Alexander II is known for his numerous reforms that affected all aspects of the life of Russian society. In 1874, on the instructions of this tsar, Minister of War Dmitry Milyutin changed the system of conscription into the domestic army. The format of universal military service, with some changes, existed in the Soviet Union and remains today.

Military reform

Epoch-making for the then inhabitants of Russia, the introduction of universal military service took place in 1874. It took place as part of large-scale reforms in the army undertaken during the reign of Emperor Alexander II. This tsar ascended the throne at a time when Russia was shamefully losing the Crimean War, unleashed by his father Nicholas I. Alexander had to conclude an unprofitable peace treaty.

However, the real consequences of the failure in the next war with Turkey appeared only a few years later. The new king decided to investigate the reasons for the fiasco. They consisted, among other things, in an outdated and ineffective system of replenishing the army personnel.

Disadvantages of the recruiting system

Before the introduction of universal conscription, there was conscription in Russia. It was introduced in 1705. An important feature of this system was that the obligation did not extend to citizens, but to communities that chose young men to be sent to the army. At the same time, the service life was lifelong. Bourgeois and artisans chose their candidates by a blind lot. This norm was enshrined in law in 1854.

The landowners who owned their own serfs chose the peasants themselves, for whom the army became their home for life. The introduction of universal conscription saved the country from another problem. It consisted in the fact that legally there was no definite He fluctuated depending on the region. At the end of the 18th century, the service life was reduced to 25 years, but even such a time frame took people away from their own economy for too long a period. The family could be left without a breadwinner, and when he returned home, he was already practically incapacitated. Thus, not only a demographic but also an economic problem arose.

Reform proclamation

When Alexander Nikolaevich appreciated all the disadvantages of the existing order, he decided to entrust the introduction of universal military service to the head of the Ministry of War, Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin. He worked on the new legislation for several years. The development of the reform ended in 1873. On January 1, 1874, the introduction of universal conscription finally took place. The date of this event became significant for contemporaries.

The recruiting system was canceled. Now all men who have reached the age of 21 were subject to conscription. The state made no exceptions for estates or ranks. Thus, the reform also affected the nobles. The initiator of the introduction of universal conscription, Alexander II insisted that there should be no privileges in the new army.

Terms of service

The main one was now 6 years old (in the navy - 7 years). Also, the time frame for staying in the reserve has been changed. Now they were equal to 9 years (in the navy - 3 years). In addition, a new militia was formed. For 40 years, those men who had already served in fact and in reserve fell into it. Thus, the state received a clear, regulated and transparent system of replenishment of troops for any occasion. Now, if a bloody conflict began, the army did not have to worry about the influx of fresh forces into its ranks.

If the family had an only breadwinner or only son, he was released from the obligation to go to serve. A flexible deferral system was also provided (for example, in the case of low welfare, etc.). The period of service was reduced depending on what education the conscript had. For example, if a man had already completed his studies at the university, he could have been in the army for only a year and a half.

Delays and exemptions

What other features did the introduction of universal military service in Russia have? Among other things, there were deferrals for conscripts who had health problems. If, due to his physical condition, a man was not capable of serving, he was generally exempted from the obligation to go to the army. In addition, an exception was made for the ministers of the church. People with specific professions (medical doctors, students at the Academy of Arts) were immediately enlisted in the reserve without actually being in the army.

The national question was sensitive. For example, representatives of the indigenous peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus did not serve at all. At the same time, such benefits were canceled in 1874 for the Lapps and some other northern nationalities. This system gradually changed. Already in the 1880s, foreigners from Tomsk, Tobolsk and also Turgai, Semipalatinsk and Ural regions began to be called up for service.

Acquisition areas

There were other innovations that marked the introduction of universal military service. The year of reform was remembered in the army by the fact that now it began to be recruited according to the regional ranking. The entire Russian Empire was divided into three large sections.

The first of them was Great Russian. Why was it called that? It included the territories in which the absolute Russian majority lived (over 75%). Counties became objects of ranking. It was according to their demographic indicators that the authorities decided to which group to assign residents. The second plot included land, where there were also Little Russians (Ukrainians) and Belarusians. The third group (foreign) includes all other territories (mainly the Caucasus, the Far East).

This system was necessary for the manning of artillery brigades and infantry regiments. Each such strategic unit was replenished with residents of only one site. This was done in order to avoid interethnic strife in the troops.

Reform in the system of training military personnel

It is important that the implementation of the military reform (the introduction of universal conscription) was accompanied by other innovations. In particular, Alexander II decided to completely change the system of officer education. Military educational institutions lived according to the old bone order. In the new conditions of universal conscription, they became ineffective and costly.

Therefore, these institutions began their own serious reform. Its main guide was the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (the Tsar's younger brother). The main changes can be noted in several theses. First, the special military education was finally separated from the general one. Secondly, access to it was facilitated for men who did not belong to the nobility.

New military educational institutions

In 1862, new military gymnasiums appeared in Russia - secondary educational institutions that were analogous to civilian real schools. After another 14 years, all class qualifications for admission to such institutions were finally canceled.

In St. Petersburg, the Alexander Academy was founded, which specialized in the production of army and legal personnel. By 1880, the number of military educational institutions throughout Russia had increased markedly compared to the numbers at the beginning of the reign of the liberator tsar. There were 6 academies, the same number of schools, 16 gymnasiums, 16 schools for cadets, etc.

The Crimean War revealed the glaring shortcomings of the Nikolaev army and the entire military organization of Russia. The army was replenished with recruits, which fell with all their weight on the lower classes of the population, for the nobility was free from compulsory military service (from 1762), and rich people could buy off recruiting. Soldier's service lasted 25 years and was associated, in addition to military dangers, with such hardships, hardships and hardships that the population, handing over their youth to recruits, said goodbye to it, in most cases, forever. Returning to military service was seen as a severe punishment: the landowners sought to recruit the most vicious (or recalcitrant) element from their villages, and in the criminal law return to the soldier was directly provided for in the number of punishments, on a par with exile to Siberia or imprisonment in prison companies.

The replenishment of the army with officers was also in a very unsatisfactory position. Military schools were far from sufficient to replenish the army with the necessary officers; most of the officers (from the noble "ignoramuses" or from the currying non-commissioned officers) were of a very low level. The mobilization of the army in wartime was difficult due to the lack of trained reserves, both officers and soldiers.

At the very beginning of the reign of Alexander II, the most egregious hardships and injustices of the preceding era were eliminated: the cantonist schools of cantonists - soldiers' children - were closed and the cantonists were dismissed from the military class.

(1805 -1856 - Cantonists ("Canton" - with German) were called minor soldiers' sons who were registered with the military department from birth, as well as children of schismatics, Polish rebels, Gypsies and Jews (children of Jews took from 1827 - under Nicholas I, before that there was a cash tax). - ldn-knigi)

Military settlements were abolished. In 1859, the period of compulsory military service for newly entering lower ranks was set in the army - 15 years, in the navy - 14.

With the entry into the management of the Ministry of War

D. A. Milyutin, in 1861, began an energetic and systematic work with a view to radical and comprehensive {244} reforms of the army and the entire military department. In the 60s, Milyutin transformed the central military administration. In 1864, the "Regulations" on the military district administration introduced local bodies of military administration. All of Russia was divided into several military districts (in 1871 there were 14: 10 of them in European Russia, three in the Asian and Caucasian districts) with "commanders" at the head, and thus the central military administration in St. Petersburg was relieved of many small matters and on the other hand, conditions were created for a faster and more organized mobilization in certain parts of the state.

Taking care of the training of army officers, Milyutin completely reorganized the military education system. The former few cadet corps (consisting of general education and special classes) were transformed into "military gymnasiums" with a general education course of real gymnasiums, and their senior classes were separated for special military training of future officers and formed special "military schools". In view of the insufficient number of existing military schools, "military gymnasiums" (with a 4-year general education course) and "cadet schools" (with a 2-year course) were created. In 1880 in Russia there were 9 military schools (including special ones), 16 cadet schools; military gymnasiums 23, progymnasiums 8. For higher military education there were academies: general staff, engineering, artillery and military medical; the military-legal academy was created again.

But the main reform of Milyutin and his main merit is the introduction of universal military service in Russia. The project worked out by Milyutin met with strong opposition in the State Council and in the "special presence on military service." The hardened conservatives and supporters of noble privileges objected to the reform and frightened the tsar with the future "democratization" of the army, but with the support of the sovereign and led. Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich, {245} who chaired the State Council, Milyutin managed to carry out his project.

(On December 3, 1873, the sovereign said to Milyutin: “There is a strong opposition to the new law ... did not want to come to terms with the idea that their Zhorzhiki would have to join the ranks of the soldiers along with the village Bears and Grishkas. In his diary for 1873, Milyutin notes about the progress of the project: "it is going tight, there are many disputes", or: "hot meeting", or : "Count DA Tolstoy appears on the stage again, and again irritable, bilious, stubborn bickering." Minister of Education Count Tolstoy argued most of all against those benefits for education, insisted on minister of war Milyutin.).

On January 1, 1874, the Manifesto on the introduction of universal military service was issued. On the same day, the Charter on military service was published, the first article of which read: “The defense of the throne and the fatherland is the sacred duty of every Russian citizen. The male population, regardless of status, is subject to military service. " Under the new law, every year (in November) there is a call for military service.

All young people who have turned 20 years old by January 1 of this year must appear for the call; then, from those who will be recognized as fit for military service, such a number of "recruits" is drawn by lot as is required in the current year to replenish the army and navy; the rest are enlisted in the "militia" (which is called up for service only in case of war). The term of active service in the army was set at 6 years; those who served this term were enlisted for 9 years in the army reserve (in the navy, respectively, the terms were 7 years and 3 years).

Thus, Milyutin's law for the first time created trained reserves for the Russian army in case of mobilization. - When serving military service, a number of benefits were provided for marital status and education. Young people who were the only breadwinners of their families were exempted from conscription {246} (the only son had the 1st category privilege), and for those who received education, the period of active service was significantly reduced, to varying degrees depending on the level of education. Persons who had a well-known educational qualification could (upon reaching the age of 17) serve military service as "volunteers" first officer rank and formed a cadre of reserve officers.

Under the influence of the "spirit of the times" and thanks to care and efforts

YES. Milyutin in the 60s and 70s, the entire structure and nature of the life of the Russian army changed completely. Severe drills and cane discipline with cruel corporal punishment were banished from her.

(Corporal punishment was preserved only for those who were fined ", that is, the seriously guilty and transferred to the" disciplinary battalions "of the lower ranks.). Their place was taken by a reasonable and humane education and training of soldiers; on the one hand, combat training increased: instead of "ceremonial marches", they were trained in target shooting, fencing and gymnastics; the armament of the army was improved; at the same time, the soldiers were taught to read and write, so that the Milutin army, to some extent, compensated for the lack of schooling in the Russian countryside.

In connection with the general renewal of Russian social life, there was a reform of conscription. In 1874, a charter on universal military service was given, which completely changed the order of replenishment of troops.

Under Peter the Great, as we know, all the estates were involved in military service: the nobility without exception, the tax-paying estates - by the supply of recruits. When the laws of the 18th century gradually freed the nobility from compulsory service, recruitment turned out to be the lot of the lower classes of society, and moreover the poorest, since the rich could pay off the soldiery by hiring a recruit for themselves. In this form, recruiting became a heavy and hateful burden for the population. She ruined poor families, depriving them of breadwinners, who, one might say, left their farms forever.

The term of service (25 years) was such that a person, once a soldier, was torn away from his environment for life.

Under the new law, all young people who have reached 21 years of age in a given year are annually called up to serve military service. The government determines each year the total number of recruits required for the troops and draws only this number from all conscripts by lot. The rest are enlisted in the militia. Those taken into service are listed in it for 15 years: 6 years in the ranks and 9 in the reserve.

Having left the regiment for the reserve, the soldier is only from time to time called up for training sessions, so short that they do not interfere with private pursuits or peasant work. Educated people have been in the ranks for less than 6 years, and so are the volunteers.

The new system of manning the troops, by its very idea, was supposed to lead to profound changes in the military order. Instead of a harsh soldier drill based on punishments and punishments, a reasonable and humane education of a soldier was introduced, bearing not a simple class duty, as it was before, but the sacred civic duty of defending the fatherland. In addition to military training, the soldiers were taught to read and write and tried to develop in them a conscious attitude towards their duty and understanding of their soldier's business. Long-term management of the War Office of Count D.

And Milyutin was marked by a number of educational events aimed at implanting military education in Russia, raising the spirit of the army, and improving the war economy.

Universal military service met two needs of the time.

Firstly, it was impossible to leave the old order of replenishing the army with those social reforms that led to the equalization of all classes of society before the law and the state.

Secondly, it was necessary to put the Russian military system on a par with the Western European one.

In the states of the West, following the example of Prussia, universal conscription was in effect, turning the population into an "armed people" and imparting to military affairs the significance of the nationwide.

The Armenians of the old type could not equal the new ones either in the strength of national inspiration, or in the degree of mental development and technical training. Russia could not lag behind its neighbors in this respect. Platonov S.F. Lectures on Russian history. - SPb, 1999 p. 32

The international situation in the late 1960s, characterized by a significant increase in armaments in a number of European states, required Russia to increase its wartime staff. This was also due to the large length of the borders of the Russian Empire, when during the conduct of hostilities in the region, a significant part of the troops could not be redeployed.

The way to increase the standing army could no longer be acceptable, due to the high financial costs. The increase in the composition of the existing units in the wartime state was also rejected by Milyutin, since firstly, it did not give tangible results (the introduction of the fourth battalions in all regiments would increase the army by only 188 thousand people), and secondly, this would lead to "an increase in the size of the army to the detriment of its dignity", in the absence of proper conditions increase. Rejecting these paths, Milyutin came to the conclusion that it was necessary to form a reserve army. Which should be formed from the number of persons who have completed military service. At the same time, it was planned to change the order of military service and reduce the duration of active military service.

ENE material

Conscription- The obligation to personally defend one's homeland has existed at all times and in all states, although its very execution has been subject to various fluctuations and distortions. At first right to personally defend the fatherland was the privilege of only full (free) citizens; subsequently it turned into duty all citizens; then the privileged classes of society began to be freed from this duty, and, finally, in the last years of the 19th century, general V. conscription, mandatory for everyone and does not allow any privileges. In the states of ancient Greece, only free citizens had the right to bear arms; slaves armed themselves only in moments of extreme danger. In ancient Rome, the right to bear arms was the privilege of free citizens of the first 5 classes; but then, as the belligerence of the Romans diminished, the upper classes began to evade military service, and the army began to be replenished with mercenaries. Among the ancient Germanic peoples, a noble youth had to learn to wield weapons from an early age and, only having learned this art and received weapons at a solemn meeting of the people, did he become a full citizen; participation in offensive campaigns was obligatory for him if they were decided at a general assembly, but for the defense of the fatherland (Landwehre) he was always obliged to take up arms. Here one can already see not only the right to serve in the army, but also the duty of military service, the latter being different in an offensive war and in a defensive one. The power to decide the conduct of offensive wars, which formerly belonged to the assembly of all free citizens, gradually passed to the powerful vassals of the crown; they did not always appear at the call of the king, so that, although V. Heerbann) in Germany was not abolished, but in fact the king could not force all his subjects to obey her. A similar order of things prevailed in the Middle Ages and in France. The armies of that time were composed almost exclusively of mounted knights; the service was carried only by the nobility, while the rest of the population was called upon to serve their military service mainly in moments of danger, for defense countries. The exception was the English army, which during the 100-year war included numerous and skilled foot archers. The idea to call the entire people to fulfill the V. duty belonged in France to Charles V, but all attempts to carry it out, made by him and his successors, turned out to be more or less unsuccessful. In recruitment, the main role began to play recruitment(cm.); V. duty in kind was replaced by monetary duty; the nobility finally began to evade V. duty, and recruitment already from the middle of the 17th century. it was almost always done by force. This order of things, hated by the people, continued until the first French revolution. In g. The French National Assembly decreed that the army should be manned exclusively by hunters; but already the next year they were not enough, and then it was announced requisition of all citizens 18-25 years old, that is, actually introduced universal B. conscription, which in the city was finally legalized by the introduction concriptions. According to the new law, citizens of 20-25 years old were subject to conscription, and the younger ones were called up for service (without a lot); but already in the next year, some exemptions were made, and since the year, substitution has been allowed; at the same time, at the time of concription, the lot was introduced. The general military conscription provided means to deploy armies of unprecedented sizes: over the course of eight years (1792-1800), France gave 1,703,300 recruits, and during the 15-year reign of Napoleon, 2,674,000 (not counting foreigners who served in Napoleon's armies). With the restoration of the Bourbons (), the conscription was canceled; the army was replenished with hunters, but in the city, due to the lack of the latter, the call was again admitted by lot, with which, however, substitution was permitted. The various modifications that followed in the way the army was recruited had an unfavorable effect on the composition of the troops, and only after the defeats of 1870-71. in France reintroduced universal and personal B. conscription, which does not allow for redemption or substitution; but the wealthy classes were given a privilege in the form of the right to serve as volunteers for only 1 year (see this word), subject to passing the exam and a one-time payment of 1 1/3 thousand francs. According to the latest law, on July 15, conscription is compulsory for all Frenchmen. All citizens fit for service (except those subjected to shameful punishments or deprived of civil honor) belong to the armed forces from 20 to 45 years of age. There are no substitutions, and exemptions are only permitted in the form of temporary or conditional layoffs. Terms of service: 3 years in the active army, 7 years in its reserve, 6 years in the territorial army and 9 years in its reserve. The length of the terms of service established by law cannot be reduced otherwise than because of illness or, in cases provided for by law, by prior service by the dismissed full year under the banner. Prior to serving this term, lower ranks cannot be dismissed on vacation. The new French military law, establishing the general obligation of military service, allows only a strictly limited number of exemptions ( exemptions), exemptions ( dispenses) and deferrals to protect both family and public interests. Regardless of how the army is recruited with annual conscriptions, the troops are replenished with volunteer and extra-urgent lower ranks. Volunteers who meet the conditions established by law are admitted for 3-, 4- and 5-year terms. In wartime, the law allows, in addition, the admission of volunteers for the duration of the war. On long-term service (rengagés) in the active forces for a period of 2 to 5 years (and in the cavalry - even for 1 year), it is allowed to remain, with the consent of the unit chiefs, to the lower ranks of good behavior, not older than 29 years old, but non-commissioned officers. officers - not older than 35 years. IN medieval Germany V. the duty was at first universal, but then they began to demand 1 householder out of 10, with the other 9 helping him to equip himself; the call of the people for service intensified as the nobility (with the decline of chivalry) began to evade military service. From to gg. 1 householder out of 5 was taken into service. But this V. duty of the people related only to service in the militia, convened from time to time to defend the homeland; the manning of the army itself was carried out by means of recruiting which was far from voluntary; so, for example, in Austria in the city it was prescribed at night with the help of soldiers to catch people fit for service. A peasant up to 40 and even up to 50 years of age daily risked being captured for giving up for life in military service. Subsequently, in Austria, various measures were taken to streamline military conscription, but recruitment continued to be the main method for manning the army. Since Mr. V. the duty was extended to the nobles, and, however, substitution was allowed, so that the V. duty, although it became universal, was not yet personal; it became personal only after the defeats suffered by the Austrians in the war. In Brandenburg in the 17th century, the troops were first recruited into service by a certain part of the householders, but then, due to the failure of this method, by recruitment, usually by force. As a result of the displeasure caused by it, and to alleviate the local population, the recruitment of foreigners was introduced in Prussia; of the Prussian subjects, only people of bad behavior were forcibly taken into the troops. To streamline the sets in the country in the city was introduced cantonal system, moreover, each regiment is given its own recruitment district (canton). Along with this, the recruitment of foreigners has been preserved. Under Frederick the Great, the number of the latter, due to frequent wars, greatly decreased, so that by the end of the Seven Years War, the army consisted mainly of the so-called cantonists, that is, Prussian subjects. Then, during the period of peace, the number of foreigners increased again: in the army moved against France, out of 122 thousand there were only 60 thousand Prussians. Both at this time, and earlier, V. conscription in Prussia, although it was approaching universal, was not generally obligatory: nobles, sons of officers, officials, rich people, etc. were spared from it, so that V. conscription lay only on the black people. ... This order changed only after the unfortunate war for Prussia, the law of the city stopped the recruitment of foreigners, and the army became purely national. In the city, to assist the army in driving out the enemy from the borders of the fatherland, landwehr, which had the character of the people's militia. For the time of the forthcoming war, all class exemptions from military service were abolished. With general animation, the nobility was ready to join the ranks of the army, to give up for a while this war from their privileges and serve in the landwehr, formed to drive out the enemy. But the landwehr () crossed the border to pursue the enemy and actually became part of the army, and the general obligation of military service became so popular in the country that it was finally established by the law of the year for service not only in the landwehr, but also in the active army. Since universal and personal V. conscription served as the basis for the recruitment of the Prussian army, and after the emergence of the North German Confederation and the German Empire, this law was extended to other states of Germany. IN Of Italy general and personal V. conscription was introduced in the city. Great Britain due to its geographical position and strong fleet, it is secured against external attacks, and therefore does not need such a development of armed forces as the continental powers; consequently, the method of manning its army is different from that of other great powers. In modern times, no one is obliged to serve in the army: it is replenished with the recruitment of hunters. The militia was initially deployed by landowners, but then also began to be replenished with recruiting. According to the law of the city, all citizens can be called by lot to serve in the militia; but in fact it is still being recruited, and there is actually no V. duty.

IN Of Russia before Peter the Great, the army was replenished mainly by persons allotted with land under the condition of lifelong and universal service of themselves and their descendants (nobles, boyar children). Sagittarius, city ​​Cossacks and gunners recruited from free hunting people who were not in the tax, and received for this land, grain and monetary salaries, benefits in trade and crafts. In wartime, horse and foot people also gathered subordinate people, exhibited either from a certain piece of land, or from a certain number of yards. Soldier and Reitarsky the regiments were replenished first with eager people, and later - with the transfer of the children of boyars, dacha people, and so on. Thus, only noblemen and boyar children without exception were obliged to V. for conscription; from other estates, eager people entered the troops, and, as needed, they needed sufficient ones. Peter I, having abolished the streltsy regiments (), founded the manning of the army on the compulsory service of the nobles and on the collection of tributary people who were called from the city of St. recruits. The nature of the military service has changed completely: before the army, almost all of it was settled and was assembled only in wartime and in short

Each state has the ability to determine the age of conscription, as well as other conditions that determine the quality and duration of service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some states to this day under various names. The modern system of almost complete national conscription of young people dates back to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became the backbone of a very large and powerful army and navy. Most European states later copied this system for peacetime, so that people at a certain age usually serve one year - 8 years in active service, and then go to the reserve (reserve) and retire.

Various forms are known in the history of the world conscription:

• a recruiting system in which only the required number of recruits is recruited from the population in one way or another, and the rest of the population is actually exempt from any service.
• the militia system, which is the exact opposite of the recruiting system: every citizen capable of carrying weapons is recognized as part of the armed forces of the state, enrolled in them and trained in military affairs.
• the personnel system, which is the most widespread at the present time, and combines the advantages of the first two. Active conscription service brings it closer to the recruiting system, and various forms of the reserve and militia - to the militia.

History

Ancient world

During the heyday of the ancient states, which were accompanied by wars of conquest, the recruitment of broad strata of the population was introduced, which made it possible to recruit and replenish large armies necessary for military campaigns. In particular, recruitment kits existed in Ancient Egypt in the era of the New Kingdom (II millennium BC), in Assyria, which waged frequent wars in the I millennium BC. NS.

Antiquity

“I will not desecrate this sacred weapon and will not leave in the ranks of my comrade. I will defend not only what is holy, but also what is not holy, both alone and together with others. I will pass on to the descendants the fatherland, not humiliated or diminished, but increased and in an improved position in comparison with the one in which I inherited it. I will read the decisions of the wise. I will obey the laws that have been or will be accepted by the people, and if anyone decides to violate them, I must not allow that, and I will defend them, whether I have to do it alone or others will be with me. I will honor beliefs. "

In ancient Greece

In ancient Greece, as a result of the "hoplite revolution", the main role in battles began to be played not by aristocratic branches of the army - cavalry and chariots - but by heavily armed infantry. For the wars of the new model, numerous troops were required, formed by the convening of the militia. Military service becomes mainstream duty citizen of the policy.

In most policies, a citizen underwent military training from 18 to 20 years old, spending 2 years in the border guard detachments, in the future he only participated in the militia during the campaigns. For example, in Athens, all citizens between the ages of 17 and 59 were required to serve in the army. Of these, about half were involved in active hostilities, since those who were under 19 years old and veterans were serving in garrison service.

Of all the ancient Greek city-states, the development of which followed approximately the same path, Sparta stands out. In Sparta, citizens (Spartiats) were exempted from all occupations except war. From the age of 7, they received military training and were under arms throughout their lives.

After the Peloponnesian War, in an atmosphere of general decline and protracted wars of policies for hegemony, the participation of citizens in the militia became unnecessarily burdensome, so there was a massive recourse to the services of mercenaries. Wars were often fought exclusively by mercenary armies, the militia was convened only when the enemy invaded the territory of the polis.

In ancient rome

In ancient Rome, military service was also the duty of a citizen of the empire. Each class went to war in its own special weaponry and split into juniores, 17 to 45 years old, and seniores, 46 to 60 years old. The younger ones were usually sent to the field troops, and the older ones to the garrison, but some centuries were formed by both categories of military personnel.

Under Caesar and Pompey, in the 1st century. BC NS. the Roman army began to be recruited on a voluntary basis.

Middle Ages

Medieval monarchs were in charge of the royal ost - a militia of vassals, convened exclusively in case of war. In theory, every vassal and even every subject was obliged to serve in the East to the king as overlord. But custom quickly brought this duty to an insignificant little. Vassals brought no more than a tenth of the knights that they could have in private wars to the Royal Ost, the communes sent a limited number of sergeants. In addition, the service of the knights in almost all customs was limited to forty days, the infantry served no more than three months. For the Ost to be able to fight for more than six weeks, he had to pay a salary.

New time

A new page in history conscription began during the Thirty Years War. At the beginning of the 17th century, Sweden was the first European state to begin recruiting the armed forces and achieved significant success in the fight against the mercenary armed forces of other states. With the participation of the clergy, family lists were drawn up throughout the country of all men over 15 years old, and recruited at the discretion of local authorities. Recruiting was a prerequisite for the further aggressive expansion of Sweden in the 17th century.

The specificity of military duty in Russia was that in addition to the nobles, there was another class liable for military service - the Cossacks.

The modern concept of military duty was invented during the French Revolution. In February 1793, the Convention announced the compulsory recruitment of 300 thousand people, and six months later, in August, it decreed a general military duty- Levée en masse. In 1798, a law was passed that said: "Every Frenchman is a soldier and has a duty to defend the nation." This allowed the creation of the "Great Army", which Napoleon called "the armed nation" and which successfully fought against the professional armies of Europe. But this system did not hold up in France after the fall of Napoleon. During the Bourbon Restoration, the French army was recruited with volunteers, and later - by lot with the right of substitution.

XX century

At the beginning of the 20th century, industrially developed states planned military construction, assuming that future conflicts would be resolved with the material and human resources accumulated in peacetime. However, the First World War quickly ate up the accumulated military reserves, and the increased capabilities of the defense industry in the 20th century made it possible to organize the production of a large number of military products, including using low-skilled labor. This led to massive mobilizations in the participating countries, so Germany, at the very beginning of the war, recruited 3.8 million of the 67 million population for 1914 into the armed forces, Russia - 5.3 million of the 173 million total population.

As a result of the Versailles Peace, Germany, as a losing country, had no right to recruit into the armed forces on a conscription basis; universal conscription was renewed on March 16, 1935 on the basis of contract service - the Reichswehr.

Recently, there has been a tendency to resume conscription into the armed forces, so conscription to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (canceled by Yanukovych), the Armed Forces of Denmark and others was renewed. In 2017, the Swedish government intends to reintroduce universal military service in the country, which was abolished in 2010.

Conscription in Russia

Russia

In the pre-Petrine period, military service in its modern sense practically did not exist. The Russian population was divided into taxable estates, obliged to the state by taxes, and servicemen, obliged to serve. The basis of the army was the noble militia (feudal cavalry) and rifle infantry.

In the 17th century, it became more and more obvious that such a military organization lagged behind the more advanced European armies of that time, especially the Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian (since these countries were neighbors of Russia). Attempts began to organize regiments of a foreign system, adapting foreign military experience. When recruiting these troops, in addition to foreign military specialists, and Russian "eager people" were also used "tributary people" (who came to the troops by conscription). However, until the accession of Peter, such regiments were few in number, and still had low combat readiness.

Imperial period

The law of 1874 "On universal military service" conscription into the Russian army existed for Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Catholics and Jews, Muslims were not subject (with certain exceptions) to conscription, as well as nomadic foreigners, Buddhists and some Christian sectarians, in particular Molokans and Stundists.

Soviet period

the Russian Federation

In March 2019, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation adopted in the second reading a list of amendments to the law "", significantly expanding the list of grounds for deferring military service.

“In total, citizens who have chosen higher professional education can take advantage of four deferrals from military service. The first time - at school, the second time - when studying at the preparatory department, the third time - when studying under the bachelor's and specialist's programs, the fourth time - when studying under the master's programs "(First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Andrei Krasov).

The prevalence of conscription in the world

Some countries in which there is a compulsory conscription

In the Russian Federation, there is the Federal Law "On conscription and military service." According to paragraph 1 of Art. 22 Federal Law "On conscription and military service", conscription is subject to:

Male citizens between the ages of 18 and 27

• PRC. The call for military service is carried out at the age of 18, while it is possible to really join the ranks of the armed forces of the PRC only after passing a special selection. Typically, young people from poor rural areas strive to dress in military uniforms, since the army provides them with housing and a stable salary.
• DPRK - Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Citizens are conscripted upon reaching 17 years of age. The term of the conscript's conscript service:

• in the ground forces - 5-12 years.
• in the Air Force and Air Defense Forces - 3-4 years.
• in the Navy - 5-10 years.

Countries with voluntary military service

In recent decades, there has been a tendency in many countries to abandon military conscription (if any). At the same time, conscript armies are supplanted by completely professional Special Operations Forces and precision weapons become the main factor in the military power of the state and oust numerous military formations and even nuclear weapons [ ]. Among the countries that have refused military conscription:

• USA. Military conscription was used at various times, mainly during wars, and was last used in 1973. However, all male US residents (both citizens and non-citizens) between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register for military service. This measure exists in case Congress deems it necessary to renew the call.
• Germany. Military conscription suspended from July 1, 2011
• Netherlands, gradual transition to a professional army began in 1991, the last conscript was transferred to the reserve in 1996
• Italy, since 1999 compulsory military service has been abolished, the final transition to a professional army - since January 1, 2005. Also, the Italian reform gave good prospects for women who can serve in various branches of the military and occupy different posts and positions.
• Hungary, November 2004
• Czech Republic, Dec 31, 2004
• Slovakia, Jan 1, 2006
• Montenegro, Aug 30, 2006
• Poland, 2009, last draft - 2008
• Lithuania, from September 15, 2008 to March 2015. On June 21, 2016, President Grybauskaite signed a law introducing universal conscription. The law came into force on September 1.
• Sweden, the decision was made on June 16, 2009, entered into force on July 1, 2010 After the end of the Cold War, conscription in Sweden actually became voluntary; only those who expressed their voluntary consent to this were conscripted into the army for 11 months - about 5,000 people a year. In 2017, the Swedish government intends to reintroduce universal military service, which was abolished in 2010, in the country.
• Switzerland Military service is divided into stages. It starts with fundamental training - recruitment schools (49 days), and then military training camps with a frequency of 21 days a year, until the servicemen serve 260 days. Weapons and military uniforms are kept at home. During the collection period, the employer usually pays his distracted employee 80-100% of his monthly job salary. The Swiss Confederation has instituted a series of payments to compensate for the loss of profits to employers, through which the state pays companies monetary compensation for the days of military service by their employees. Individuals who do not have a permanent place of work, as well as students, are paid the amount of compensation in person. Soldiers also receive a negligible salary in the range of CHF 5 per day.
• Georgia In June 2016, Defense Minister Khidasheli signed a decree abolishing compulsory conscription. In 2017, it entered into force.

In works of art

• "Recruiter Sergeant" Burletta (1770)
• film "DMB"

see also

Notes (edit)

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