Alexander II is known for his many 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 draft system in the Russian army. The format of universal conscription with some changes existed in the Soviet Union and remains today.
Military reform
The introduction of universal conscription for the then residents of Russia 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 shamefully lost the Crimean War unleashed by his father Nicholas I. Alexander had to conclude an unprofitable peace treaty.
However, the real consequences of failure in the next war with Turkey appeared only after a few years. The new king decided to figure out the reasons for the fiasco. They included, among other things, an outdated and inefficient system of replenishing army personnel.
Disadvantages of the recruit system
Before the introduction of universal military service, there was a conscription service in Russia. It was introduced by decree of Peter I in 1705. An important feature of this system was that conscription did not apply to citizens, but to communities that chose young men to be sent to the army. At the same time, the service life was life. Petty bourgeoisie, state peasants and artisans chose their candidates through blind lot. This norm was enshrined in law in 1854.
The landowners, who owned their own serfs, themselves chose the peasants for whom the army became a home for life. The introduction of universal military service delivered the country from another problem. It consisted in the fact that legally there was no specific draft age. It fluctuated depending on the region. At the end of the XVIII century, the service life was reduced to 25 years, but even such a time frame separated people from their own households for too long a period. The family could be left without a breadwinner, and when he returned home, he was already practically incapacitated. Thus, there was not only a demographic, but also an economic problem.
Proclamation of Reform
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. January 1, 1874 finally introduced the introduction of universal military service. The date of this event has become a landmark for contemporaries.
The recruit system was canceled. Now all men who have reached the age of 21 are subject to the call. The state made no exceptions for estates or ranks. Thus, the reform also affected the nobles. The initiator of the introduction of universal military service, Alexander II, insisted that the new army should not have privileges.
Terms of service
The main service life in the army was now 6 years (in the Navy - 7 years). Also changed the time frame of stay in stock. Now they were 9 years (in the Navy - 3 years). In addition, a new militia was forming. Those men who had already served in fact and in reserve fell into it for 40 years. 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 could not worry about an influx of fresh forces into its ranks.
If the family had a single breadwinner or only son, he was relieved of 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 kind of education the draftee had. For example, if a man had already graduated from university, he could stay in the army for only a year and a half.
Deferral and Release
What other features did the introduction of universal military service in Russia have? Among other things, there were delays for conscripts who had health problems. If a man was unable to serve due to his physical condition, he was generally freed from the obligation to join the army. In addition to this, an exception was also made for ministers of the church. People who had specific professions (medical doctors, students at the Academy of Arts) were immediately enrolled without actually staying 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 privileges were canceled in 1874 for the Lapps and some other northern nationalities. Gradually, this system changed. Already in the 1880s, foreigners of the Tomsk, Tobolsk and Astrakhan provinces, as well as the Turgai, Semipalatinsk and Ural regions began to be called up for service.
Picking plots
Other innovations appeared that marked the introduction of universal conscription. The year of the reform of Dmitry Milyutin was remembered in the army by the fact that now it began to be equipped according to the regional ranking. The entire Russian Empire was divided into three large sections.
The first of them was Great Russian. Why was he called that? It included territories in which the absolute Russian majority lived (above 75%). The districts became the counties. It was by their demographic indicators that the authorities decided which group to include the residents. The second section included land, where there were also Little Russians (Ukrainians) and Belarusians. The third group (foreign) is all other territories (mainly Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Far East).
This system was necessary for the acquisition of artillery brigades and infantry regiments. Each such strategic unit was replenished to residents of only one site. This was done in order to avoid ethnic hatred in the troops.
Reform in the military training system
It is important that the military reform (the introduction of universal military service) was accompanied by other innovations. In particular, Alexander II decided to completely change the officer education system. Military schools lived in the old bone order. Under the new conditions of universal appeal, they became ineffective and costly.
Therefore, in these institutions began its own serious reform. Its main guide was the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (the younger brother of the king). The main changes can be noted in several theses. Firstly, special military education was finally separated from the general. 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 schools, which were analogues of civilian real schools. After another 14 years, all estate qualifications were finally abolished upon admission to such institutions.
In St. Petersburg, the Alexander Academy was founded, which specialized in the graduation of army and legal personnel. By 1880, the number of military schools throughout Russia increased markedly compared with the figures at the beginning of the reign of the Tsar Liberator. There were 6 academies, the same number of schools, 16 gymnasiums, 16 schools for cadets, etc.