Military settlements existed in Russia from 1810 to 1857. The system was designed to provide the army with a reserve in case of war. Its implementation was distinguished by ambiguity and many excesses.
Background
The first military settlements existed in Russia long before Alexander I. In the XVII ā XVIII centuries, they appeared on the outskirts of the state to protect civilians from nomads living south and east of the country's borders. At different times, many military settlements were on the Volga, in the vicinity of Orenburg and the Caucasus. Most of them by the end of the reign of Catherine the Great was disbanded. The soldier was attributed to the Cossack troops. Someone has merged with the usual urban population.
When Alexander I came to power in 1801, he decided to return this old army system (only in an updated form and for other purposes). The tsar appointed his close associate, Count Alexei Arakcheev, as the main conductor of the reform. The nobleman at first did not even want to take up this matter, but nevertheless agreed, fearing otherwise to lose his influence so important to him on the young emperor.
The designation of military settlements
What inspired military settlements? Arakcheyev, following his monarch, was guided by the Prussian experience. There was a well-functioning army reserve system, which was used in the event of a large-scale conflict.
It was for the rapid replenishment of troops in case of urgent need that military settlements were needed. Arakcheev, in addition, had to offer Alexander Pavlovich a system that could save the country from an outdated recruitment set.
Help budget
If the reform was successful, the treasury could save on preparing the extra parts. In fact, it was an optimization to supplement the budget. The emperor wanted to redistribute the released funds and direct them to transformations in agriculture. First of all, Alexander was eager to redeem the peasants from the landlords and help them get rid of serfdom (later this was possible only in the Baltic States and Finland).
What else should the military settlements of Arakcheev have to help? From year to year, the lower military ranks continued to suffer from low material conditions and isolation from the family. Reform was supposed to rectify this state of things. In a military settlement, a soldier not only served his country, but also lived next to his family, while at the same time having his own farm. This allowed the family to cultivate land, grow crops, etc. With proper management of the farm, the soldier could feed himself, even after retiring.
Reform Start
In 1810, the first military settlements appeared. Arakcheev chose a musketeer regiment in the Mogilev province to demonstrate the project. The count himself worked out a settlement plan, prepared blueprints, etc. An important feature of the reform was that the peasants who had previously lived on the land where the soldiers ended up were relocated to the southern provinces by state decree.
According to the plan, only the lower ranks (ordinary, non-commissioned officers) settled in military settlements. Arakcheyev ordered to start choosing only the best soldiers with a good reputation. Since households were supposed to run families, mostly married employees went to new settlements. Few bachelors received orders to bond with local peasants. With all this, the state even issued cash benefits to the poorest ordinary people so that they could have a wedding and buy at least a few things for their household. The treasury also shared agricultural implements, cattle and seeds.
From the very appearance of the plan on paper, some close associates discouraged Alexander from taking up this venture, but the emperor firmly insisted on his own (which was unusual for him in his youth). The emperor hoped that with the creation of military settlements in Russia, a new social class would appear that would support the emerging liberal reforms of power.
After the war of 1812
Due to the outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812, the introduction of military settlements was suspended. Arakcheev could see firsthand how his Mogilev regiment, the first to test reform, fought at the front. He was included in the army. When the surviving part of the soldiers returned to their military settlement, it turned out that it was plundered by peasants. In addition, ordinary people turned out to be poor business executives. They were not accustomed to agricultural labor.
The treasury began to suffer serious losses. Then the emperor himself decided to make some changes to the military settlements of Arakcheev. In short, they consisted in the fact that from that moment the authorities ceased to evict the peasants who had previously lived on the lands where the next regiment settled. Moreover, the local villagers were not only left in their native places, but also enrolled in a military settlement. This made it possible to smooth out economic angles - farms began to bring rich harvests and reached self-sufficiency.
Housekeeping
According to the rules, soldier families had to give half of their harvest to the general fund (they could dispose of the other at their own discretion). Farming was hindered by strict regulations, which were based on Arakcheevās misconceptions about working on the ground.
The authorities tried to help the soldiers by various means. For example, German colonists who had the necessary professional experience were discharged to the settlements. However, even their advice did not have an effect. By the end of Alexander Iās reign, settlements annually provided 35 million rubles of income, while the treasury spent 26 on them. But at this level of expenditure, the army was not fully staffed.
The service life of the lower ranks
Arakcheevās famous reform of military settlements defined new terms of service for soldiers. A resident of a rural settlement could retire after 45 years. If he was seriously injured in battle, the man was recognized as disabled and also paid state benefits.
If the villager had children without land serving in the army, he could transfer to them the household that he received from the state. Persons with disabilities were exempted from land work, but at the same time they received work as servants in hospitals and other public institutions, where their work could bring public benefit.
Relations between bosses and soldiers
What else marked the establishment of military settlements? A.A. Arakcheev insisted that the lives of their inhabitants should be fully regulated. The most minor violations of statutes and other norms were strictly punished (including corporal punishment).
All work on earth was supervised by the authorities. Since adults, because of the tight schedule, did not have time to raise their offspring, the children were also mainly managed by the state (in schools and other special institutions). Grown up daughters were married according to the decision of the authorities.
The administration and officers were notable for bribery and unwillingness to delve into issues of housekeeping. This was a system 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 with the unauthorized behavior of the authorities. As a result, discontent began to grow among the soldiers.
Riots
The creation of military settlements led to many conflicts. Arakcheev in 1831 received a message that a riot had begun in the Novgorod province. Before that, the soldiers were unhappy with the authorities, but now they opposed the administration with weapons in their hands. The cause of the escalation of tension was the cholera epidemic. The authorities, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, blocked roads throughout European Russia.
In military settlements, rumors began to spread actively that the administration itself specifically infects soldiers, poisoning bread and water. Cholera riots broke out in Staraya Russa. At first, the authorities reacted sluggishly to the incident, believing that the local garrisons themselves would cope with the discontent. In fact, the riot was only growing. In August 1831, a regular army took part in the suppression of the riots. After the centers of unrest were suppressed, arrests began. In total, more than three thousand people were convicted.
The emergence of counties
Alexander I died in 1825, but his successor and younger brother Nicholas I, despite the dubious nature of the reform, decided to keep the military settlements. However, he also realized that the structure of military settlements was not perfect enough. At the beginning of his reign, he commissioned to develop a project for their transformation.
As a result, in 1831 (according to the Emperorās Highest Decree), the former military settlements were transformed into soldierās districts. They ceased to be the property of the regiments. Soldiers settled in districts according to pre-Alexander rules and regulations. 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 the Crimean War, and there was an economic crisis in the country. Alexander Nicholas I ās father was conservative. For thirty years of his reign, he almost did not change the state and military structure of the country. During this time, the mechanisms developed by Alexander I are outdated. Largely because of this, the Crimean War was lost.
Among these symbols of the old era that were worn out were the military settlements of Arakcheev. The pros and cons of the system were ordered to study in detail the officer and writer Dmitry Stolypin. To do this, he went to the Caucasus, where at that time there were most of all military settlements. The examiner saw a deplorable picture. The local population lived in the most constrained conditions, many did not even have cattle. Aged buildings needed repairs that the treasury could not afford. In other words, households in military settlements were unprofitable and became an economic burden. Returning to St. Petersburg, Stolypin shared his observations with the tsar. In 1857, Alexander II decided to abolish military settlements. Thus, Arakcheevās project on military settlements lasted 47 years.