“And they can be called Arnauts”: on the question of the appearance of irregular formations from the natives of the Danube-Balkan region in the Russian army at the beginning of the war with Turkey in 1768–1774

Abstract

This study is devoted to the problem of the appearance in the Russian army of irregular formations from the natives of the Danube-Balkan region, the so-called Arnauts, in the initial period of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768–1774. It was one of the first experiences of using multinational volunteer detachments from local residents in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. With the involvement of newly found archival materials, the article proves that the appearance of the Arnaut detachments in the Russian service was not planned, but was the result of a combination of a number of circumstances, including accidental ones, as well as the initiative of the local command. As a result of special operation of the commander of the vanguard corps of the Russian army, Major General Prince A.A. Prozorovsky in the winter-spring of 1769, the Arnaut formations, recruited by the prince of Moldavia to serve the Ottoman Empire, deserted to the Russian side. The units of the Russian army formed from them successfully operated in the Danube theater of war as irregular light cavalry. After the entry of Russian troops into Moldova and Wallachia, the Arnaut formations began to be actively replenished with local volunteers. Despite serious problems with their discipline, in general, the Arnaut units proved their effectiveness in war conditions. Among other things, the article analyzes the terminology used by the Russian command to designate these units, and proves the identity of the concepts of "Arnauts" and "volunteers" at that time.