The Russian Army on the Eve of the Crimean War: Between Myth and Reality

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problems of the military system of the Russian Empire in the years of the reign of Nicholas I. The subject of the study is the military organization of the Russian Empire in the middle of the XIX century. The object of the study is the Russian army in the Crimean War (1853-1856). The focus is on the organization of the armed forces of the Empire, the training of enlisted and officers, logistics and pensions, as well as military production in the middle of the XIX century. Traditionally, in Russian historiography, the main drawbacks of the military system were called the technical lag of the Russian Empire from the European armies and the serfdom structure of the domestic power During the study of the topic, it was revealed that the issue of armament was not the fundamental reason for the defeat of the empire in the conflict. Soldiers recruited according to the recruitment system could not equivalently resist European armies based on a system of consription or voluntary recruitment. The difficult conditions of service in the army of the Russian Empire in the XIX century, led to the complete depletion of the reserve stock, which was clearly manifested in the years. The Crimean War (1853-1856). In combination with significant shortcomings in the training of private and officer, this led to the absolute hegemony of the Allied army in field battles. Many of these problems were known to the highest military and political leadership of the country, which initiated a number of military reforms to correct them. Nicholas I failed to implement these changes before the outbreak of the Crimean War. Already after the conflict, under the leadership of the Minister of War Milyutin D.A., within the framework of the "Great Reforms of the 1860s", many of these problems were resolved to one degree or another. The study is of a general nature, and this topic requires further detailed study of each of the aspects mentioned in the work.