Kommersant-History No. 1 (158): in what details the devil lies
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Do you know when the Russian army, ignoring the precepts of Peter I, officially allowed beards?
No, the question has nothing to do with recent discussions about the admissibility of such hair on the lower part of the face among Russian military personnel. We are talking about very old times.
In the Soviet era, when mainly historians had access not only to pre-revolutionary documents, but also to many books of the old regime, there was an opinion in the country that the fashion for a beard was introduced in Russia by Alexander III, who reigned in 1881, and wore it himself. But the officers and lower ranks only followed the general trend.
Now anyone seriously interested in Russian army and naval history knows that beards were allowed by Emperor Alexander II in 1874. But the question of how and why usually remains unanswered. But the fact is that one of the main provisions of the military reform, approved 150 years ago, on January 1, 1874*, was the introduction of universal military service. But those who prepared the reform did not take into account an important detail. The Old Believers categorically refused to shave their beards – and under the previous system of conscription, they bought their way out of military service.
The new conscription system caused inevitable conflicts with adherents of the old faith, and the emperor on August 20 of the same year, 1874, decided to allow the wearing of beards in all units except the guard and naval guards crew, grenadiers, his retinue and the institutions of the Naval Ministry. The permission did not apply to the Corps of Gendarmes. The innovation was not treated without concern, but already during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, as photographs show, many generals, officers and even some army units did without the use of razors.
However, all participants in the discussion of military reform did not forget about the interests of noble and wealthy youth, who, in connection with the introduction of universal military service, were expected to serve in the lower ranks. And representatives of the elite persistently tried to introduce details into the new legislation that would allow the noble class to maintain a privileged position. About them – text “I didn’t live in barracks, but in a private apartment”.
It was not possible to achieve a sharp improvement in the quality of command personnel, which was one of the goals of the Alexander military reform, largely because of those amendments. And on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, the Russian high command believed in the weakness of the enemy army, not suspecting that the details that made up the picture that convinced them were falsified by the enemy. All details are in the material “Doesn’t have money for a big war”.
The Russian press also assured their compatriots of the Japanese’s inability to fight for a long time, and at first glance, it was very, very well-reasoned. However, one detail was lost sight of – how realistic the “strict neutrality” of the great powers would be. About how events developed – publication “With “victories” you earn credit”.
Miscalculations due to seemingly insignificant details happened in the past. Thus, in 1844, Emperor Nicholas I ordered the provision of special benefits to an industry that brought significant income to the country and could double it. But six years later, just one point in the customs tariff led the most advanced factories to ruin. There is an article about this in our regular column “Forgotten Life” – “Known as the ‘Russian spirit'”.
And some of the details that his comrades recalled after the death of V.I. Lenin were very soon considered not to correspond to the image of the great leader of the world proletariat and were consigned to oblivion. The most notable of them are in the selection “Extremely radical”.
This issue of the monthly Kommersant-History is about the details that played an important role in the Russian long and not very long past.
Content
“Doesn’t have money for a big war” / What trap did the Russian command lure into?
“With “victories” you earn credit” / What was the basis for confidence in Russia’s military success?
“Extremely radical” / What memories of Lenin have become unwanted
*All dates before February 1, 1918 are given according to the old style.
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