Russian Guard. Pages of history

Today is the Day of the Russian Guard. This holiday appeared only in 2000, but the history of the Russian Guardsmen has already passed the fourth hundred years. Who are they?

The Russian Guard grew out of the "military fun" of Peter I. In 1683, he organized the "amusing troops" of the foreign system. The first soldier to enroll in this new army is Sergei Bukhvostov in history. His distant descendant, Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Bukhvostov, died in Battle of Tsushima 1905, commanding the guards crew of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III".

"War games of the amusing troops of Peter I near the village of Kozhukhovo", A. Kivshenko

In 1691, two regiments were created in the "amusing troops" - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky.

"Amusement" swiftly flew from these real military formations, the officer corps of which became a reliable support of the tsar-reformer.

On September 2, 1700, both of these regiments received the honorary name "Life Guards". This day is considered the birthday of the Russian guard.

In the same 1700, the guards passed their baptism of fire near Narva, against the Swedes. The battle was unsuccessful for the Russian troops, but both regiments did not flinch and held firmly against the Swedish army.

Narva became a legend of the Russian guards, who were born “knee-deep in blood”.

"Battle of Narva", A. Kotsebue, XIX century

At first, the guard had no advantages over the army units. But since 1722, in the Table of Ranks, the guards officers received a seniority of two ranks before the army. For example, a junior guard officer (warrant officer) was considered equal in seniority to an army lieutenant (third officer rank).

In the times of Peter the Great, even privates were enrolled mainly in the nobility, but later transfers from the army and a direct recruitment of recruits of non-noble origin began to be allowed.

"Russian Guard in Tsarskoe Selo in 1832", F. Kruger, 1841

Very tall people were selected for the guard.

So, under Catherine II, the lower threshold for growth was 182.5 cm.Now these figures do not look very good, but remember that food in those years was much worse than the current one, and the average (!) Growth of an ordinary infantry recruit in the 18th century was about 160 −162 cm! It is not surprising that the Guardsmen were constantly called "giants" or "heroes".

Selected and "by suit". The Preobrazhentsy and the Guards naval crew were the first to take the healthiest "bugs" for themselves.

The Semenovites took blue-eyed blondes. Izmailovtsy - dark-haired.

Guards rangers selected for themselves people of "graceful build". The Moscow regiment gathered redheads.

"A group of officers and soldiers of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment", A. I. Gebens, 1853

The guard was distinguished not only by its exterior, but also by excellent training and courage in battle. Almost not a single major general battle of the Russian army in Europe was complete without the participation of the guards.

Such battles as Kunersdorf, Austerlitz, Borodino were included in the track record of the Russian guard.

In the XVIII and in early XIX century, the Russian guard was noted not only for exploits on the battlefield, but also became famous in palace coups.

With the direct participation of the guards officers, Catherine I, Anna Ioannovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine I. I came to power.

The guards also took part in the assassination of Emperor Paul I. Among the Decembrists there were many officers of the guard.

In this sense, the Russian guard was a stronghold of the nobility: the overwhelming majority of the officer corps came from this stratum, while among the army officers by the end of the 19th century, no more than 40% were nobles.

The term "Young Guard" did not appear in the 20th century, but in 1813, when, following the results Patriotic War the composition of the guard expanded: they additionally included two grenadier and one cuirassier regiments.

The new regiments began to be called the "Young Guard", distinguishing it from the "Old", which was more privileged (the latter had two ranks in seniority over the army, and the young only had one). Subsequently, some of the "young" regiments were transferred to the number of "old" ones for military distinction.

Semenovtsy on the Kulmskoye field. Photo: Elena Klimenko, club of military-historical reconstruction "Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment"

In 1918, the Soviet government dismissed the Imperial Guard, among other "remnants". The notorious "Red Guard" did not stay long either: the nascent Red Army was distinguished by its democratic spirit, the very idea of ​​"special" troops hated it.

The Soviet Guard was born again in the fall of the first year of the Great Patriotic War.

On September 18, 1941, four rifle divisions, which demonstrated outstanding fortitude and courage in the Smolensk battle, received the honorary title of "guards". The war was already ended by 17 Guards armies and 215 Guards divisions, as well as 18 ships of the Navy.

Initially, the "guards" were mortar units equipped with rocket artillery - "Katyushas".

In Russian ground forces there are several guards units. The most famous are the Kantemirovskaya tank and Taman motorized rifle divisions, whose deployment near Moscow is still in Soviet time gave them the unofficial nickname "courtiers". But the guard serves everywhere, and on Far East too.

07:48 am - Life Guards of Nicholas II.
Shirokorad A.B. Russian-Japanese wars of 1904-1945 Mn., 2003.
"The life and customs of the Russian guard at the end of the 19th century are well described by eyewitnesses. For example, according to the biographer of Nicholas II, the historian Grunwald, who served at one time in this guard, the difference between the Preobrazhensky regiment and other famous regiments was that the" Transfigurations "were less known their drinking, and were more fond of horses and women, were reputed to be excellent connoisseurs of the statutory service, were distinguished by their impeccable bearing at parades. " (with)

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His Majesty's Life Guards Hussar Regiment officers: Colonel Groten and Vorontsov.
"And here is how VP Obninsky described the pastime of his fellow soldiers:" They often drank all day long, drank themselves to hallucinations in the evening ... So, often the Grand Duke and the hussars who shared company with him began to think that they were no longer people, but wolves ... Everyone then stripped naked and ran into the street ... There they sat on their hind legs (the front ones were replaced by their hands), raised their drunken heads to the sky and began to howl loudly. The old barman already knew what to do. He carried a large tub to the porch, poured it with vodka or champagne, and the flock rushed on all fours to the basin, lapped the wine with its tongue, squealed and bit. "(C)

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His Majesty's Life Guards Hussar Regiment officers: Sollogub, Vorontsov, Groten. A. Vyrubova is sitting in the center. (Tsarkoye Selo, house of the regiment commander on Volkonskaya street).

A.A. Ignatiev Fifty years in the ranks. M., 1941.
“The ability to drink a dozen glasses of champagne in an officer's artel was a must for a cavalry guard. Such was the unspoken exam for young people - they had to drink the glasses in one gulp to the bottom and remain in perfect order.

For many, this was a real torment. It was especially hard for some young people in the first months of service, when the elders gradually switched to "you" with them: in each such case, it was required to drink for brotherhood. Some of the elders, more good-natured people, immediately drank with the young on "you", while others withstood the term, and in this case, the length of the term served as a criterion for how much the young cornet inspires sympathy. At one holiday, the oldest of the former commanders of the regiment, Adjutant General Count Musin-Pushkin, called me over and offered to have a drink with him at brotherhood. However, after the traditional three-time kiss, he said to me impressively:
- Now I can tell you "you", but you still keep telling me "your Excellency".
All the holidays resembled one another: after a rich snack with vodka of all sorts and an exquisite lunch or dinner, the table was placed across the hall and covered with silver jugs of champagne and vases with fruit and sweets.
At first, a chorus of trumpeters entered the hall, famous throughout the capital for the excellent performance of even serious music.
Russian military bandmasters in the Russian guard were rare, and in our regiment this position had been held for many years by "Herr Gübner", who wore the uniform of a military official, but, of course, was not invited to the "lord's table".
The fun didn't go well. Then the regimental songwriters were called in and the actual "festivities" began. If the songwriters are dragging on the song "I’m evening, my dear, I was visiting you," then all the officers of our squadron get up, as this is a squadron song, and drink a glass of champagne. “You hear, comrade, the alarm is being trumpeted,” the songwriters start up, and the officers of the 3rd squadron perform the same ritual, and so on.
In the intervals between the songs, endless "glasses" are sung - everyone in seniority, starting with the regiment commander, and everyone must go to the middle of the hall, stretch out, as if at the command "Attention!", Take a glass of champagne from the tray with a low bow, then turn to the songwriters and, saying: "Your health, brothers", drain the glass to the bottom. At this moment, the soldiers pick him up and lift him in their arms, he must keep straight and drink another glass of beer upstairs. Sometimes they raise several officers at once, and then long speeches begin, glorifying the merits of one or another squadron, one or another officer. And the songwriters must keep the "gentlemen" in their arms until the command "Get on your feet!"
It used to be in the spring, it was already daybreak - several officers were sitting in the billiard room, where the sounds of the same "glass" were heard, the rest continued to drink in the dining room. Monotony, boredom is oppressive, many want to go to sleep, but until the regiment commander leaves, no one has the right to leave the officers' artel. So on all holidays - the regimental, each of the four squadrons, the non-combatant command, at each bachelor party, at each reception of officers of other regiments - all year round and every year, and for some, perhaps, all their lives ...
Nobody thought that these "festivities" were contrary to the military regulations, which punished the lower ranks for drunkenness, and with the military law, which punished more severely for a crime committed while drunk. No one dared or did not want to break this tradition. In addition, general drinking was almost the main connecting link in the officer's environment, and some of the regimental officers even got acquainted with the soldiers thanks to the summons of the songwriters and with surprise noticed among them either new non-commissioned officers or fledgling recruits. "

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The dress and field officer's uniform of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment during the First World War.

Ulyanov I.E. Regular Infantry 1855 - 1918 / History Russian troops... M., 1998.
"Company commanders could change, junior officers - even more so, and the sergeant major remained at his sentry post permanently until old age, as long as health and strength allowed," wrote the officer of the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment B.V. Gerua. He talked about the sergeant major of his regiment Gostilov: “When in 1913 I commanded the 1st battalion in the regiment, I met Gostilov, behind whose broad shoulders there were already 18 years of sergeant-major, marked with chevrons, and with medals and badges for shooting, especially the latter: Gostilov was an amazing shooter, and, like Shalberov (the former sergeant major of His Majesty's company), he had an unquestionable authority, as well as his own peculiarity, which the entire Guard and all the authorities knew: Gostilov lacked an ear for music. marching to the music to the beat and, slightly lagging behind the rhythm, jumped slightly against the background of a smoothly floating mass of a closed formation. And nothing could be done about it. We had to be silent and put up with everyone, starting with the regiment commander and ending with His Majesty. the sergeant-major's leg was unmistakably recognized in the Tsar's Guards company of the Life Guards Jäger Regiment. " (with)

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Officers of the Life Guard of the 2nd rifle battalion of Tsarskoye Selo.
“Since 1890, scooters appeared in the regiments - first 2, then 7. The infantry was supplied with Swift bicycles, heavy and uncomfortable. on the street a cyclist of the Izmailovsky Life Guard Regiment, leaning in a hopeless pose on his car, drenched in sweat and breathing like a steam locomotive. "What, - I say, - is it hard?" - "Oh, Your Excellency, if it was possible to leave this damned car, I would have delivered the package on foot long ago." (with)

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Privates of the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment.
“Since 1884, a ceremony of solemn oath of allegiance for the lower ranks at the regimental banner was introduced.
"Colonel Rerberg leads the regiment to the parade ground, and a rare beauty picture of the oath of the recruits of the 3rd Grenadier King of Pern, Frederick Wilhelm IV of the Regiment, opens before his eyes.
In the middle of the parade ground there are six completely identical tables covered with white tablecloths. In front of the tables, at some distance, stands the regiment's bannerman, senior non-commissioned officer Arthur Stepin, with the regiment's banner and an assistant. Gradually, after several rearrangements, on the other side of each table, slender squares of fit Pernov grenadiers are formed.
Priests of different religions appear in front of each table. The regimental priest with the Cross and the Gospel stands in front of the first table, in front of which is the largest "square" of recruits. A Catholic priest stands in front of the second table, a Lutheran pastor in front of the third, a Muslim mullah in front of the fourth, a Jewish rabbi in front of the fifth, and in front of the sixth, near which there are only two grenadiers, there is no one.
The rite of oath begins, and my friend, the flag bearer Arthur Stepin, his real name is Arthur Stopping, and he himself is a Finn-Lutheran, is bringing the banner to the table of the Orthodox grenadiers-recruits, but he performs his honorary duty as a flag bearer brilliantly.
At the same time, my father, the commander of the regiment, comes up to the last table, and I see an amazing thing that could only happen to us, in old Russia... Both recruits take small packages from their pockets and carefully unwrap the cloths in which they are wrapped. Unfolding the rags, both take out from the bundles two small wooden "gods", carved out of wood and oiled with lard. Both wooden "god-idols" are placed on the table between my father and two recruits, and only then my father, as the highest boss in their eyes, leads both grenadiers to the oath to serve "with faith and truth" to the Tsar and the Fatherland ...

In the reign of Nicholas II, painstaking work on the selection of characteristic types people for the guards units. So, in Preobrazhensky regiment tall blondes were recruited, and in the 3rd and 5th companies - with beards; in Semyonovsky - tall brown-haired; in Izmailovsky and Grenadiersky - brunettes (in the company of His Majesty - bearded); in Moscow - red bearded men; Pavlovsky - snub-nosed people (with beards - in the 5th company, brunettes - in the 9th, the tallest - in the company of His Majesty); in Lithuanian - beardless tall blondes, in Keksholm - beardless tall brown-haired men; in St. Petersburg - brunettes; in Jaegersky, Finlyandsky and Volynsky - "people of light build" of any hair color. 1st Rifle regiment was completed with brunettes, the 4th - with "short-nosed" people with united thick eyebrows "...

For the 25th anniversary of the active service of Nicholas II in the Life Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment (June 23, 1912), the regiment's officers ordered special checkers of the usual officer's sample, but with embossed images of regimental embroidery in the form of laurel leaves (up to the middle of the blade) and with inscriptions in Slavic script under the hilt (across the blade): on one side - "The Turks know us and the Swedes and the world is known about us", on the other - "The Tsar himself always leads us to battles, to victories" ...

On June 12, 1906, riots broke out in the Life Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment, which was supposed to leave the camp in Krasnoe Selo to guard the Emperor who was in Peterhof. The soldiers shouted that they did not want to walk, but wanted to railroad... The regiment commander managed to persuade the regiment to reach Peterhof, but there the unrest resumed. The soldiers of the 1st Battalion refused to go to bed and cursed some of the officers; but the commanders were still able to pacify the battalion even before the local garrison and the arriving Life Grenadiers took over. This incident left a very heavy impression on the capital's garrison. By order of the Emperor, for the lack of internal order and discipline, the 1st battalion was given the status of an army (special); he had to disappear as his ranks were retired. The commander of the guards corps was relieved of his post, and the division commander and regiment commander were dismissed from service for insufficiently effective actions to restore order. "(C)

Any of the existing modern armies
has in its ranks a number of parts,
imbued with a special spirit of self-respect,
based on an outstanding historical past ...
These parts ... should serve as a guarantee of the continuity of those traditions
which form the foundation of every army ...
These elite troops must ...
serve as a practical school,
breeding ground for cadres of other parts of the army.

A. Gerua. "Hordes", 1923

Tsar Peter Alekseevich, the creator of the Russian guard.
Chromolithography on metal. 1909 g

Throughout the thousand-year history Of the Russian state our ancestors constantly had to repel numerous aggression with weapons in their hands, defend the independence and integrity of the state. That is why military service has always been the most honorable and respected in Russia. Among the armed defenders of the Fatherland, guardsmen have always deservedly occupied a special place.

Company banner of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment. 1700 BC

In Russia, the Guard (Life Guard) was created by Peter I from the amusing troops. Until now, historians do not agree on the date of the creation of the Russian Guard. So, in the diary of Peter I, when explaining the failure at Narva in 1700, it is indicated that "only two regiments of the guard were on two attacks at Azov", but in the list of troops that marched at Azov in 1696, the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments of the Guards were not named ... The famous historian P.O. Bobrovsky took 30 May (10 June) 1700 for the birthday of the Guard - the birthday of its "founder-sovereign". In one of the letters dated June 11 (22) of the same year, Peter names Prince Yu. Trubetskoy "guard captain". And, finally, in the "Journal of Peter the Great" under the date of August 22 (September 2), 1700, for the first time, as is commonly believed, the regiments were officially called guards. This day - September 2 (August 22, old style) was established as a memorable day for the Russian Guard.

Tsar Peter I personally engaged in the recruiting of the Guards regiments at the initial period of their formation. "Every soldier who wished to enter a Guards regiment was enlisted only with the permission of the Tsar himself, who put his own handwritten resolutions on their petitions." This “selective” principle of recruiting the lower ranks of the guards units, and even more so the officers, was retained later, although the criterion of the level of education and military professionalism by Peter's successors was largely supplanted by the criteria of political interest, personal loyalty, wealth, gentility, etc.

In the Petrine era, the guards solved a triune task. First, they were the political support of the tsarist power in the implementation of reforms that were not always popular among the people. Not without reason, after the adoption of the imperial title in 1721, the guards units began to be called the "Russian Imperial Guard". Secondly, the guards regiments not only performed the functions of a military school that trained command personnel for the army, but were also a testing ground where all sorts of innovations for reforming the army were tested. Finally, thirdly, the guard was also a combat unit, sometimes the last and decisive argument on the battlefield.

The Russian Guard received the baptism of fire in the Northern War of 1700-1721. In the battle of Narva in November 1700, two guards regiments held back the attacks of the Swedes for three hours. Their perseverance saved the Russian army from complete defeat. For this feat, the officers of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments were awarded badge differences with the inscription: "1700 November 19". The guards also participated in other battles with the Swedes: they took Noteburg (1702), won a victory at Narva (1704), distinguished themselves in the battles of Lesnaya and Poltava (1709), etc.

For a long time, the guardsmen did not have any advantages in ranks with the rest of the troops. However, after the approval at the beginning of 1722 of the table of ranks, the officers of the guards regiments received the seniority of two ranks against the army.

To train officers for army cavalry regiments, the Kronshlots dragoon regiment was formed in 1721, which was commanded to consist of noblemen alone and be called the Life-Regiment (from 1730 - Horse Guards, from 1801 - Life Guards Horse Regiment). In September 1730, another guards regiment was formed - the Izmailovsky Life Guards.

In the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739. a special guards detachment consisting of 3 infantry battalions from the Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Izmailovsky Life Guards regiments, 2 cavalry squadrons and 6 guns participated in the assault on Ochakov, the capture of Khotin and in the Stavuchansky battle of 1739.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna had the rank of colonel of all guards regiments. The grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky with the help of which she ascended the throne, in reward for the services rendered, the empress separated from the regiment and named it the life company.

During the reign of Catherine II, the combined guard battalions took part in Russian-Swedish war 1788-1790 and in two Russian-Turkish wars.

Cavalier Guards during the reign of Emperor Paul I.
From watercolor by A. Baldinger.

During the reign of Paul I, the numerical strength of the guard was significantly increased. Regiments were formed: Life Guards Gusarsky (1796), Life Guards Cossacks (1798) and Cavaliers Guards (1799), as well as Life Guards Artillery and Jaegers battalions.

Under Emperor Alexander I, the Life Guards Jaegers (1806), Finland (1811) and Lithuanian (1811) regiments were formed.

In 1805, the Life Guards cavalry artillery was formed, in 1811 - the Life Guards Artillery Brigade, in 1812 - the Life Guards Sapper Battalion.

During the reign of Alexander I, the guards units took part in all the wars waged by Russia in the European theater of operations. In numerous battles, the guardsmen covered themselves with unfading glory, setting an example of true service to the Fatherland.

The cavalry guards at the Battle of Austerlitz fight with
cavalry of Napoleon.

Inscribed in blood military history Fatherland feat of self-sacrifice of the cavalry guards in the battle of Austerlitz on November 20 (December 2) 1805, when they went to certain death, saving the bleeding Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments from the vastly superior forces of the French cavalry that fell on them. In total, in that terrible wheelhouse, the Cavalier Regiment lost 13 officers and 226 lower ranks. No less bravely fought the enemy in this battle, the cavalrymen of the Life Guards of the Horse and Hussar regiments. The guards Cossacks of Colonel P.A. Chernozubov, who attacked the French in the vanguard of the second column of the allied forces.

The guardsmen also demonstrated miracles of fortitude and courage in subsequent battles with the French. At Pultusk on December 14 (26), 1806, the cuirassiers of His Majesty's regiment (assigned in 1813 to the "Young" Guard) participated in a daring Russian cavalry raid on the enemy's right flank, which decided the outcome of the battle in our favor.

In the battle of Friedland on June 2 (14), 1807, the Hussar and Cossack Life Guards regiments distinguished themselves, fighting with the dragoons from the division of General Grusha, as well as the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, which scattered the Dutch cuirassiers with a bold attack. The Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment, later reckoned among the "Young" Guards, was awarded a special award for exceptional valor and fortitude in battle: "he was ordered to leave the caps with him in the form in which he left the battlefield" (i.e. shot and hacked). During the battle, the regiment went into bayonets eleven times. Regiment Chief, Major General N.N. Mazovsky, wounded in the arm and leg, and unable to sit in the saddle, ordered two grenadiers to carry themselves in front of the regiment in the last attack.

In the Patriotic War of 1812 and in the Foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814. the guards confirmed the glory of Russian weapons. Polotsk and Smolensk, Borodino and Krasny, Kulm and Leipzig, Katzbach and Craon, La Rottier and Fer-Champenoise - this is not a complete list of the battle places where the Russian guards distinguished themselves. And as a result - a solemn march in the defeated French capital: in front was the Prussian Guards cavalry, behind it russian light guards cavalry division, guarding the monarchs, then the guards infantry of the allies. The solemn procession was completed by the 1st cuirassier division. The Russian emperor in a cavalry uniform with an Andreevskaya ribbon over his shoulder rode on a gray horse, surrounded by his guards.

For military exploits - honorary awards. All military awards bestowed for the Patriotic War had one common inscription: "For the difference in the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from the borders of Russia in 1812". The regiments of the Petrovsky brigade (Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky) were awarded the St. George banners for their courage and perseverance in the battle at Kulma. For heroism in the same battle, the Izmailovsky and Jaeger Guards regiments were awarded with St. George's trumpets. The Lithuanian Life Guards regiment received the same award for Leipzig. For saving Emperor Alexander from captivity during the Battle of Leipzig, the Life Guards Cossack Regiment and His Majesty's Own Convoy were awarded silver trumpets. The regiments of the Guards Cuirassier Brigade - Cavalier Guard and Horse Guards Regiments were awarded with St. George's Standards. The Life Guards Dragoon Regiment in 1813 was awarded the St. George Standard, and for the Battle of Fer-Champenoise in 1814 - the St. George Trumpets. Silver trumpets were awarded to the 1st and 2nd Guards Artillery Brigades, as well as all Guards Horse Batteries.

In 1813, in addition to the Old Guard, the Young Guard was established in Russia. This name was originally given to two grenadier and one cuirassier regiments for military distinctions in the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1829, the Life Guards Finnish Infantry Battalion was added to the Young Guard. He, like the regiments of the Life Guards Grenadier and Pavlovsky, were granted in 1831 for the distinction in the war with Poland the rights of the Old Guard.

Staff officer and bombardier of the 6th battery of the 3rd Guards and
Grenadier Artillery Brigade.

In 1814, in commemoration of the merits of the quartermaster unit and in memory of its “in the highest degree diligent and useful activities for the troops in the era Napoleonic Wars", As part of the Retinue of His Imperial Majesty on the quartermaster part, a special institution was created under the name of the" Guards General Staff "with the rights of the" Old "guard. He was made up of the most excellent in their merits headquarters and chief officers of the quartermaster unit (at first 24 officers of the Retinue), who were assigned a special distinction on their uniforms. These officers were not intended to serve exclusively in the guard, but were distributed on an equal basis with other ranks of the Retinue to all the troops and teams that carried out topographic surveys. It was a personal privilege accorded to particularly distinguished officers of the quartermaster unit, wherever they served.

In 1830, the Life Guards Don Horse-Artillery Company was formed. In 1833, the Guard was divided into two corps - the Guards Infantry (from the infantry and foot artillery) and the Guards Reserve Cavalry (from the cavalry and horse artillery).

In 1856, rifle companies were formed in all the Guards infantry regiments, one per battalion, and at the same time the Guards 1st and 2nd Infantry Battalions were formed again. In the same 1856. The Imperial Family Life Guards Rifle Battalion was added to the Guard (as the Young Guard).

In subsequent years, the number of units that were part of the Young Guard continued to increase. V war time Guards units took part in all the wars waged by Russia. With their perseverance and bravery, the guards earned fame not only in their homeland, but also rave reviews from their allies,

In peacetime, the guard carried out internal service, participated in the protection of persons royal family, guards, parades, on campaigns inside Russia, in camps and carried out various assignments,

The officer corps of the Guard consisted mainly of representatives of the highest nobility. The soldiers in the guard were selected from physically strong people, politically reliable.

The appearance of the guards units was distinguished by the bravado of the soldiers, their bearing, the ability of officers to behave with dignity and uniforms.

The case at the village of Telishe in 1877.
Artist V.V. Mazurovsky.

In the second half of the XIX century. the Russian Imperial Guard took part in almost all military enterprises of tsarist Russia. Particularly distinguished themselves units of the guard during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. in the battles for Gorny Dubnyak and Palishch, Dalny Dubnyak and the Shindara position, at Tashkisen and Filippopol.

At the same time, along with participation in hostilities, the guard continued to be used as a school for training military personnel in army units. The secondment of trained soldiers and officers from the guard continued until the First World War.

Life Guards Sapper Battalion. 1853 g.
Artist A.I. Gebens.

By the beginning of the 20th century, 23.6% of regiment commanders and 28.8% of division commanders were transferred to the army from the guard. From the Semenovsky regiment, which was considered exemplary, they made practical school for future army officers. The Life Guards Sapper Battalion served as the school for non-commissioned officers for the sapper units. In artillery, this was the Life Guards Artillery Battalion,

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by Russia's participation in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China. In 1900-1901. As part of the expeditionary corps in the Chinese campaign, the Life Guards Rifle Artillery Division took part, which took part in the operations of the Russian troops in Manchuria and northern China.

V Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 the Guards Navy crew took part. Many officers of the Guard participated in the war as volunteers, staffing units and formations of Russian troops in the Far Eastern theater of operations with command personnel.

After the war with Japan, there was an urgent need for military reforms in Russia. They also touched the guard. This was primarily due to the increase in the numerical strength of the guards units.

The deployment of the Guards was carried out through the formation of new units or the transformation of army units into guards units for military distinctions. If at the beginning of the 20th century, the guard consisted of 12 infantry, 4 rifle, 13 cavalry regiments, three artillery brigades, a sapper battalion and a naval crew, then the guard met World War I as part of 13 infantry, 4 rifle and 14 cavalry regiments. It also had four Artillery Brigades in its composition. Sapper battalion, Navy crew and other units. In the Fleet, in addition to the Guards Fleet crew, the cruiser Oleg, two destroyers and an imperial yacht were also assigned to the Guards. In total, by 1914, the guard included about 40 units and over 90 thousand people. In addition, the Corps of Pages and the permanent staff of the Nikolaev Cavalry School (Officer Cavalry School) belonged to the Guards. In peacetime, the Guard was subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard and the Petersburg Military District.

The first World War was a serious test for the Russian guard. Guards units successfully operated in the Battle of Galicia, Warsaw-Ivangorad and Lodz operations. Part of the Guard (3rd Guards Infantry, 1st and 2nd Guards Cavalry Divisions) participated in the East Prussian operation of 1914. Unfortunately, the action of the guards units here were less successful than on the Southwestern Front, Life Guards The Keksholm Regiment and the 3rd Battery of the Life Guards of the 3rd Artillery Brigade shared the tragic fate of the two army corps of the 2nd Army in the Masurian Lakes region.

In the summer of 1916, as part of a special army, the Guard took part in the offensive of the Southwestern Front. In the battles on the Stokhod River, she fought bloody battles with the enemy. Bloodless, suffering heavy losses, the guards units were withdrawn to the headquarters reserve, where they remained until the end of the war.

In connection with the most serious losses in personnel, representatives of the peasantry and the working class began to be called up to replenish the guard. This seriously affected the political mood in the guards environment. As a result, after the victory February revolution 1917 and the tsar's abdication from the throne, the guard did not even make an attempt to intervene in the course of events, the Kornilov revolt also left the guard indifferent. In February 1917, soldiers of almost all reserve infantry units of the Petrograd garrison went over to the side of the rebels, which in many ways contributed to the victory of the revolution.

The Provisional Government retained the guard, abolishing the prefix "leib" and the name "Imperial". In preparation for the October uprising at the garrison conference in Smolny on October 18 (31), representatives of almost all regimental committees of the guards reserve regiments (with the exception of Izmailovsky and Semenovsky) spoke in favor of an armed uprising. They also took the most active part in the course of the uprising itself. So, Pavlovtsy and guards grenadiers took part in the storming of the Winter Palace, the reserve soldiers of the Finnish regiment installed Soviet power on Vasilievsky Island, etc.

The formal disappearance of the guard was associated with the signing of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty by the Soviet government on March 3, 1918. However, already from the end of January, the demobilization of units of the Petrograd garrison took place. At that time, it was considered necessary to get rid of the former military formations, including the guards, as soon as possible. The liquidation of the guards regiments was completed by April 1, 1918.

The Soviet Guard was born in the battles near Yelnya during the Battle of Smolensk, during the most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War. By the decision of the Supreme Command Headquarters for mass heroism, courage of personnel, high military skill on September 18, 1941 by order People's Commissar Defense No. 308 were transformed into four guards rifle divisions: the 100th (commander Major General I.N. Russiyanov) into the 1st Guards rifle division, the 127th (commander Colonel A.Z. Akimenko) into the 2nd, 153rd (commander Colonel N.A. Gagen) in the 3rd and 161st (commander Colonel P.F.Moskvitin) in the 4th Guards Rifle Division. This was the beginning of the Soviet guard, which inherited the best traditions of the Russian guard from the times of Peter the Great, A.V. Suvorov, M.I. Kutuzov.

Guards formations took Active participation in all the decisive battles of the Great Patriotic War and made a significant contribution to the victory. If in 1941 there were nine rifle divisions, three cavalry corps, a tank brigade, a number of rocket artillery units and six aviation regiments, then in 1942 various formations of the Navy, the country's air defense, many types of artillery, as well as rifle, tank and mechanized corps joined its ranks, combined arms armies, 10 airborne guards divisions, and since 1943 - tank armies, air divisions and corps.

As a result, by the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet guard was an invincible force. It consisted of 11 combined arms and 6 tank armies, one cavalry mechanized group, 40 rifle, 7 cavalry, 12 tank, 9 mechanized and 14 aviation corps, 117 rifle, 9 airborne, 17 cavalry, 6 artillery, 53 aviation and 6 anti-aircraft - artillery divisions, 7 divisions of rocket artillery; 13 motorized rifle, 3 airborne, 66 tank, 28 mechanized, 3 self-propelled artillery, 64 artillery, 1 mortar, 11 anti-tank destroyer, 40 rocket artillery brigades, 6 engineering and 1 railway brigades. 1 fortified area, 18 combat surface ships, 16 submarines, a number of other units and subunits of various branches of the armed forces, and a total of more than four thousand military formations, became guards.

Recognition of their military valor was the introduction of the Guards Banner (Flag), and for servicemen - the Guards ranks and the establishment of the "Guard" badge. The insignia of guards valor were established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on May 21, 1942. Thus, the military-political leadership of the country once again emphasized that it attaches particular importance to the guards formations in solving combat missions.

Breastplate "Guard", designed by the artist S.I. Dmitriev, is an oval framed by a laurel wreath, the upper part of which is covered with the Red Banner unfolded to the left of the staff. The banner has an inscription in golden letters: "Guard". In the middle of the wreath there is a red five-pointed star on a white field. The banner and star have a golden rim. The shaft of the banner is intertwined with a ribbon: the tassels at the top of the shaft hang down to the right side of the wreath. In the lower part of the wreath there is a shield with the inscription in raised letters: "USSR". The image of the guards sign was also placed on the guards banners awarded to the guards armies and corps. The only difference was that on the banner of the Guards Army the sign was depicted in a wreath of oak branches, and on the banner of the Guards Corps - without a wreath.

The presentation of the Banner (Flag) and the badge was usually carried out in a solemn atmosphere, which was of great educational value. The honorary title obliged each warrior to become a master of his craft. All this contributed to the growth of the authority of the Soviet guard.

V post-war years the Soviet guard continued the glorious traditions of previous generations of guards. And although in peacetime the transformation of formations into guards was not carried out, in order to preserve military traditions, the guards ranks of units, ships, formations and formations were transferred to new military units and formations during reorganization with direct succession in terms of personnel. So, the Kantemirovskaya tank division was created on the basis of the famous 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya corps. The honorary name was retained and the corps guard banner was transferred to it. The same thing happened with the 5th Guards Mechanized Division, whose servicemen subsequently fulfilled their military duty in Afghanistan with dignity. Similar reorganizations took place in Air Force, airborne troops and the Navy. The newly formed units and formations of the Strategic Missile Forces, anti-aircraft missile units and formations of the country's Air Defense Forces were awarded the ranks of artillery and mortar formations that distinguished themselves during the Great Patriotic War.

Guard of the Armed Forces Russian Federation was the successor and continuer of the military traditions of its predecessors. Guards motorized rifle Taman and guards tank Kantemirovskaya divisions; Guards units of the Airborne Forces ... These names still evoke memory, inspire and oblige.

Guardsmen at the end of the twentieth century are faithful to the traditions of the guard, developed and consolidated by their predecessors. Will we ever forget about the feat of our contemporaries, when on March 1, 2000, in the Argun Gorge, during a counter-terrorist operation on the territory of the Chechen Republic, the 6th Airborne Company of the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division took on a fierce battle with many times superior forces terrorists. The paratroopers did not flinch, did not retreat, completed their military duty to the end, at the cost of their lives blocked the enemy's path, showing courage and heroism. This feat is inscribed in a golden line in recent history Of the Armed Forces of Russia, in the centuries-old chronicle of its guard. It inspires for good deeds those who today under the guards' banners carry out difficult military service, helps to instill in soldiers a sense of pride in their army, their Fatherland.

See: Military Encyclopedia I.D. Sytin. P.201.

Bobrovsky P.O. History of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. St. Petersburg, 1900. T.I. P.376 .; Valkovich A.M. My beloved children. // Motherland, 2000, №11. P.26.

Letters and papers of Emperor Peter the Great. SPb. 1887. T. I. S. 365.

Journal or Daily note of the blessed and everlasting memory of the emperor Peter the Great from 1698 to the conclusion of the Neustadt Peace. SPb., 1770, Part I, p. 12.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 31, 2006 No. 549 "On establishing professional holidays and memorable days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation ".

Dirin P.N. The history of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment. T. 1.SPb., 1883.S. 158-161.

A brief history of the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment. SPb., 1830.S. 4

Material prepared in
Research Institute of Military
history of the Military Academy of the General Staff
Of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation