrongly, for the second time, he would have to run the gauntlet, whereby the soldier had to run through his regiment, who were drawn up in two ranks facing each,other, while they hit or kicked him. An NCO would run in front of him to make sure he did not run too fast and an officer rode down the ranks making sure that his comrades did not pull their punches. [12] If he was lucky then he only had to run through once and receive about 2000 blows. Later for minor offences it was just a battalion which inflicted the punishment, or 500 blows, if the unit was up to strength. This harsh treatment would continue throughout their military life.
In 1803 a grenadier in the Izmailovsky Guards regiment wrote;
There was some attempt to prevent the beatings, even by Alexander I, but despite voicing his disapproval he did little to elevate the soldiers' sufferings. There was also non violent forms of imposing discipline, if an NCO he could be reduced to the ranks, or if a grenadier in a musketeer regiment then he would loose his elite status within the regiment. There are examples of soldiers complaining about this treatment, but this is usually the exception rather than the rule, because the other ranks were too frightened of the consequences.
Each morning and evening the roll was called and in addition on Sundays the recruits listened while the military regulations were read out. There was also regulations for religious services, which called for matins to be sung each day as well as vespers, and on Wednesdays, Sundays and holidays soldiers were to attend Mass. [i] Each regiment also contained a priest and 2 alter boys and probably its own Icon.
After eight month at the training camp, the recruit was ready to join his regiment. [13] In peace time each company was scattered into winter quarters, being quartered on peasant families, until April when it mustered for marroeuvres. In June the regiments mustered for further training. The colonel of the regiment could also use his men to work on his estate, or even 'hire them out to private individuals and keep their earnings (as if) by right.'
[j]
Though this practice was prohibited by Alexander, the practice continued, inasmuch that the Tsar had to alter his policy so that soldiers should not carry out dangerous work. However there is evidence to suggest that the private soldier also benefited from this work, not only by cutting down on boredom, but a company of artillerymen were paid 600 roubles per month for keeping order at a private theatre.
The soldiers were paid in advance three times a year, in theory on 1 January, 1 May and 1 September, in 1811 a private soldier in a field regiment during peace time was paid 9 roubles and 50 kopecks, or 14 roubles a year if he was a grenadier. During war time a soldier would also receive bonuses for active service and acts of bravery etc. [k]
Part of their pay could go towards the 'church chest' or artels which was a type of savings bank at company level or lower, whereby the soldiers could save up for extra food or even carts to carry their baggage on. The money was held by the company commander, unfortunately for the soldiers there are quite a few cases where a dishonest commander 'borrowed' their money for his own purposes.
On the march a soldier had to carry enough food for 4 days. In theory a daily ration was about 1 kg of grain and about 3/4 of sukhari, which was a type of hard tack biscuit. Bread and salt were also to be issued on campaign. This was washed down with kvas, a type of beer, though vodka is known to have been issued on occasions to keep up morale. Taking into account the religious fast days, the commissaries only ordered food for 360 days per year.
However in practice during the winter of 1806/1807 the Russian soldiers on campaign had to live off the local inhabitants, but even so they still went hungry. The same can be said of the 1812 and subsequent campaigns. [14]
In 1814 while in France, Faskevich wrote; 'the grenadiers shuttling between Nangis and Troyes fed themselves as and how they could, hardly getting a crust of bread and were completely famished by all the marches and counter marches. In the morning the soldier leaves his billet hungry, not having eaten the night before, nothing is made ready for him in advance, and when he arrives at his destination he finds nothing either. [l]
The authorties paid more attention to the soldiers' appearance, on 6 April 1813 while at Kalish, Lord Cathcart reported;
'The fate of was has unquestionably reduced the numbers of the Russianregiments, which have been 13 months in the field and where recruits havenot joined, but all the battalions, squadrons and batteries are in the mostperfect state of health, discipline and appearance.' [m]
The soldier's coat was to last two years and his great coat four, but the leather knapsacks were not waterproof and their trousers appear to have lasted on average six months. During the summer this was at least inconvenient, but during the winter, especially that of 1812, the lack of trousers could prove disastrous, as Sir Robert Wilson recalls;
'out of ton thousand recruits afterwards marched on Wilna as a reinforcement, only fifteen hundred reached that city; the greater part of these were conveyed to hospitals as sick or mutilated. One of the chief causes of their losses was that the trousers becoming worn by the continued marches in the inner part of the thighs exposed the flesh, so that the frost struck into it when chafed and irritated it with virulent activity.' [n]
The lack of trousers probably caused frostbite in their groin area.
At sometime during the Napoleonic era, a soldier would be called upon to fight a battle or skirmish. Stubborn in defence and aggressive in attack, all who witnessed the Russians in battle admired their courage, whether friend or foe. This courage was reinforced by drink on the morning of the battle by alcohol as Baron Marbot recalls at the battle of Eylau that the Russian infantry were 'soaked with spirits'. and when a French sergeant hid under Marbot's horse;
'a Russian grenadier, too drunk to stand steady, wishing to finish him (the French infantry) by a thrust in the breast, lost his balance, and the point of his bayonet went astray into my cloak, which at that moment was puffed out with the wind. Seeing that I did not fall, the Russian left the sergeant and aimed a great number of blows at me. These were at first fruitless, but one at last reached me, piercing my left arm ... The Russian grenadier with redoubled fury made another thrust at me, but stumbling with the force which he put into it, drove his bayonet into my mare's thigh. Her ferocious instincts being restored by the pain, she sprang at the Russian, and at one mouthful tore off his nose, lips, eyebrows and all the skin of his face, making him a living death's head, dripping with blood.' [o]
Though the Russians relied on the bayonet rather th
an fire power, each soldier as usually issued with 60 rounds, though his cartridge box held between 40 to 50 rounds. The remaining 10 to 20 rounds were stored in his knapsack, which if the battle became a protracted fire fight then there would be a desperate scramble to retrieve their remaining cartridges from their knapsacks. [p]
For those who were wounded in battle were said to have crawled eastwards, so that they could be nearer their homeland when they died. The wounded were left on the battlefield until they either died or were found and taken to hospital, for the majority the former was their fate.
[15]
Sir Robert Wilson recalls 'After the Battle of Eylau the wounded Russians and French at Konigsberg, did experience the kindest treatment, and ten thousand men in the hospitals were regularly dressed. [q] Though there was not enough hospitals to dress all the casualties, they were a marked improvement of what had gone before. The Prussian General, Count Gueisnau, was surprised to see how happy the patients were in these hospitals. A Russian soldier who was wounded at the Battle of Leipzig records that he had to walk several days before arriving at a field hospital, a further two weeks passed before his wound was dressed, which by now had become gangrenous. However he soon recovered and was able to enter Paris with his comrades. [r]
A part from bonuses for bravery etc., there were few rewards for a private soldier for good conduct, according to 1796 regulations nobles had to serve 3 years as NCOs as part of their officer training, whereas peasants had to serve at least 12 years. In 1806, because of casualties, this was changed to nobles serving three months as privates, and three months as an NCO before being promoted to officer status. This new regulation meant that the peasant soldier was even more excluded from the rank of NCO. The following is a break down of the origins of NCOs;
NCOs in eighteen musketeers regiments, 1807 [s]
social origin %
It was very rare for a peasant to be promoted to officer status since this would en-noble them, and their education ruled them out of making efficient officers. In 1798, Tsar Paul I decreed that non-nobles could not be made officers. [16]
For those who were not or could not get promotion for faithful service there were several awards he could receive, the Orders of St Anne and St George. The Order of St Anne was awarded for 20 years good service and from 1807 the Order of St George was awarded for bravery. The recipient was in turn awarded a pension. Only the emperor could deprive them of the award because of misconduct, like insubordination or drunkenness.
Because of disease and casualties it was reported to Alexander that the army renews it's personnel every five or six years, but if against all odds a soldier completed his 25 years service then he would be discharged from the army. [17]
In theory they returned to their home villages, where they were freemen rather than serfs to be kept by the civil authorities. In practice they had no land to support them and so they had to resort to begging. Moreover after 25 years of having their life planned for them, when to get up, when to eat and to go to bed etc., they no longer had these barriers to guide them. Psychologically they could not cope with this transformation in their lives.
If they were lucky then an ex-soldier, would be transferred to an Invalid Company within a Garrison Battalion, [18] where he would find a structured life and be on half pay. In 1812 de Raymond wrote the Russian soldier 'generally serves in the army for as long as he can and then joins a garrison, where he performs ordinary service until he becomes an invalid; he is then put in a monastery where, thanks to a frugal diet, he vegetates for a little while longer.' [t] There were a few invalid hospitals for the 'completely incapacitated'. However the majority went back to their villages, hopefully they would find their families there to welcome them home. For those who did not then they had to fend for themselves as best they could until they died.
[1] For conscription purposes the serfs were divided into 4 classes, Le stste peasents, manorial serfs and townsmen etc, each made up a district of 500 male 'souls'
[a] E K Wirtschafter From Serf to Russian Soldier
For my country I stand on guard
Yet my back is beaten hard
The stick's the sole reward for me
Who defends us from the enemy.
He who beats his men a lot
Rises straight up to the top
And is thought extremely keen
Though a devil he has been
He who fails this brutal test
Has to serve with the rest [h]. Size of sample 1,993
Average age 29
Average length of service before promotion 9 years
Peasant 44%
Soldier's children 23%
Nobles 13%
Sacristans 8%
Single householders 4%
Urban 3%
Cossacks 1%
Ethnic minorities 1%
Clergy 0.7%
State officials 0.45%
Others 0.6%Footnotes
[2] Robert Lyall writes being a soldier is 'the most severe punishment in Russia: perhaps even more dreaded than a trip to Siberia; because the peasents know what is a soldiers life; but few return to carry tidings from the mines in the east' (Travels in Russia p. 137)
[3] In 1766 the minimum height of a recruit was set at 5'3" and between 17 and 35. Though the age limit was increased to 19 in 1808. But because more and more recruits were needed the hight limit was reduced, in 1812 it became 4'11.5" and the minimum age was 12. However in 1815 the height and age limit returned to its 1766 level. (Wirtschafter From Serf to Russian Soldier pp. 15-16)
[4] In 1811 Admiral mordvinov reported to the Tsar that upon hearing of the levy 'any young man will try to hide; (and) for this reason his relatives place him under guard, shackle him in irons, (and) treat him like a villain' From Serf to Russian Soldier p. 6)
[5] In 1730s one richer village had brought up a poorer one, so that when the richer village was required to provide a recruit, they sent a serf from the poor village instead. (J Keep, Soldiers of the Tsar p. 151)
[6] It was found by officials that women were ten times less likely to contract mange, than their husbands and brothers. Moreover this condition ceased when the men were over 35 and so too old to serve in the army. (From Serf to Russian Soldier p.7)
[7] Medical deficiences were set in Alexander I's reign, included, hair loss, which was seen by doctors of the time as a disease, as being 2 or 3 teeth missing so that they could not bite the end of their carriages when loading a musket, though this was relaxed in 1812 by 6 to 8 teeth as long as they weren't the front ones. In 1836 officials found that conscripts were putting beeswax, lard etc into their ears which produced signs of an ear infection. (J. Keep: Soldiers of the Tsar p. 154)
[8] In 1795 18 recruits sent for the Perm estate of the Stoganov family cost 460 roubles, including 25 roubles in bribing the doctor, 15 to an official in the Kaxannaya palata and other sums to officers and NCOs, who had marked up the height of one recruit. (Soldiers of the Tsar p. 149)
[9] From 16 March 1811 each of these depots were allocated to a Division, until they were disbanded on 27 June 1812, having been dissolved to form a fourth battalion to each musketeer and Jager regiments
[10] Uniforms issued to the Russian infantry were 1 shako, 1 greatcoat, 1 coat, 1 waistcoat, 1 pair of gaiter-trousers, 1 pair of linen drawers, 1 cravat, 1 forage cap, gloves, 2 pairs of boots, 3 shirts, 3 pairs of stockings, a pair of drawers, 2 pairs of soles and 1 knapsack.
[11] Only a tiny minority of wives seem to have joined their husbands, between 1841 and 1844 of 142,618 married men serving in the army as privates, only 9 of their wives were present. The figure increases officers and musicians, of 10,832 officers and 3,324 musicians, 36 and 34 wives respectively were present with the army. (From Serf to Russian Soldier p. 37)
[12] Other punishments were riding the horse and holding at least three muskets above his head for two hours.
[13] Another source says 2 years, but this seems too long a period.
[14] The name Bistro, for cafe, traditionally,got its name from the Russians in Paris, who rushed into the cafes and asked for food quickly. The Russian for quickly is bistro.
[15] During the retreat from Moscow in 1812, the armies marched passed the field of Borodino where the bodies still lay unburied.
[16] Fortunately for Michael Barclay de Tolly, this rule came too late for him. He enlisted in a dragoon regiment in 1776 later becoming an NCO, it was only after distinguishing himself in 1790 that he became adjutant to Prince Rupin. From there his rise was meteoric.
[17] Up to 1793 the length of service had been life. In 1811 Mordvinov suggested a further reduction of 12 years service, but without success.
[18] From 30th April 1802 Garrison battalions consisted of 4 Combat companies. If a Battalion garrisoned a Russian town or city then it was supplemented by one invalid company.
SOURCES
[b] E K Wirtschafter From Serf to Russian Soldier pp6-8
[c] A V Viskovatov Historical Description of the Clothing and Arms of the Russian Army vol. XIII pp45-46 St Petersburg 1900
[d] Sir Robert Wilson 'Breif Remarks on the Character and Composition of the Russian Army' in Campaigns in Poland 18061807 pp 10-11
[e] Robert Lyall Travels in Russia pp 140-142
[f] A V Viskovatov Historical Description of the Clothing and Arms of the Russian Army volume 10a p 15. Translated by Mark Conrad.
[g] Regulations of his Imperial Majesty's conceming the service of the Infantry p280; PRO WO 1/420
[h] Quoted in J Keep Soldiers of the Tsar p 176
[i] Regulations of his Imperial Majesty's concerning the service of the Infanhy p378
[j] Quoted in J Keep Soldiers of the Tsar p 176
[k] ibid pp 178, 180, 182
[l] qouted in ibid p188
[m] FRO FO 181/25 Lord Cathcart to Castlereagh, Kalish 6 April 1813
[n] Sir Robert Wilson The F),ench Invasion of Russia pp352-353
[o] translator Arthur Butler Memoirs of Baron de Marbot pp214213, Longman 1893
[p] FRO WO 1/420
[q] Sir Robert Wilson Campaigns in Poland 1806 and 1807 p53 18 J Keep Soldiers of the Tsar p 196
[r] E K Wirtschafter From Serf to Russian Soldier p44
[s] Quoted in J Keep Soldier of the Tsar p 198
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