The birth of the Peter's Guard.

Here, in the forests and fields of Preobrazhensky, on the banks of the Yauza, Peter could, having escaped from the classroom, indulge in his amusements with all his heart. From early childhood, his favorite thing was to play war. During the reign of Fyodor, a small parade ground was specially arranged for Peter in the Kremlin, where he could drill his young playmates.

In the vastness of Preobrazhensky there was more than enough space for such exciting games. Boys have always played war. The only difference is that Peter, unlike his peers, could turn to the state arsenal for the necessary equipment, request uniforms, banners, and wheeled guns. And very soon the fourteen-year-old king turned Preobrazhenskoye into a real military camp.

The first detachment of “Petrine soldiers” included his childhood friends, assigned to his service as soon as the future emperor reached the age of five. Children for royal amusements were selected from boyar families, and the prince had his own retinue. But soon this was not enough for Peter, and he decided to involve new boys in his fun. Some noble children themselves asked to serve in his service, hoping to win Peter’s favor and secure their place in the sun in the future. But among the young volunteers there were boys of simple origin, such as Sashka Menshikov. In total, three hundred teenagers and young men lived in the Preobrazhensky barracks, learning the science of soldiers. They all received a salary, and Peter treated them as like-minded friends. This is how Peter’s glorious Preobrazhensky Regiment was born.

When all the apartments of Preobrazhensky were filled with the boys' army, new barracks were built in neighboring Semenovsky, and the company stationed there soon became the Semenovsky Regiment, the second of the regiments of the Imperial Guard. Each of them had three hundred soldiers. Both regiments included all types of troops - infantry, cavalry and artillery. Everything was like in a real army. And the flutists, and the drummers, beating out the beat, and the uniforms, sewn according to Western style. Black boots, black cocked hats, camisoles with wide cuffs on the sleeves. For Semyonovtsy - deep blue, and for Preobrazhentsy - dark green.

But what is an army without military leaders?

The command staff was also formed - staff officers, non-commissioned officers and sergeants. Even a treasury, quartermaster and management service were created. And all this was run by young soldiers, who began to be called amusing. Like adults, they had the most severe drill. The soldiers set up guards around their barracks and took turns on watch. Having gained experience, the amusing troops soon began marching around the surrounding area. At night they set up camp, dug trenches, and set up their patrol.

The game of being a soldier captured young Peter. But the most amazing thing is that instead of giving himself a high command rank, the tsar signed up for the Preobrazhensky Regiment as an ordinary drummer. Neither in the barracks nor on campaigns did he allow himself to be singled out from the rest. I wanted to be like everyone else. That’s why I stood guard at night, slept in a tent with everyone else, and worked as a shovel. In a word, he did not behave like a king.

But, starting from the lower ranks, Peter diligently strived for promotion. He was sincerely convinced that a real commander must go through all the stages - from bottom to top. And Peter made one more conclusion for himself in those years of fun: one should look not at nobility, but at a person’s abilities. Each generation is obliged to achieve ranks and honor through its own merits, and not thanks to the name of its parents.

In 1685, in order to learn how to build, defend and storm fortifications, Peter and his associates spent about a year building an earthen fortress on the banks of the Yauza, in the area of ​​today's Poteshnaya Street. As soon as the fortress was ready, Peter decided to test its strength and fired from cannons, and then, together with everyone else, began to rebuild it again. Over time, it grew into a fortified town, which was called Preschburg. It had its own garrison, city administration, court and even the amusing “King of Preshburg”. He was portrayed by one of Peter's comrades, and he obeyed him. As a joke, of course.

This is how the young tsar “had fun” in Preobrazhenskoe, preparing himself and the country for great changes that went down in history as the reforms of Peter the Great.

The street names have preserved the glorious history of the Preobrazhenskoye district!

Fun street.

beginning Preobrazhenskaya street, end - Bogorodsky Val
It received its name only at the end of the 19th century. Before this there was a Designed Lane. The street is located on the site of the Amusing Town, where at the end of the 17th century participants in the amusing games of young Peter, future soldiers of the Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments lived.

Stick Lane.

beginning Elektrozavodskaya st., end - Suvorovskaya st.
It got its name in the 18th century. Some researchers believe that the lane was named because of the soldiers who marched daily with sticks in their hands. This is how the exercises took place in Peter’s army. Other historians associate this unusual name with the beatings that were “rewarded” to guilty soldiers here.

Lanes are “deserters”.

Since 1991, the three oldest lanes of Preobrazhensky - Medovy, Barabanny and Mazhorov - whose names reflect the era of Peter I, became part of the Sokolinaya Gora district. But we still call them the ancient alleys of Preobrazhensky.

Drum Lane.

beginning B. Semenovskaya st., end M. Semenovskaya st.
It received its name back in the 18th century and is associated with the Semenovsky regiment. Drummers beat out the dawn in the morning.

Mazhorov Lane.

(between B. Semenovskaya St. and M. Semenovskaya St.)
It has had this name since the 18th century. Previously it was called Kislovsky, after the kislovniks who lived here, next to the honey yard. The name comes from the position of drum major - senior drummer in a military orchestra, who had his own palace in this alley. The orchestra of the Semenovsky Guards Regiment was stationed nearby. On old plans of Moscow, the lane is designated differently: Mazharov - Mozharov - Mozharovsky - Mazhorny - Mazhorova Street. Since 1973, the lane was called Mozherov. But later the correct spelling was fixed - Mazhorov.

Honey Lane.

(between B. Semenovskaya St. and Ninth Rota St.)
Once upon a time there was a royal meadery here. There were forests and fields, orchards and vegetable gardens around. The peasants were engaged in beekeeping, and in this alley they brewed honey and supplied a useful product to His Majesty’s table.

Ninth Rota Street.

Beginning of Honey Lane, end - Preobrazhensky Val
The street got its name in the 18th century and was never renamed. Many residents of the Preobrazhenskaya Soldiers' Settlement were like Sergei Bukhvostov. The lower ranks of the first two, future guards, regiments lived here. The officers mainly consisted of foreigners, who did not favor Preobrazhenskoye. They settled in the German Settlement, which resembled a small European city with stone mansions and palaces. And Preobrazhenskaya Sloboda seemed to them a large village, with dirty streets reminiscent of a swamp during muddy times. It was built up with wooden houses with stables, barns, and sometimes shops. Around 1687, the soldiers of this settlement, on the instructions of the tsar, were divided into two battalions of three hundred people each. Two years later, there were four battalions, and since 1691 they were already called the Preobrazhensky Regiment. It has 16 fuseliers, grenadier and bombardier companies - three and a half thousand people. A stone church, the Preobrazhensky Prikaz (“moving out hut”), military warehouses, stables, and a royal courtyard are being built here. The settlement is not built spontaneously, but according to a plan. The 1696 inventory names “First,” “Second,” “Third,” and “Fourth” streets; “Half of the tenth company,” and “Sloboda from the grove.” The lanes do not yet have names and are listed as “traversable”. Thirty years later, in the northern part of Preobrazhensky, from west to east, Sipovshivaya Street (where the “Sipovshchiki” - musicians of the military orchestra lived), Third Street, “Bezezzhaya” Street or 10th Company Street lived. In the southern part there were, respectively, Generalnaya Street, the street “from the Sezzhay Izba”, Suvorovskaya Street and the 9th Company Street. All of them overlooked a wide section of the Stromynskaya road, where Preobrazhenskaya Square later arose.

Street names by homeowner:

Suvorovskaya street
start - Preobrazhenskaya Square, end - Figurny Lane. It received its name in 1793 after the landlady, Prime Minister Suvorova. On old plans of Moscow it is listed as Suvorov Street. In early sources (Martynov, 1888), in addition to the surname of the prime minister, her first name and patronymic are indicated. This is Anna Ivanovna Suvorova. In others, the most recent (Romanyuk, 1998), Anna Vasilievna is called the owner of the property. In Soviet times, another version appeared: the street was named after the grandfather of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, who held a significant position at that time as a clerk of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Ivan Suvorov was on friendly terms with Peter; moreover, the Tsar was his godfather - the godfather of his son Vasily (the father of the future commander).
Now, after the publication of the book by A.N. Narbut “The family and descendants of Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov" from the series "Genealogical paintings", which was published in the 2nd additional edition in Moscow in 2001, it seems appropriate to make adjustments to the existing versions. The author has studied the genealogy of the Suvorov family, clarified the names, dates of life, and military ranks of relatives of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. His grandfather, Ivan Grigorievich, was born around 1670 and died in 1715. Suvorovskaya Street received its name 78 years after his death. After so many years, in his honor, even if he was the grandfather of Chief General Count Suvorov-Rymniksky, Count of the Roman Empire, Knight of the Order of St. George 1st degree, in the 18th century, unlike Soviet times, streets were not named. As for the landlady of the prime minister, Anna Ivanovna Suvorova, then, based on the date the street acquired its name, it makes sense to find out the relationship of this Anna Ivanovna with Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov himself, and not with his grandfather. In the Suvorov family tree there is no one with the name Anna Ivanovna. However, there are two Anna Vasilievnas. One of them, nee Countess Zotova, was the wife of her uncle A.V. Suvorov, guard captain-lieutenant Alexander Ivanovich Suvorov (1709-1753). It is known that Anna Vasilievna was born in 1719 and outlived her husband. However, it is doubtful that she lived until 1793, and she certainly was not a prime minister. (According to the Table of Ranks, the rank of captain-lieutenant is class 10, and the rank of prime major is class 8). The other Anna Vasilievna Suvorova (1744-1813) is the sister of A.V. Suvorova was married to Lieutenant General Prince Ivan Romanovich Gorchakov (1716-1801). That is, she was a general’s wife and a princess and could not be a housewife in Preobrazhenskaya Sloboda. (Lieutenant General - rank 3rd class of the Table of Ranks.) A.N. Narbut provides information about other branches of the Suvorovs. Anna Ivanovna's husband from Preobrazhenskaya Sloboda, Prime Major Suvorov, must have come from another Suvorov family. It remains only to find out who the owner of the property of Prime Major Suvorov was, either Anna Vasilievna, or Anna Ivanovna, the grandfather of the great commander. But in any case, streets at that time were named after homeowners, and not after them.

Zhidkov Lane
between B. Cherkizovskaya st. and 2nd Pugachevskaya street. (inside the block)
Named at the end of the 19th century after the homeowner. Currently, there is only one two-story house built at the end of the 19th century at this address. In directories from the 1990s, the lane is still marked.

Strakhovskaya street
(between M. Cherikizovskaya and Zeliev lane (inside the block)
The street got its name at the end of the 19th century. This street's days are numbered. There is only one five-story brick house with two entrances. This name no longer appears in many recent directories of Moscow, just as Figurnov Lane is not in them.

Figurny Lane
Between Suvorovskaya St. and Buzheninova st. Named in the 19th century after the surname of the homeowner Figurin. On old plans of Moscow it is designated differently: Figurov, Figurin. Until the 90s, it was designated in reference books as Figurny Lane. This is the only dead-end (previously such lanes were called dumb) lanes in our area. There are no residential buildings at this address. Currently, two buildings from the 19th century house small commercial organizations.

Names were given to the villages.

Alymova street
beginning Znamenskaya street, end Alymov lane.
It received its name in 1922 from the once nearby village of Alymovo (later Bogorodskoye). The old name - Cherkizovsky Proezd - arose in the 19th century in the direction of the neighboring village of Cherkizovo. The toponym Alymovo comes from the Tatar name Alim. Materials on the history of the Alymovs have been preserved only since the beginning of the 16th century. The origin of the genus and its early fate, unfortunately, are unknown. True, the literature sometimes indicates that the village of Alymovo was bought by Prince Ivan Lykov from a baptized Tatar in 1550-1551. But this is just a version. There is no documentary evidence for it. Ivan Lykov-Obolensky became a victim of oprichnina terror. Alymovo went to Ivan the Terrible. In 1568, the lands were granted by the sovereign to the Chudov Monastery and belonged to it until 1764. They were then transferred to the State Treasury. In the census books of the 17th century, the village of Alymovo is already mentioned as the village of Bogorodskoye with the Church of the Assumption.

Bogorodsky Val
beginning of Gannushkina emb. - end of Krasnobogatyrskaya street. It received its name in 1922 after the village of Bogorodskoye (formerly Bogorodsky Kamer-Kollezhsky Val), which was once located behind it. In the Guide to Moscow and its environs of 1884 we read: “Bogorodskoye is located right behind Sokolniki and is a rather picturesque village in a healthy mountainous area among forests. IN Lately However, thanks to the cheapness of the premises, such a mass of the poor class of Moscow people were crowded here that the air was no longer as good as it used to be. The most important attraction here is the so-called Bogorodskaya bald spot - a small circle where Bogorodsk youth of both sexes flock in the evening, who often dance in the rain and almost in the mud to the sounds of the piano until dawn. There are also dance evenings here twice a week, quite lively, to the sounds of a military band. The entrance fee for visitors was then 1 ruble. Traveling to Bogorodskoye from the Ilyinsky Gate along the line costs 20 kopecks.”

Preobrazhensky Val
beginning Preobrazhenskaya Square, end Izmailovsky Val
The street appeared in 1922 on the site of the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val, adjacent to the former village of Preobrazhenskoye and the Preobrazhenskaya outpost.

Preobrazhenskaya Square
between Preobrazhenskaya St., Preobrazhensky Val and Suvorovskaya St.
Received its name in the 20th century. Before that it was called the Preobrazhenskaya Zastava, which appeared with the construction of the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val. At the beginning of the century, elms were planted on one side of the street, and 81 trees appeared along the garden path, replacing the sidewalk.

Army of Peter 1- a regular army created by the Russian Emperor Peter I on the basis of the so-called troops that began to appear in Russia during the reign of his father. foreign regiments, taking into account the latest European achievements in this area. Replaced the irregular local troops, which were a feudal relic, and the streltsy units, which opposed Peter I during the struggle for power and were then repressed by him. The army was staffed on the basis of conscription (compulsory service for nobles also remained until the mid-18th century).

Russian army before Peter

Russian state The 17th century was able to field more than 200 thousand people. But this army, huge at that time, was very heterogeneous in its composition and training. Basically, it consisted of a militia of service people who lived on land provided to them by the state “for service.” At the call of the government, they had to go on a campaign on horseback and with weapons, which, according to a special list, corresponded to the amount of land given to the serviceman.

The core of the Moscow army was actually a militia and did not at all resemble a regular army. This was a hereditary army. The son of a service man was supposed to become a service man with age. Each warrior went on a campaign and supported himself in the army at his own expense; This army did not have any training bearing and uniform weapons.

Since the 17th century, service people were settled especially densely on those outskirts of the state, which at that time were especially threatened by enemies - the Crimean Tatars and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that is, service people lived more along the southern and western borders of the state. In the 17th century, wars with Sweden began, and the northwestern border, less densely populated by service people, acquired particular importance. Thereby Russian army could not concentrate here quickly enough and therefore often suffered defeats.

The Moscow government was aware of all these shortcomings in the structure of its troops. Even in the early days of the Russian state, to assist the mounted service militia, the government began to establish detachments of infantry and artillery that constantly served and trained in their work - these were regiments of archers and detachments of gunners and fighters. The structure of the Streltsy army was, however, such that the Streltsy, living in peacetime in their settlements and engaged in crafts and small trade, were more like a settled militia than a regular army. In addition, the training of this army was very weak from a military point of view. When meeting with the better trained regular troops of the Swedes, the Russians, if not overwhelmed by numbers, were forced to retreat.

Since the time of Vasily III, the Moscow government began to hire entire detachments of foreign infantry for service. At first, these detachments played only the role of an honorary escort for the sovereign, but since the Time of Troubles, detachments of hired foreign servicemen began to enter the Russian army. The government of Tsar Michael in 1631, expecting a war with Poland, sent Colonel Alexander Leslie to Sweden to recruit 5,000 infantry soldiers.

However, as happened in 1634 in the Russian-Polish war near Smolensk, it was possible for foreign mercenaries to go over to the enemy’s side. Therefore, several infantry and cavalry regiments were created, including from unplaced and small-scale service people who were trained by foreign officers. By the end of the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich, there were already 63 regiments of such an army numbering 90 thousand people.

Along with the organization of regiments of a foreign system, a change in the structure of the army of the Russian state was also planned, according to “new inventions in the field of war”, for which, under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, a commission was formed in 1681 of elected officials from all service ranks, chaired by Prince V.V. Golitsyn.

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

Peter's transformations in military affairs

Thus, Peter inherited an army from his predecessors, even if it did not satisfy all the requirements of the then military science, then already adapted for further reconstruction due to new requirements. In Moscow there were two “elected” regiments (Butyrsky and Lefortovo), which were headed by Peter’s teachers in military affairs: P. Gordon and F. Lefort.

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

The Kozhukhov maneuvers (1694) showed Peter the advantage of regiments of the “foreign” formation over the archers. The Azov campaigns, in which, along with the Streltsy army and irregular cavalry, four regular regiments (Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Lefortovo and Butyrsky regiments) participated, finally convinced Peter of the low suitability of the troops of the old organization. Therefore, in 1698, the old army was disbanded, except for 4 old regiments (their total number was 28 thousand people), which became the basis of the new army:

• Pervomoskovsky Regiment (Lefortovo)
• Butyrsky Regiment
• Preobrazhensky Regiment
• Semenovsky regiment.

In preparation for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to carry out a general recruitment and begin training of recruits according to the model established by the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy. At the same time, a large number of foreign officers were recruited. This first recruitment yielded 25 new infantry regiments and 2 cavalry-dragoon regiments. The entire newly recruited army of 35-40 thousand people was divided into three “generalships” (divisions): A. M. Golovin, A. A. Weide and Prince A. I. Repnin.

The war was supposed to begin with the siege of Narva, so the main attention was paid to organizing the infantry. The operations of the field army were to be supported by local cavalry (only two dragoon regiments managed to be formed from the “new” cavalry). There was simply not enough time to create all the necessary military structures. There were legends about the tsar’s impatience; he was impatient to enter the war and test his army in action. Management, a combat support service, and a strong, well-equipped rear had yet to be created.

By the beginning of the Northern War, Peter's teachers, Generals P. Gordon and F. Lefort, as well as Generalissimo A.S. Shein, had died, so the new army was entrusted to F.A. Golovin, who received the rank of Field Marshal. However, Peter did not dare to entrust his army to an excellent administrator, but not a military leader, in a real battle against the Swedes. On the eve of the Battle of Narva, he and F.A. Golovin left the Russian army, and the main command was entrusted to the Saxon Field Marshal Duke de Croix.

The defeat at Narva showed that everything had to start virtually all over again. The appeal of the Swedish king Charles XII against the Saxon elector and the Polish king Augustus II gave Peter time to carry out the necessary changes. The campaigns of 1701–04 in Ingria and Livonia made it possible to provide combat experience to the emerging Russian units. Peter I entrusted general military-administrative orders to the boyar T. N. Streshnev.

In 1705, Peter I introduced regular recruitment. In the same year, despite many objections, Peter introduced separate command of the infantry and cavalry: the infantry was headed by Field Marshal-Lieutenant General G. B. Ogilvi, the cavalry by Field Marshal General B. P. Sheremetev (thus the concept of the Big Regiment ceased to exist) . G. B. Ogilvy introduced brigades of 4 regiments and divisions of 2–3 brigades. In the fall of 1706, G. B. Ogilvy entered the service of the Saxon Elector; after that, the Russian infantry was led by B.P. Sheremetev, and the cavalry by Prince A.D. Menshikov.

By the beginning of Charles XII's campaign against Russia (summer of 1708), the infantry of the Russian field army consisted of 32 infantry regiments, 4 grenadier regiments and 2 guards regiments (57,000 people in total). The Russian cavalry in 1709 consisted of 3 horse grenadier, 30 dragoon regiments and three separate squadrons (Menshikov General, Kozlovsky and B.P. Sheremetev’s Home). The Russian army also included garrison infantry regiments and land militia units. In addition, the Streltsy regiments existed until the second half of the 18th century: in 1708 there were 14 of them, in 1713 there were at least 4.

As a result, during the Northern War of 1700-1721, a new Russian army was created, built on conscription. It became permanent and regular; all people of the Russian state (except for residents of some of the national outskirts) were obliged to serve in it, without distinction of class. Simultaneously with the creation of the army itself, the management of this military force of the country was also developed, institutions were created that were in charge of the economy of the troops, combat training of soldiers and officers, uniforms and equipment. By the end of Peter's reign, these functions were transferred to the Military Collegium with departments subordinate to it, headed by: General Provision Master, General Kriegskommissar (chief military judge), General Feldzeichmeister (chief of artillery, engineers and sapper unit) and Generalitet (General Staff) .

Infantry Regiment under Peter I

The infantry regiment of Peter the Great's times consisted of two battalions, with some exceptions: the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment had 4 battalions, the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, as well as the Ingermanland and Kiev Infantry Regiments - three each.

Each battalion had four companies, the companies were divided into four plutongs. At the head of the company was a captain. He had to “educate” his company militarily and for this everything “military orders should be considered wisely”. In addition to the commander, the company had three more officers - a lieutenant, a second lieutenant and an ensign. the lieutenant was an assistant to the company commander and had to “report in detail on everything” to the latter about everything. The second lieutenant helped the lieutenant, while the ensign was obliged to carry the banner in the ranks; besides he had to “to visit the weak all day long” and intercede for the lower ranks "When they fall into punishment".

Among the commanders from the lower ranks, the first place in the company was occupied by two sergeants, who had “a lot to do in the company”; The ensign had the task of replacing the ensign at the banner, the captain was in charge of weapons and ammunition, and the corporals commanded the plutongs.

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

Cavalry

The various cavalry of the beginning of Peter's reign (reiters, spearmen, hussars) in Peter's army were replaced by dragoon regiments.

The dragoon (horse grenadier) regiment consisted of 5 squadrons (2 companies each) and numbered 1,200 people. In the dragoon regiment, 9 companies were fusiliers and one grenadier. A separate squadron consisted of 5 companies (600 people). According to the states of 1711, the regiment included 38 staff and chief officers, 80 non-commissioned officers, 920 privates, and 290 non-combatants. The company consisted of 3 chief officers, 8 non-commissioned officers, and 92 private dragoons.

Artillery

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

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

Garrison troops

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

Weapons and uniforms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production to ranks and training

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The results of Peter's reforms in the army

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

Purpose of the lesson: Introducing students to the history of the creation of a regular army in Russia.

Audience: from 3rd to 11th grades.

Equipment:

• Personal Computer
• Multimedia projector
• Screen

Lesson structure:

1. Organizational moment (meeting the audience, announcing the topic of the lesson, familiarizing yourself with the rules of the control quiz)
2. View the educational presentation “The Fun Shelves of Peter the Great”
3. Conducting a quiz to test acquired knowledge.
4. Winner's reward ceremony

Hello guys!

Today we will talk about the “amusing” regiments of Peter the Great. I understand that the word amusing evokes associations with children’s games, but Petrusha was only 11 years old at that time. From an early age, Pyotr Alekseevich was distinguished by his height, physical strength, dexterity and intelligence. How tired he was of these endless receptions, magnificent celebrations and ceremonies accepted at court.

It is not surprising that the boy ran away from the stuffy royal chambers into the courtyard, where a gang of boys was already waiting for him.

Here he felt free and ruled not by the right of the royal heir, but thanks to his qualities as a born leader. The company he has chosen is, frankly speaking, a mixed bag.

Here were not only the sons of boyars and princes, but also ordinary people: sleepers, stewards, falconers, grooms, etc. Strength, dexterity, intelligence, the ability to make friends - this is what Petrusha valued much more than noble origin. When he grew up and became a king, among his entourage one could see the simplest people......but more on that later. What do the boys do for fun, well, of course, playing “war”, but our Petrusha had different toys. Yes, at first, war games were held on a “funny” site opposite the Kremlin Palace. The number of the “amusing” army did not exceed 50 boys, the cannons were wooden, the guns were toy, the broadswords were not sharpened, and only the Streltsy uniform, sewn to a child’s standards, was real. But it didn't last long. By order of the heir, real muskets, fuses, arquebuses, cannonballs, bullets and gunpowder were delivered from the armories. The boys begin to learn how to shoot at a target. The number of “amusing” ones is growing rapidly, so Peter moves the war games to the Moscow region (the villages of Vorobyovo and Preobrazhenskoye). To tell the truth, his move with his mother Natalya Kirillovna to the suburbs of Moscow was by no means voluntary. After the Streltsy rebellion, where Peter's sister, Princess Sophia, took power, the disgraced queen was exiled with her son to the village of Vorobyovo. Bloody scenes of the riot took place before the boy's eyes.

Relatives and friends of his mother were chopped down with sabers, raised on pikes and burned with hot iron, all this left its mark on the personality of the future king. The young heir to the Russian throne understood perfectly well that the power of the monarch rested on the bayonets of his soldiers.

Even if you are the heir to the throne at least three times, you will not be able to sit on the throne without the support of an army, and with redoubled zeal he begins to create his own army, and not just any army, but the best! Peter’s orientation to the west was also not accidental. Prince Yakov Lukich Dolgoruky, who was leaving for France as an envoy, came to Preobrazhenskoye to bow to the young Tsar.

Peter proudly showed Yakov Lukich his army, but complained about the difficulties of determining distances during artillery fire. Dolgoruky said that he had a German instrument (astrolabe), with which you can find out the distance to a target without leaving the spot, but it was stolen. The king became very interested in the curiosity and ordered the prince to buy it abroad. Having received the desired device, Petrusha was faced with another problem - HE CAN’T KNOW USE IT! WHO WILL TEACH? The Russian military was not familiar with this instrument, and only the Dutchman Franz Timmerman from the “German Settlement” was able to teach the Tsar how to use it. From this moment on, Peter begins to study mathematics, geometry and fortification. The lack of military specialists forced the king to look for them among foreigners. I didn't have to walk far. After all, in Moscow, all foreigners who came to serve the Russian court settled in the “German” settlement. There he met Fedor Sommer (specialist in subversive work), Patrick Gordon (military engineer and artilleryman), Franz Lefort (professional warrior, mercenary), Karsten Brandt (ship carpenter), ... and many others. Now real professionals were training Peter and his soldiers. The army was built according to the Western European model (like Louis XIV). The “amusing” ones were taught how to use the most modern types of weapons (fusees, cannons, grenades).

The use of guns required considerable physical strength from the artillerymen, so adults began to be enrolled in the “amusing” classes. One of the first to sign up was the court groom - Sergei Leontievich Bukhvostov. It was he who was the first to put on a European-style soldier's uniform and became the “first Russian soldier”.

In 1684, in the village of Preobrazhenskoe near Moscow on the banks of the Yauza River, the “amusing” earthen town “Preshburg” (named after the Austrian fortress “Presburg”, now Bratislava) was built; Peter himself worked on its construction (he participated in the design of fortifications, carried it in a wheelbarrow land, installed tools). Under the command of foreign officers, the troops maneuvered on both sides and stormed fortifications from land and water.

Already in 1691, the “amusing” troops received the correct organization and were divided into two regiments, Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky, and received uniforms according to Western European models.

What does it mean?

Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy were divided into companies, they had their own banners, sergeants and unified uniforms. Dark green for the former, and blue for the latter.

The final exam of the newly formed army was the “Kozhukhov maneuvers” (September 27 (October 7) - October 17 (October 27), 1694) - in fact, these were the first major military maneuvers in the history of Russia!

The attacking side were regiments of the “new system” and local cavalry (about 9 thousand people in total), the defending side was mainly rifle regiments (about 7.5 thousand people).

EVERYTHING WAS LIKE AN ADULT!

The “amusing” Kozhukhov maneuvers near Moscow almost turned into a tragedy for Lefort: a fire pot filled with four pounds of gunpowder hit his shoulder, which burned his neck and face. But the general still managed to hoist his banner on the ruins of the “enemy’s” fortifications.

The campaign showed the advantage of the regiments of the “new system” and revealed the need for military reforms in the Russian state. His experience was used in the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696.

It’s just that the moment when the regiments received their high rank of guards was still far away. For the first time, the Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy “smelled gunpowder” during the Azov campaigns and earned the reputation of “good soldiers” from the Tsar and his foreign advisers. However, in addition to the army, the state also needed a navy: not only master shipbuilders, but also naval officers. It was also necessary to reorganize the artillery, create and train new regular regiments.

So the Preobrazhentsy and Semyonovtsy turned from soldiers into students and then teachers.

The most talented of them - sergeants and officers of the bombardment (artillery) company - go with Peter to Europe to study science.

It is noteworthy that Peter himself comprehends the wisdom of carpentry, blacksmithing, maritime and military crafts on an equal basis with everyone else. There is no case with which Pyotr Alekseevich would not be familiar.

Talented shipbuilders, diplomats, artillerymen, engineers and officers emerge from among the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy...

The Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments officially became guards on August 22, 1700, the day of the defeat of the Russian army near Narva.

In this battle, the guard saved the remnants of the defeated Russian troops. As a token of gratitude, the officers were awarded silver breastplates. In addition, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy received red stockings as a sign that the guards had stood “knee-deep in blood.”

The defeat was difficult, but Peter learned a lesson from it...

The Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments took part in all major battles of the Northern War:

The capture of Noteburg, the Nyenschanz fortress, Narva, Vyborg, Ivan city, Mitava, the battle of Lesnaya and the famous Battle of Poltava.

Peter the Great said, addressing the guard:

“Your brave deeds will never be forgotten by posterity.”

Many talented and famous people served in the guards regiments....

Semyonovtsy:

• Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov (Generalissimo)
• Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolaevich (marshal Soviet Union)
• Chaadaev Pyotr Yakovlevich (philosopher and publicist, friend of Pushkin)
• .. And many others

Preobrazhentsy:

• Alexander Menshikov (Russian statesman and military leader, associate and favorite of Peter I)
• Ivan Buturlin (Chief General)
• Bukhvostov Sergei Leontyevich (first Russian soldier)
• Ibrahim Petrovich Ganibal (military engineer, chief general, great-grandfather of A.S. Pushkin).
• Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich (composer)
• .....and many others

After Civil War the guards regiments ceased to exist. But what about these days?

...A lot has been written about His Imperial Highness the Heir Tsarevich Gatchina’s own troops. In the “Russian Dictionary of Biography” (St. Petersburg, 1902), in an article about Paul I, the Gatchina troops could be read as follows: “...consisted of rude and uneducated people, the scum of our army. Expelled from their troops for bad behavior, drunkenness or cowardice, these people found shelter in the Gatchina battalions... among these villains there were real fiends of hell. They looked with envy from the Gatchina swamps at those who proudly and boldly walked along the road of honor.”

Much more negative things have been written about the small “amusing” garrison than objective ones. For a long time, a one-sided myth was cultivated that the creation of the Gatchina troops was a consequence of Paul’s imitation of the Prussian army of King Frederick, but at the same time they kept silent about Paul’s constant desire to be like his great-great-grandfather Peter I. When comparing the “amusing” troops of Peter I and Paul, it was always emphasized different levels of tasks they solve. Peter's regiments played a decisive role in the struggle for power with Princess Sophia, suppressed the Streltsy revolt and gave rise to the first guards regiments, and Pavlov's battalions allegedly existed only for drill and parade. This idea contradicts historical justice.

Catherine II's desire to transfer the imperial throne to her grandson Alexander - bypassing Paul - was no secret: the empress first expressed such an idea in 1787. In a letter dated August 14, 1792 to French philosopher She wrote to Grimm: “First, my Alexander will get married, and then, over time, he will be crowned with all kinds of ceremonies, celebrations and folk festivals.” In 1793, after Alexander's marriage, rumors resumed. A year later, Catherine approached the Council with a proposal to deprive her son of the throne, citing his temper and inability, but the objections of some Council members did not allow her to carry out her plan. But only for a while. M.A. Fonvizin wrote in his memoirs that the signed order to remove Paul and enthrone his son was kept by Chancellor Bezborodko; the chancellor was supposed to publish it on November 26, 1796.

The growth in the number of Gatchina troops and the transformation of Gatchina into a fortress occurred as rumors spread about Paul’s deprivation of the right of inheritance. Paul maintained the Gatchina troops at his own expense (30,000 rubles per year from all sources of income), which were constantly in short supply: only one of his debts to the artillery treasury by 1795 was estimated at 60,000 rubles. The income of the Gatchina officers was a modest salary received from Paul. Paul's inclination towards Prussian military uniform, for which he was constantly criticized by everyone, starting with Suvorov, can largely be explained by a lack of funds and constant savings. The cost of just one (and you had to have several) Russian guards uniform was no less than 120 rubles, and the Gatchina guardsman’s uniform, made of inexpensive dark green cloth, cost no more than 22 rubles.

What is the further fate of the Gatchina troops after their withdrawal from Gatchina? On the morning of November 5, 1796, Catherine II suffered from an apoplexy. On the same day, Pavel arrived at the Winter Palace, which began to be filled with Gatchina officers who arrived after Pavel, led by A.A. Arakcheev. The question immediately arose about replacing the old and strengthening the new palace security. Fortunately for Pavel, Catherine was paralyzed - she could not speak or give verbal orders. On the evening of November 6, Catherine died, and Paul became emperor. The Gatchina troops were also renamed: now they are His Imperial Majesty’s Gatchina troops. By this time, the Gatchina troops included: 6 infantry battalions, a Jaeger company, a gendarmerie regiment, a dragoon regiment, a hussar regiment, a Cossack squadron, an artillery regiment (a total of 127 officers, excluding the new emperor and his sons, and 2399 lower ranks) and a lake flotilla .

On November 7, 1796, the Cossack squadron of the Gatchina troops (established in 1793, 4 officers), the Don and Chuguev court Cossack teams, by order of Paul, were united and made up half of the life of the Hussar Cossack Regiment. The second half of the new regiment consisted of the Hussar Regiment of the Gatchina Troops (established in 1792, 8 officers) and the Life Hussar Squadron. Already on November 14, 1796, the new regiment was granted the rights and advantages of the Old Guard, and on January 27, 1798, the regiment was divided into two independent regiments - the Cossack Life Guards and the Hussar Life Guards.

The subsequent order of November 9, 1796 completed the distribution of the Gatchina troops among the existing and new guards units. The Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment included from His Majesty's Own Gatchina Troops the Grenadier Battalion of His Imperial Majesty No. 1 (12 officers) and the Musketeer Battalion of Colonel Arakcheev No. 4 (11 officers); the Life Guards of the Semenovsky Regiment includes the musketeer battalions of His Imperial Highness Alexander Pavlovich No. 2 (12 officers) and Major Nedobroev No. 6 (11 officers); The Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment included the grenadier battalion of His Imperial Highness Konstantin Pavlovich No. 3 (12 officers) and the musketeer battalion of Major Malyutin No. 5 (10 officers). From the Jaeger teams consisting of the Life Guards Semenovsky and Life Guards Izmailovsky regiments, and the Jaeger company of the Gatchina troops (3 officers) of Lieutenant Colonel Rachinsky, the Life Guards Jaeger Battalion was formed in the city of Pavlovsk (since 1806, the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment). The Gendarmerie (15 officers) and Dragoon (15 officers) regiments of the Gatchina troops were distributed in the Life Guards Horse Regiment. Gatchina artillerymen (13 officers), a team of gunners and a bombardment company of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment formed the Life Guards Artillery Battalion, consisting of three infantry companies and one cavalry. Colonel A.A. Arakcheev was promoted to major general and appointed commandant of St. Petersburg. The strict discipline that existed in the Gatchina troops was established in the guard, and a curfew, barriers, guards, etc. were introduced in the capital.

“It was in this own army... and he put all his hope and therefore placed them in the old guard and fairly mixed them with it; and through this very thing he cut off all her wings; for if she wanted to do something bad, being mixed up with these new troops, she could not dare to do so. And this very thing untied the sovereign’s hands for the great reform he had long planned with the guards,” wrote contemporary writer A.T. Bolotov.

The attitude towards the influx of Gatchina troops among the guards was different. For the already existing infantry and cavalry guards regiments, this became an annoying misunderstanding in their regimental history, and for the newly formed (artillery and Jaeger battalions, Cossack and hussar regiments) the infusion of Gatchina soldiers was a manifestation of royal disposition.

On November 10, 1796, all troops from Gatchina and Pavlovsk entered St. Petersburg. Upon arrival at the square Winter Palace the troops marched ceremoniously before the emperor, who informed them that they were joining the guard. Belt-ensigns, ensigns and standard cadets were promoted to officers, chief officers retained their ranks, and staff officers were awarded the rank of colonel. The rank of a guards officer was one rank higher (from 1731 to 1798).

Another contemporary Sablukov wrote: “New newcomers from the Gatchina garrison were introduced to us. But what kind of officers were they! What strange faces! What manners! It is easy to imagine the impression that these rude Bourbons made on a society consisting of officers who belonged to the best families of the Russian nobility.” It can be added that the future General Sablukov in 1796 was only a lieutenant of the guard, and his father was the head of the state treasury: millions of rubles passed through him, allocated for the maintenance of Catherine’s favorites, and only 10,000 rubles from the treasury were allocated to the heir to the throne. Naturally, Sablukov Sr. was one of the first to be removed from his post; it is unlikely that his son’s memoirs can be completely trusted.

After Paul's coronation - April 7, 1797 - all Gatchina officers transferred to the guard were again noted: this time they received estates.

To summarize the above, we can say that the presence of the Gatchina troops helped Paul peacefully exercise his legal right of inheritance and for some time protect himself from the guard’s conspiracy. But, as often happens in history, having done their job, the Gatchina troops ceased to interest the newly-crowned emperor.

Paul I strictly strengthened discipline in the army. In Catherine’s time, arrests and exclusions from service were rare, but under Paul, the military was subjected to unprecedented repression. During 1797-1800, seven field marshals, more than three hundred generals and more than two thousand officers resigned or were dismissed from service. Gatchina officers were no exception. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, as a result of a guards conspiracy, the emperor was killed. But very few of the 127 Gatchina officers remained in active service at this time.

23 officers were sent to the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, of which 16 (4 generals, 5 colonels) were dismissed upon request or dismissed from service. Only seven served: in the regiment itself - Major Generals V. Aristov and K. Kohl (both dismissed in March 1801), Colonels P. Grigoriev and I. Lyshchov (dismissed in September 1801); in other regiments - Major General N. Laveyko (Chief of the Aleksopol Musketeer Regiment, died in 1808), Major General N. Popov (commandant of Riga, retired in May 1801), Lieutenant General O. Rotgoff (commandant of Astrakhan, dismissed due to illness in 1815).

Also, 23 officers were sent to the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment: 9 of them (including 3 generals and 3 colonels) left service by 1801, one died. In the Semenovsky regiment itself, only three remained to serve. B. Palitsyn - major of the Tengiz Musketeer Regiment - died in the battle of Pultusk on December 14, 1806. Major General and Chief of the Sofia Musketeer Regiment I. Sukin was killed in the battle of Fridpand on June 2, 1807. Major Generals I. Ferm (Chief of the Novgorod Musketeer Regiment) and I. Mamaev (Chief of the Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment) were dismissed, respectively, in November 1802 and August 1801. Lieutenant General E. Glazov was dismissed in July 1801, Lieutenant General A. Pevtsov (Chief of the Ekaterinburg Musketeer Regiment) was dismissed from service in October 1808. Three more major generals completed their service later, including A. Ratkov, the commander of the Guards Invalid Brigade, which is directly related to Gatchina.

22 officers were distributed in the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, of which 11 (4 generals, 2 colonels) were dismissed before 1801. There were 6 officers left in the regiment itself, including the regiment commander, Lieutenant General P. Malyutin, who was dismissed from service due to illness in 1808. The chief of the Belozersky Musketeer Regiment was Major General A. Sedmeratsky (died in 1807). Peter Essen was subsequently elevated to the rank of count and held the rank of infantry general (died in 1840). Pavel Bashutsky also rose to the rank of infantry general, was a senator and a member of the general auditorium.

All three officers from the Jaeger Gatchina company became generals. Lieutenant General A. Rachinsky was Chief of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Battalion until June 1800, after which he transferred to civilian service; Major General I. Lechner died in January 1801; Major General I. Miller was the chief of the 7th Jaeger Regiment, in the Patriotic War of 1812 he commanded the Tula militia, and was dismissed due to injury in December 1813. 30 Gatchina cavalry officers entered the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. By March 1801, only seven continued to serve; only one Colonel L. Bezobrazov remained in the regiment (dismissed in September 1802). P. Zorn finished his service as lieutenant general in November 1820.

12 officers were assigned to the Life Hussar Cossack Regiment. Five of them remained in service by March 1801; Only two served in their regiments: Major General A. Bolotnikov, commander of the Life Hussar Regiment (dismissed in November 1801) and the captain of the Life Cossack Regiment (dismissed in March 1804). A. Kologrivov (died in 1825) rose to the rank of cavalry general. From the lower ranks, I.E. passed the path from sergeant to lieutenant general of the Don Army. Efremov is a hero Patriotic War 1812, Knight of the Order of St. George 3rd and 4th degree, in 1815 appointed commander of the Life Guards Cossack Regiment.

And finally, of the 13 artillery officers, by March 1801, seven remained in service, many of them went on to a brilliant career. Artillery General P. Kaptsevich (died in 1840) was the commander of the internal guard corps. Lieutenant General I. Hesse (died in 1816) was the commandant of Moscow. Lieutenant General I. Sivere was the head of the artillery garrisons of the Southern District (dismissed in 1831). Lieutenant General P. Aprelev (died in 1830) was a member of the Council of the Minister of War. Major General N. Kotlubitsky was an adjutant of Paul I, later the Chief of the 7th Artillery Battalion (dismissed in September 1802).

So, by March 1801, no more than 20 officers from the Gatchina troops remained in St. Petersburg: the road to the coup was clear. Although events could have developed completely differently: 39 officers became generals, and if not for numerous resignations, then in March 1801 the balance of power in the guard and army would have been different.

Biographies of some Gatchina officers are included in the military encyclopedia edited by V.F. Novitsky (edition by I.D. Sytin, 1911-1916). But the most famous officers of the Gatchina troops were, of course, A.A. Arakcheev and P.M. Kaptsevich, whose portraits hang in the Military Gallery of Heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 in the Hermitage.

Fun troops are a phenomenon that largely determined the future of the Russian army. Initially, the amusing regiments of Peter I were formed by the young sovereign to play in battles. Now little is known for certain about how the shelves for royal fun were first organized. The number of amusing soldiers quickly increased and soon could not fit in Preobrazhenskoye, so some of the amusing regiments were transferred to the village of Semyonovskoye.
According to historians, the beginning of the amusing troops was laid by the young king, gathering comrades around him for games. According to custom, the five-year-old prince was supposed to have “room people” - servants, stewards and sleeping bags, specially selected peers from famous families and court nobility. Peter was serious. At first, “carrying things needed for the game” from the royal storerooms, he had already gathered around him a whole crowd of energetic comrades, ready for any kind of fun with the future king. The future autocrat recruited young men into his team from grooms and sleepers, and later from falconers and falconers. Gradually, two battalions were formed, consisting of young people of all classes, from nobles to courtyard serfs. Each battalion numbered approximately three hundred people.
Despite the name “amusing”, the regiments of Peter the Great were no joke. Each “soldier” was listed in the service and received a real salary, like all “serious” soldiers. The title “Amusing” became a separate rank, which was used at court along with other titles.
Amusing soldiers were recruited into the regiments officially, according to the clerical order. In 1686, the Stable Order received the highest order to send seven court grooms to the village of Preobrazhenskoye to Peter to serve as their amusing gunners. It was then that Menshikov, Alexander Danilovich, the stable boy’s son, of the lowest rank “below the nobleman,” appears in the amusing regiments.
The following year, the amusing regiments of Peter I began to be replenished with noble youth. Together with the grooms, I.I. arrived in the amusing regiment in 1687. Buturlin and the future field marshal of the Russian state M.M. Golitsyn. Golitsyn had to become a drummer due to his youth, according to palace records.
For the amusement regiments, Peter built a courtyard for amusement in Preobrazhenskoye, and erected a hut where the “headquarters” of army control was to be located. An amusing stable was also urgently erected, where Peter placed the artillery harness he had taken from the Stables Prikaz. Thus, the game turned into a carefully thought-out event, the organizers of which had a large staff, treasury and budget.
Peter had a special goal - to become a soldier and to make his playmates true soldiers. Everything was real. Peter dressed his funny soldiers in green uniforms and provided them with full soldier's weapons. Descendants of noble families received special appointments - staff officers, non-commissioned officers and chief officers. Since then, the Preobrazhensky environs served as a place where every day amusing regiments underwent strict soldier training. The future sovereign personally passed through all ranks, starting with the most insignificant - the rank of drummer.
Over time, Peter complicated combat missions. A real fort, or “amusing fortification,” was built on the banks of the Yauza River. The town was named Plesburgha. The amusing soldiers have since learned to siege and storm a fortress. The fort was besieged using all military science, using mortars and the latest techniques in the art of siege. All these activities required considerable technical knowledge and the assistance of experienced military personnel. It was then that the attitude of the future tsar to the quality of military education began to take shape.
According to the historian A.M. Nazarov, the amusing regiments of Peter I were needed to train future military leaders and soldiers who would serve easily and brilliantly, and not languish under an unbearable burden.
Based on his extensive experience, Peter I, together with his entourage, developed the first Russian history military vocational training program for young men.
The program included many aspects. Thus, children from nine to twelve years old had to engage in gymnastic exercises and games in the fresh air. Children's games with elements of risk and danger were encouraged. Amusing soldiers at a young age climbed logs, cliffs and ravines, and played robbers. Thus, children learned the science of intelligence in an easy way, developed guard skills, and learned to use ingenuity. From the age of twelve, funny soldiers, including Peter I, learned to shoot a cannon, wield a weapon, and studied weapons techniques. It was mandatory to get acquainted with military equipment and learning how to use it correctly.
Peter I attached considerable importance to instilling in his soldiers love for the fatherland and the sovereign. The amusing soldiers knew well the history of their native country and the possible dangers for Russia from the outside. The amusing regiments of Peter I were famous for their ideal discipline, sense of honor and developed camaraderie.
The amusing regiments later became known as the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments. They became the elite of the Russian regular army. Already in their first military campaign against the Turkish fortress of Azov, the amusing regiments proved themselves to be brave, disciplined soldiers. They also took part in the Northern War, where they successfully resisted the well-trained, even exemplary, troops of King Charles XII of Sweden.