Sitting on two chairs at once is impractical, that’s a fact. The Russian elite in the first half of the 19th century tried to ignore it the most important issue– military. As a result, the military settlements of Arakcheev did not solve any of the tasks assigned to them and only provided the country with additional social disasters.
Cheap Army
Speaking about the reasons and purposes of the appearance of military settlements, we should immediately discard the idea of the desire to receive funds for the ransom of serfs from landowners. Alexander 1 loved to talk on this topic, but practically did little in this direction.
Military settlements were created in order to create a significant military reserve without cost (and preferably with profit). The idea was born in 1810, at the height of Napoleonic wars, so it was really worth thinking about increasing the army. But the state did not want to spend money on this, and accordingly the idea was born to create such units that would undergo military training at the same time as engaging in productive labor.
The project was not entirely new. A similar system in the border regions of the country was known earlier. But those settlers were rather a privileged population, freed from taxes and duties in exchange for border service. Their system resembled Cossack villages. And the military settlers of the 19th century experienced all the “delights” of serfdom and the then military drill at the same time.
Peasants in the ranks
The introduction of military settlements took place in St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Kharkov, Ekaterinoslav and a number of other provinces. Assigned soldiers lived in them, and their families were forcibly resettled with them. The local population was often also included in the settlers. Landowners were paid for damages.
All settlements were built according to the same plan, every step of the population was regulated. Order was maintained by appointed officers and non-commissioned officers. All men from 18 to 45 years old were required, in addition to field work, to study military affairs. Boys from 7 years old (cantonists) underwent preliminary training. At the same time, they studied mainly step techniques and ceremonial techniques; for example, the settlers were not taught aimed shooting at all.
The economy of the settlement had to not only provide for its inhabitants, but also provide income to the treasury. At the same time, the timing and pace of all work were also set by the officers. The state provided the settlers with seed and tools.
It was assumed that such soldiers would serve in the event of great war and will make it possible to do without additional recruitment. At the same time, no expenses were required for their maintenance and preparation.
Chuguevsky Nero
Portrait of Arakcheev
Count A.A. Arakcheev is considered the “father” of military settlements. The universal hatred of his contemporaries for this man clearly shows how “effective” his reforms turned out to be. The settlers were obviously poorly prepared; the officers gave such “smart” orders in terms of agriculture that their incomes were much lower than those of ordinary peasants. Canings were a daily occurrence. Arakcheev demanded only an external “front”, without delving into real picture. He was shown uniform houses with mugs and spoons issued for counting, and at that time the settlers lived in dugouts.
The wild living conditions caused frequent uprisings. The largest of them under Arakcheev happened in 1819 in Chuguev. They suppressed him so much that the enraged Pushkin, in an angry epigram, called Arakcheev “Chuguev’s Nero,” worthy only of a murderer’s dagger.
Other leaders responsible for the settlements behaved more gently, but the result was no better.
Bad results
As a result, the reform ended in complete failure. The military settlements of Arakcheev existed until 1857, and did not give anything to either the treasury or the army. The settlers did not know how to fight; their labor productivity was low. The terrible living conditions gave rise to constant riots (the most massive was the uprising of 1831 in Staraya Russa). The only positive result was a slight increase in the number of literate people - cantonists were taught reading and writing.
The end of the reform was marked by a scandalous defeat in Crimean War. It became clear that the army requires other reforms, and money should be spent on it, rather than trying to make money from it.
We have already published an article by a Colonel of the General Staff tsarist army V.P. Nikolsky, dedicated. Now we invite you to read the article by the same author, dedicated to famous military settlements.
The name of Arakcheev became especially hated due to the creation of military settlements. M.A. Fonvizin in his “Notes” notes that “nothing so much aroused the indignation of public opinion against Alexander, not just liberals, but the whole of Russia, as the forcible establishment of military settlements.”
The idea of this institution did not belong to Count Arakcheev; According to historian N.K. Schilder, the idea of the feasibility of military settlements in Russia came to the sovereign after reading the article by General Servan: “Sur les forces frontières des états.” The article was translated by Prince Volkonsky into Russian (for Arakcheev, who did not know French), and white margins were left against the text for the sovereign’s own notes. Alexander I, seeing how the treasury was suffering due to the constant increase in our armed forces caused by the first wars with Napoleon, decided to reduce the cost of maintaining troops by transferring part of the army, namely the infantry and cavalry, to support the peasants. The troops settled among them were supposed to help them in their free time, work in the field and at home, and in turn accustom the peasants to military life, discipline and military order. So, the basis for military settlements was the idea of making it easier for Russia to maintain its numerous troops and at the same time introducing military training for the male population (like the Krümper-Sistem in Prussia), so that in case of war, recruits could be placed directly into active troops without spending time and effort for preliminary and initial training. The regulations on military settlements, issued in 1825, directly stated the purpose of their creation: “a gradual reduction, and then the complete abolition of recruitment.” Undoubtedly, the idea is tempting, but only partially feasible, and only if the settled troops are not overly busy with the trifles of military service and actually help the peasant in his field work. Here it was especially clear distinguishing feature Alexander I - his speculative way of thinking; It would be good to turn both peasants and soldiers into mechanical figures and rearrange one in place of the other. Hence it is clear why Alexander I never wanted to abandon his idea, despite the rather dire warnings of complete failure and the obvious lack of sympathy expressed at first by all his closest collaborators.
There is no doubt that the result of the implementation of this idea depended entirely on the person at the head of the matter; What was needed here was a person with a statesman's mind, an extremely broad outlook, extensive experience in military affairs, knowledge inner life state and, moreover, unconditionally friendly. Let's just say that if they had put him in charge, then one could fully count on a more favorable outcome, but, however, not on complete success, since due to the complexity of mutual relations and the heterogeneity of the responsibilities of soldiers and peasants it was impossible to have a good military peasant and a distinguished settled soldier. Of course, if we take into account the primitiveness of the then military equipment, ease of handling firearms, and most importantly, the possibility of extremely simplifying the preparation and training of lower ranks during a 25-year service, then the idea of military settlements had some basis.
Who does the emperor put in charge of this matter? Count Arakcheev! It would be difficult to find a more unsuccessful leader, and, moreover, with completely unlimited and uncontrolled powers. Insufficiently educated in the broad state sense, who resurrected the principles of Pavlovian drill and paradomania, cruel, vicious with his subordinates, not tolerating any objections, and most importantly, not allowing any changes to the plans he had adopted, Arakcheev was an all-powerful tyrant with whom every talented and educated person avoided not only serving, but even and meet.
The question arises: why did Alexander I, having outstanding statesmen in front of him, choose Arakcheev for this major undertaking?
Undoubtedly, in addition to complete trust in him and confidence in the exact execution of his instructions, the emperor admired Arakcheev as a zealous owner of his own estate, where he also established a purely military order. Indeed, the roads as smooth as parquet, excellent river crossings, and the well-maintained village adjacent to the count's estate made an amazing impression: huts painted in pink, stand in a row, at the same distance from each other; all buildings were erected according to a single plan; all the peasants are equally and cleanly dressed, stand and answer in a military manner. From the belvedere count's palace twenty-two villages belonging to the count are visible; Through a telescope you can even see what the peasants are doing in each of them. According to the count, his peasants have achieved great material well-being, and his estate brings excellent income.
In a letter to my sister, Grand Duchess To Ekaterina Pavlovna, dated June 7, 1810, the emperor does not hide his delight at the wonderful arrangement of the Arakcheevsky estate: “When I write to you, it’s the same as what I write to George, so show him these lines. I earnestly ask him, when he passes here, to go, accompanied by General Arakcheev, in a droshky through all the villages through which he took me, and pay attention to: 1) the order that reigns everywhere; 2) for cleanliness; 3) for the construction of roads and planting of trees; 4) for special symmetry and grace, which are observed everywhere. The streets of these villages have exactly that special cleanliness that I so desire for cities: the best proof that my demand can be fulfilled is that it is met even here in the village. The streets of Novgorod, Valdai, Vyshny Volochok, Torzhok and Kresttsy should have been kept in the same condition! And what a dramatic difference! I repeat: these villages are proof that this is possible...”
By the end of 1809, the emperor finally came up with the idea of military settlements. Arakcheev, they say, at first did not approve of this idea and even opposed its implementation, but then, wanting to please the sovereign and realizing that this could serve to further strengthen his position, he became its most ardent supporter. The Emperor ordered Arakcheev to begin settling the reserve battalion of the Yelets Infantry Regiment in the Klimovichi Povet (later renamed the Mogilev Governorate), the Babyletsky Eldership, whose residents were resettled to the Novorossiysk Territory.
Patriotic War and foreign trips development of settlements was suspended for several years. Having returned from abroad in 1815 with broken spiritual strength, Alexander I, with enormous energy, however, took up military settlements, as if considering them his and Arakcheev’s personal business.
The main goal was forgotten - to make it easier for the state to maintain military forces: an unlimited loan was opened to Arakcheev, and millions flowed to him in a wide wave without any control, only to have almost no memory left of them in less than 20 years.
The Emperor, cautious in resolving most serious state affairs, did not consider it necessary to bring the issue of military settlements to preliminary discussion either in the State Council or in the Committee of Ministers. No regulations or regulations were drawn up on military settlements, which gave Arakcheev complete freedom of action. This time the Novgorod province was chosen for the settlement of the infantry; this was done solely for Arakcheev’s convenience; Living in Georgia, he, as an unlimited ruler, was in the center of his main possessions - military settlements.
On August 5, 1815, there was a decree addressed to the Novgorod governor about the deployment of the 2nd battalion of the Grenadier regiment named after Count Arakcheev in the Vysotsk volost of the Novgorod province, on the river. Volkhov, next to the village. Georgian. Monitoring order in the Vysotskaya volost, previously entrusted to the zemstvo police, was transferred to the battalion commandant. On August 29, the battalion had already set out from St. Petersburg, and five days later it was in place and began deployment. When settling this and subsequent grenadier battalions, the experience of quartering the Yeletsky regiment was taken into account.
Residents of the volosts assigned to staff this regiment were left in place and forever enrolled in the military villages, subordinate to the military authorities. Male children were enrolled as cantonists and then served to replenish the settled troops. The connection of all the settlements of one regiment (three volosts) was called the district of such and such a regiment. So, each district included the settlements of one regiment, which was divided into three battalions, and these latter were divided into companies, corporals and platoons.
Following the Arakcheevsky regiment, other grenadier regiments followed, led by the regiment of the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia and the Crown Prince; all these regiments settled in the vicinity of the Arakcheevskaya estate, along the river. Volkhova. Here, in the Novgorod and Starorussky districts, 14 regiments were soon stationed. In the district itself, each company lived separately: it had its own company area, mainly for training, a guardhouse, a common threshing floor and barns; the officers lived right there, in special houses. All economic work was carried out under the supervision and on the orders of officers, who were also assistants. The center of the settlement of each regiment was its headquarters, where the regimental commander’s apartment, hospitals, a large arena, shops, etc. were located; Usually it was a well-equipped whole town. Arakcheev’s passion for construction here was completely satisfied.
The troops to be settled received from Arakcheev detailed instructions regulating living and service conditions in settlements; the bosses were instructed to “try by the good behavior of all ranks in general not only to prevent any complaints and displeasure of their masters, but to acquire their love and trust.” The peasants of the settlements were granted many benefits and privileges, including: writing off many government arrears, facilitating and even canceling some monetary and in-kind duties, free use of medicines, the establishment of schools for children, the appointment of specialists in various sectors of the economy to raise its culture.
With regard to serving military service, they were also granted important benefits, namely: they were exempted from general recruitment, no matter how urgent the need for them. After completing the specified years of service, each military settler, while continuing to live in his native village, was exempt from military service in any form. The government took care of the maintenance of children and prepared them for military service; food and uniforms were provided by the government.
It turns out, in essence, a tempting picture. But nevertheless, the peasants went to military settlements extremely reluctantly, because by their nature they could not put up with the regime created by Arakcheev.
Following the infantry military settlements, they began to establish the same settlements for the cavalry; for this, the provinces of Kherson (Kherson, Elizavetgrad, Alexandria and Olviopol districts), Ekaterinoslav (Verkhnedneprovsky district) and Slobodsko-Ukrainian (Volchansky, Zmievsky, Kugoshsky, Starobelsky and Izyum districts). Arakcheev was the main and authorized commander in these settlements, but, living constantly away from them and not considering it convenient for himself to enter into all the details of their life due to insufficient knowledge of cavalry service, Arakcheev placed Lieutenant General Count Witt at the head of these settlements, whose headquarters was in Elizavetgrad. Arakcheev had a huge job of getting troops into place and separating their activities from those of the peasants; This work was further complicated by the fact that Arakcheev, not trusting anyone, entered into everything himself; It must be taken into account that at the same time, Arakcheev did not miss the most important state affairs that continued to come before him for consideration.
Thanks to the enormous energy shown by both the emperor and Arakcheev in creating military settlements, they developed quickly and widely.
On February 3, 1821, they were given the name of a separate corps of military settlements, and, of course, Count Arakcheev was appointed as the main commander of the corps; its headquarters was in Novgorod; The chief of staff was General Kleinmichel, an extremely dexterous and intelligent man. The composition of the headquarters was diverse: it included engineers, auditors, even officers of the quartermaster service (Bradke was the chief quartermaster of the military settlement corps).
What was this type of settled army and at the same time armed people?
According to N.K. Shilder, a separate corps of military settlements, which constituted a kind of special military state under the control of Count Arakcheev, at the end of 1825 consisted of 90 battalions of the Novgorod settlement, 36 battalions and 249 squadrons of the Sloboda-Ukrainian, Ekaterinoslav and Kherson settlements, which already included a whole third of the Russian army.
The main occupation of the settled troops was still the front and linear exercises; in this regard, they resurrected Pavlovian times, which left a deep imprint on Arakcheev’s soul; in addition, the nosy Arakcheev, seeing Alexander I’s passion for divorce, leaned heavily on this part of the settled troops; it was necessary to prove to the emperor with his own eyes that the settled troops were in no way inferior to those active in front-line activities, and in terms of economy, accommodation and low cost of maintenance - they were significantly superior to them. Marching for many hours in order to achieve proper bearing and stance, and then line exercises, occupied the entire day of the settled soldier; classes were carried out not only with severity, but even with cruelty; Often the count himself was present at them and, if he noticed negligence, imposed punishment with spitzrutens, and besides, the commanders themselves, fearing to fall under the wrath of Arakcheev or wanting to please him, did not spare the soldiers. In this regard, the commander of the grenadier regiment named after Count Arakcheev, Colonel von Fricken, was especially distinguished, who enjoyed the special love of his boss and was nicknamed Fyodor Kulakov in the settlements for his ferocious slaughter.
At the end of classes or on specially designated days (alternately), the soldiers were sent to construction work: to build headquarters, houses for living, build roads. Deforestation, clearing fields, building roads, making bricks and similar work were assigned to army personnel battalions. According to A.K. Gribbe, these battalions - the unfortunate victims of that time - numbering up to 50-60, came to the settlements in April, and left for winter quarters in more or less remote districts of Novgorod and adjacent provinces - in September; but sometimes those battalions that did not have time to complete the work lessons assigned to them were left as punishment for October.
Finally, completely exhausted by these works, the soldier also had to teach his peasant, or his cantonist son. If we add to this the time for cleaning and putting in order his equipment, as well as for guard duty at headquarters, then the picture of his employment is quite clear. Life was no better for the peasant. The military villager, exhausted by field work, was charged with front-line training and marching; Returning home from classes, he did not find peace here either: he was forced to wash and clean his hut and sweep the street. He had to inform his superiors about almost every egg that his chicken would lay. Women did not dare give birth at home: sensing the approach of labor, they had to report to headquarters.
The count’s “concern” extended to the point that he issued “ Brief rules for peasant mothers of the Georgian patrimony” concerning the care of newborns.
Improving the morality of the rural population was also of great concern to Arakcheev, as evidenced by his “Rules on Weddings.”
In Arakcheev’s huge estate, the number of brides and grooms was constantly growing; The mayor usually reported them to the count. By order of the count, a whole crowd of boys and girls came to his house and became pairs - the groom with the bride he had chosen: Ivan with Matryona, and Sidor with Pelageya. When everything is distributed in this way, the count orders Pelageya to go to Ivan, and give Matryon to Sidor, and so orders them to be married. From here, discord and quarrels arose in families and debauchery flourished. To top it all off, the peasant was never left alone with his family - there were always soldiers settled in the yard or hut, which created considerable temptation for women.
What Arakcheev did in his estate, he began to do in all military settlements, considering the regime he created in Georgia to be ideal.
If we take into account the enormous work on organizing military settlements carried out in a relatively short term, you can’t help but be amazed at Arakcheev’s hard work and energy.
However, from the memoirs of Arakcheev’s employees, it is clearly visible what was the secret of the speed with which Arakcheev carried out the wishes of the sovereign. This secret is quite simple. Arakcheev did not at all consider it necessary to find the most trained people to perform this or that work. He firmly believed in the omnipotence of subordination and preached the rule that in the service no one could ever make the excuse of ignorance and inability. It is enough to order and exact - and any task will be done.
Impartial and restrained in his judgments, Bradke says directly in his “Notes”: “In studies on military settlements there is a lot of noise, a lot of torment, running around and bustle, but no real benefit.” In the structure of the settlements themselves, according to the same author, “on the surface there was brilliance, but inside there was despondency and disaster.” At every step there was evidence of stupid, unproductive expenses and lack of concern for the real benefit of the matter. The blind faith of the leaders in the omnipotence of the order was constantly refuted by reality, but they stubbornly refused to recognize the validity of life lessons.
The very choice of locations for establishing settlements, according to Bradke, was “fatal.” In the Novgorod province, places for settlements were almost entirely occupied by old, rotten forest with vast and deep swamps. They built magnificent buildings for headquarters, built highways everywhere, erected smart houses for the soldiers, but the meadows and pastures turned out to be located far beyond the fields, and the cattle came to pasture completely exhausted.
Expensive foreign cattle were discharged when the meadows had not yet been cut, and the death of cattle began from hunger and the unsuitability of marsh grasses for fodder. And to all such serious mistakes was added the burden of pedantic formalism and aimless cruelty in management techniques. This is the other side of the ostentatious “businesslike” nature of Arakcheev’s management of military settlements. This is evidenced by the memoirs of Martos, Mayevsky and Evropeus.
And here is what General Mayevsky, one of Arakcheev’s prominent assistants, writes: “Everything that makes up the appearance captivates the eye to the point of admiration; everything that makes up the inside speaks of disorder. Cleanliness and neatness are the first virtues in this settlement. But imagine huge house with a mezzanine where people and food freeze; imagine a compressed room, a mixture of genders without separation; imagine that a cow is kept like a gun, and feed in the field is obtained 12 miles away; imagine that the capital forests are burned, and new ones are bought for buildings from Porkhov with painful delivery, that in order to preserve one tree they use a fathom of firewood to furnish it with a cage, and then you will get the idea of this state economy.”
When Alexander I toured military settlements, everything shone with contentment and prosperity. Entering different houses at lunchtime, the sovereign found a roast pig and goose on the table of each settler. Eyewitnesses say, however, that these goose and pig were quickly carried through the backyards from house to house, as the sovereign moved from one settler to another. Of course, an eyewitness adds to this story, neither empty cabbage soup nor beaten backs were shown to the sovereign.
From all these untold blessings, the people fell into “fear” and “numbness.” A similar confession breaks out even from Arakcheev himself in his reports to the sovereign.
It is not surprising that under such conditions, riots often broke out among the peasants; So, at the very beginning, riots arose in the Vysotsk volost. Arakcheev did not attach serious importance to them and usually reported to the sovereign that the rebels were brawlers, naughty people and people of bad behavior.
Then, when Arakcheev dressed the children of military settlers, aged 6 to 18, in military uniforms, they went women's riots. All these unrest were initially eliminated quite quickly and easily, since in the areas of settlement there were an abundance of troops, they had not yet become accustomed to the population, and Arakcheev disposed of them unlimitedly and decisively. Little by little, Arakcheev began to introduce the reforms he recognized as necessary: peasants began to go to field work in uniforms; began to shave their beards. True, they were still trying to get rid of Arakcheev’s benefits and sent deputations to the sovereign, but Alexander I, accepting the deputation kindly, first of all gave them instructions to obey their superiors. Petitions to the Empress Mother, Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich and Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich came to nothing.
According to Martos, the peasants said: “Add more taxes to us, demand a son from each house to serve, take everything from us and lead us to the steppe: we will more readily agree, we have hands, we will start working there too and we will live happily there.” , but don’t touch our clothes, the customs of our fathers, don’t make us all soldiers... Meanwhile,” Martos continues, “they dressed all the residents in soldier’s uniforms, gave them summer and winter trousers, gray overcoats, caps, and assigned them to their companies; in every village they took a threshing floor, began to teach them to turn left and right, walk in step, trample with their heels, straighten up, carry a cleaver; they even cared to such an extent that they were not too lazy to build stoves in those threshing floors, so that the villagers would visit the arena even on winter days, march in it and listen to the command of the loud-mouthed corporal, for their such special happiness.”
After all these unsuccessful attempts the peasants had no choice but to submit to their sad fate. On March 25, 1818, Count Arakcheev reported to the sovereign that everything was safe, peaceful and calm in the military settlements. But in reality this was not the case: the settler could never come to terms with the restriction of life’s freedom and the restriction of property rights; a dull feeling of hatred towards those who put him in these conditions began to lurk in him. Who was the culprit? The settlers constantly saw the officer in front of them: he lived among them, conducted front-line training; he was, as it were, their landowner. All their hatred was concentrated against him; Moreover, among the officers of military settlements there were many supporters of drill; the senior settlement chiefs greatly disliked everyone who did not share their views on military service, they got rid of such people in every possible way, and in their place the most zealous non-commissioned officers were promoted. The bloody events that broke out in July 1831 on the banks of the Volkhov and known as the cholera riots were, as it were, an atonement for the enormous state mistake made in 1815 by the establishment of military settlements.
Taking advantage of the fact that two battalions from each settled regiment went on a campaign against the rebel Poles, finding fault with the fact that doctors and commanders allegedly poured poison into the wells, the peasant settlers inhumanly tortured several officers. With this, the military settlements signed their own death sentence, and soon Emperor Nicholas I was forced to begin liquidating the brainchild of Alexander I.
However, one cannot help but admit that Arakcheev cared about improving the material support of military settlements: public bread stores were established, the foundation was laid for horse factories; special cantonist schools have been established for children; sawmills and other factories were built and, finally, a special fund for military settlements was formed, which reached 32 million rubles in 1826. However, it was not heard that when he was the chief commander of a separate corps of military settlements, he distributed benefits from this fund; he was preparing a monument for himself for posterity, but he only earned the popular rumor that “one should write about him not with ink, but with blood.”
All work on the ground was controlled by management. Since adults, due to their busy schedules, did not have time to raise their offspring, children were also mainly the responsibility of the state (in schools and other special institutions). Grown daughters were married off according to the decision of the authorities.
The administration and officers were distinguished by bribery and unwillingness to delve into issues of housekeeping. It was a systemic problem. The creation of the first military settlements under the leadership of Arakcheev led to this situation, because neither the count nor his assistants fought against the unauthorized behavior of their superiors. As a result, discontent began to grow among the soldiers.
Riots
The creation of military settlements led to many conflicts. In 1831, Arakcheev received a message that a riot had begun in the Novgorod province. The soldiers had already been dissatisfied with their superiors, but now they took up arms against the administration. The reason for the escalation of tension was the cholera epidemic. Authorities, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, blocked roads throughout European Russia.
Rumors began to actively spread in military settlements that the administration itself was deliberately infecting soldiers by poisoning bread and water. Cholera riots broke out in Staraya Russa. At first, the authorities reacted sluggishly to what happened, believing that the local garrisons themselves would cope with the discontent. In fact, the rebellion only grew. In August 1831, she took part in suppressing the riots regular army. After the outbreaks of unrest were suppressed, arrests began. In total, more than three thousand people were convicted.
The emergence of districts
Alexander I died in 1825, but his successor and younger brother Nicholas I, despite all the dubiousness of the reform, decided to preserve the military settlements. However, he also realized that the structure of military settlements was not perfect enough. At the beginning of his reign, he ordered the development of a project for their transformation.
As a result, in 1831 (according to the Emperor’s Highest Decree), the former military settlements were transformed into soldier districts. They ceased to be the property of the regiments. The soldiers were settled in the districts according to pre-Alexander norms and rules. For example: 14 new districts appeared in the Novgorod province. The reform was largely dictated by the recent cholera riot.
Abolition of military settlements
In 1855, the reign of Alexander II began. The monarch came to power in a difficult situation. Russia was losing and the country was facing an economic crisis. Alexander's father was distinguished by excessive conservatism. During the thirty years of his reign, he hardly changed the state and military structure of the country. During this time, the mechanisms developed by Alexander I became outdated. In many ways, it was because of this that the Crimean War was lost.
Among these symbols of the old era that had fallen into disrepair were the military settlements of Arakcheev. The pros and cons of the system were ordered to be studied in detail by the officer and writer Dmitry Stolypin. To do this, he went to the Caucasus, where at that time there were the most military settlements. The auditor saw a deplorable picture. The local population lived in most of them and did not even have livestock. The aging buildings needed repairs that the treasury could not afford. In other words, farms in military settlements were unprofitable and became an economic burden. Stolypin returned to St. Petersburg and shared his observations with the tsar. In 1857, Alexander II decided to abolish military settlements. Thus, Arakcheev’s project on military settlements lasted 47 years.
The war with Napoleon ended, Russia had to recover. Its villages and towns were destroyed, and some of the population was on the verge of poverty. The peasants who at one time signed up for the militia thought that after the war they would receive material benefits, and also that their legal status would change.
But no changes occurred; moreover, he again gave the landowners the right to exile serfs to Siberia. In response to this, the peasants began to run away from their masters more and peasant uprisings became frequent. Residents of military settlements also rebelled along with the peasants.
Military settlements are a regime in which peasants combine military service with farming. This idea was proposed by Speransky, the official believed that this would reduce army costs. These settlements were to be organized by Count A.A. Arakcheev personally gave him this task. The idea was that soldiers and peasants lived together in settlements, working on the land and combining their military service with this. Thus, it turned out that life in the settlement was dictated by military laws. Children also became soldiers and studied in special schools. By implementing this idea, he wanted to reduce military expenses and rid the army of the shortage of soldiers.
Creation and military organization of settlements
The creation of military soldier settlements by Arakcheev was organized first in the St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Kharkov provinces, and then in other regions. Almost 400 thousand state serfs moved to the territory of military settlements.
There was no reduction in spending, since at first a lot of money was spent on implementing the reform. In addition, the peasants who were resettled in these settlements resisted this. Uprisings broke out in different areas, but they were quickly suppressed by the army. A.A. himself often took part in executions and massacres. Arakcheev.
Arakcheev personified the end of the reign. His management of the state horrified peasants and soldiers. The period of his reign was spent under canings in the army; everyone was punished, sometimes even for no reason. Cane discipline was commonplace in all military settlements. Arakcheev was a strict leader, he demanded discipline from everyone, and those who violated it were punished. He was absorbed in order, was very cruel and at the same time cowardly. He was the only general who avoided participating in open hostilities. But, despite this, he began to serve and continued to serve, since he had organizational talent.
Order according to Arakcheev is order, subordination and the complete absence of self-will. This man turned out to be able to organize the work of the state mechanism like clockwork. At the same time, he destroyed all manifestations of the enlightened absolutism of the era. In his actions he relied only on reason. He went over his head, showed extreme violence, but at the same time created a society that works clearly and harmoniously, and human rights here take the last place.
Military organized settlements of Arakcheev
He came into power, like Speransky in his time, out of sympathy from the emperor. But unlike Speransky, Arakcheev clearly supported the views of the nobility. At first he would be the Minister of War, then after 1815 he became the head of the Cabinet of Ministers. The pinnacle of his public career was the opportunity to personally report to the emperor. Then he gained enormous power.
When the sovereign was away from the capital, Arakcheev actually led everything except foreign policy. They were afraid of him, and the second half of his reign began to be called “Arakcheevism.” Naturally, the military-organized settlements of Arakcheev became a harsh regime for the soldiers, who expressed more and more discontent.
Arakcheev himself primarily personified the power of the nobility; with his help, they hoped to receive even greater privileges from the imperial power. The regime of military settlements did not live up to the hopes of the ordinary population, but on the contrary increased the confrontation between soldiers and peasants with the autocratic government.
Military settlements video
The appearance of the first military settlements in Russia is associated with the reign of Emperor Alexander I and the name of A.A. Arakcheeva. In fact, they appeared on the borders of the state in the 17th century.
Background
Military settlements were present as early as Ancient Rome. Over time, they became a way of organizing troops in peacetime on the borders of states in Europe. With neighboring countries in constant competition for land and resources, there was a constant need for a mobile army and the protection of territories.
The first military settlements in Russia were also organized primarily to protect the borders of the state. After the end of the victory over Napoleon, the question arose about the deployment of the army in peacetime. This gave impetus to the creation of settlements of this kind, which appeared in many provinces.
The idea of creating military settlements
Many historians attribute the idea of creating military settlements to Count A. A. Arakcheev, but there is evidence that it belonged to the emperor himself. As already mentioned, the idea was not new, but it was very relevant for that time. Emperor Alexander I was inspired by this idea and decided to implement it in Russia at all costs. There are also records that Arakcheev was against the creation of military settlements. But he was obliged to carry out the sovereign’s order, and he did it without hesitation.
Alexander I wanted to create a stratum of society that would be engaged in agriculture in peacetime, and in wartime could quickly organize into combat-ready units and come to the defense of the country. Therefore, he put forward the thesis that every peasant should be a soldier, and every soldier should be a peasant.
The organization of military settlements began in 1808, but the war with the French delayed the large-scale implementation of this project.
After the defeat of Napoleon, the question became even more pressing. Russian Empire suffered from the aggressive actions of the enemy, many cities were destroyed, the treasury was empty, discontent and a desire for change were ripening in society. Military settlements, according to the ruler, could solve the issue of maintaining a large army and restoring the country's economy, as well as strengthen the power of the emperor.
The figure of Alexey Arakcheev in the history of Russia
Arakcheev, who held high positions under Paul I, was an artillery inspector under Emperor Alexander I. He started out as a simple officer. During his service to his first sovereign, Alexey Andreevich received the rank of colonel and then major general. Paul I granted him the title of baron, 2 thousand peasants and land in the Novgorod region.
Despite the fact that many descendants associate the name Arakcheev with despotism and oppression common people and riots, he was an expert in military affairs and brought a lot of benefit to the army. An absolutely negative perception of his personality in the history of our state is wrong.
Thus, he carried out artillery reforms, which led to an increase in the mobility of this type of troops and an increase in their combat power. Thanks to his activities in the war with Napoleon, Russian artillery was superior to French in all respects, which played a role in the glorious victories. During the campaign against Sweden, Arakcheev did an excellent job of providing the army with food and ammunition.
The role of A. A. Arakcheev in the creation and development of the idea of military settlements
Alexey Andreevich was a man devoted to the emperor and therefore took on all assignments with full dedication, including the implementation of the idea of organizing military settlements. But being a specialist in military affairs, he was very demanding and expected complete discipline and submission from the peasants, driving them into even greater dependence and not giving them the slightest freedom.
The period of creating military settlements and all the hardships associated with them went down in history under the name “Arakcheevism.” The idea belonged to the emperor, the implementation plan was drawn up by Speransky, and all responsibility fell on Count Arakcheev, who was too zealous in executing the will of the sovereign and did not tolerate insubordination.
When Alexey Andreevich retired from business in 1826, Count Kleinmichel took his place as chief commander over the villagers.
Organization of life in military settlements
The essence of military settlements was for soldiers to ensure their own existence in peacetime. Therefore, they, along with their families, were settled with peasants, who also became villagers.
Young men from the age of 18 enlisted in the service. Thus, the army was also replenished. The whole family was doing agriculture for food and survival. Boys from the age of 7 became cantonists, and from the age of 18 they enlisted in the army. The organization of military settlements implied a strict daily routine for each person; the slightest violations were subject to severe punishment. All contacts with the world outside the settlement were prohibited, including trading.
The soldiers went through drills all day, and in the remaining time or some days they were engaged in construction. In addition, they still had to teach their sons over 7 years old and peasants military affairs. The latter, having worked in the field, in turn, had to undergo military training. Even the lives of women and children were strictly regulated.
Local chiefs and officers had enormous powers and did not spare the villagers, showing due zeal in carrying out the instructions of their superior Arakcheev.
Military settlements under Nicholas I: first reforms
Emperor Alexander I died in 1825, and his brother Nicholas I ascended the throne. By this time, military settlements had been organized in 6 provinces. Despite the fact that the new emperor did not have much sympathy for this idea, he did not dare to take radical steps and abolish the transformations begun by Alexander, but was determined to make some changes. The purpose of military settlements in their reformed form was to increase treasury savings.
In the first year and a half of the reign of Nicholas I, the process of resettlement of foot and horse troops continued in full swing. New lands were allocated, the number of villagers-owners who were exempt from military service increased. However, in many provinces there was no longer enough land, and due to the increase in the number of military personnel assigned to a certain territory, their well-being worsened.
Since 1829, mass uprisings of peasants began. Moreover, they took place against the backdrop of ongoing foreign wars. Thus, the situation within the state became tense; military settlements did not fulfill their role in strengthening the power of the emperor and saving the state budget.
Creation of districts
After the Cholera Riot in 1831 (Novgorod province), the transformation of settlements into districts of arable soldiers began. Children over 7 years old were no longer enrolled as cantonists. The soldiers who took part in the riot were resettled, they were allocated land and given the opportunity to build housing. Active army personnel were billeted in their former houses.
Abolition of military settlements
The purpose of creating military settlements was to provide self-sufficiency for troops and to ease the burden that the state bore in maintaining and training soldiers. However, after Alexander II came to power, the issue of the villagers was taken up by D. A. Stolypin, who established that arable soldiers and peasants were greatly impoverished, farms were in decline, and the money allocated from the treasury did not contribute to the development of agriculture and cattle breeding. Thus, after existing for more than 50 years, military settlements were abolished.