Commanders of foreign order regiments in 1654: peculiarities of formation of the Russian officer corps

Abstract

The subject of this research is the formation of the higher command personnel of the foreign order regiments in 1654. The article examines the details of the biographies of 37 commanders of the foreign order regiments that existed by the beginning of the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, namely their origin in Russia, foreign service experience, production in the ranks, ethnic composition, attitude towards Orthodoxy, army allocation in the campaign of 1654, and share of troops they led in the chief armies. The work is based on the wide array of documentary materials of IInozemsky Prikaz (Office for the Affairs of the Foreigners) and Posolsky Prikaz (Ambassadorial Office); some of the materials are newly introduced to the scientific discourse. This article is first to explore the biographies of majority of commanders of foreign order regiments in 1654. Analysis is conducted on their origin, production in the Russian prior to the Russo-Polish War, participation in the campaign of 1654, ethnic composition, confession; classification is offered based on the service experience in Western European countries. The analysis of officer “services” acknowledges that the foreign order regiments in the chief armies were led by the most competent newcomer foreigners with the Western European military experience. The young Russian officers service led by the experienced foreigners became a pivotal stage in the formation of the national officer corps.