The Formation of the Early Petrine Military Elite: Belgorod Razryad Voivodes

Abstract

This article examines some aspects underlying the formation process of the early Petrine military elite referring to the careers of three military leaders who advanced to higher positions in the late seventeenth century (A. S. Shein, B. P. Sheremetev, and Prince Ya. F. Dolgorukov). They were almost the same age, their starting positions were comparable, and they climbed up the career ladder in voivodeship traditional for the aristocracy differently, depending on the circumstances and the political situation that seriously affected their careers. Referring to a considerable amount of new archival material and synthesising the latest historiographic information, the author demonstrates the influence of the political crisis of 1682 on their career trajectories. Also, the author examines the differences in their life paths at the initial stage of the Russian-Turkish war of 1686–1700, the acquisition of diplomatic experience by B. P. Sheremetev and Ya. F. Dolgorukov during these years; and their participation in the Azov campaigns. The author reveals the uneven nature of Ya. F. Dolgorukov’s career, as he received the boyar rank much later than his younger colleagues. The author notes not only the commanding but also the outstanding administrative merits of the voivodes, whose appearance as part of the military-political elite was, among other things, a reflection of the objective process of a generational change. The author concludes that the most significant step in their acquisition of military leadership and the military organisational experience was the leadership of the Belgorod razryad – the largest unit of Russia’s field army in the second half of the seventeenth century and the most significant military administrative district, most closely involved in the “great wars” of Russia in the second half of the seventeenth century.