502 



RUSSIA. 



Russia. 



Army. 



war. The last number is said to have been that of the 

 army in 1811, and of course previous to the memorable 

 invasion of the French. According to this author, the 

 composition of the Russian army is well known, and 

 consists of 



I. The imperial guards, 



a) I regiment and 3 battalions infantry, 

 &) The horse guards, 7 regiments, 



c) The artillery-guards, 600 men, together with 

 the whole foot guards, 



II. Field troops, 



a) Infantry, 141 regiments, troops of the line, 



and 3 regiments marines, 

 6) Regular cavalry, 58 regiments, 



c) Field-artillery (with 1530 pieces of cannon), 



d) Corps of engineers, . 



III. Garrison troops, 



ft) Infantry, . . . 



I) Artillery, 



I^ T . Invalids, .... 



V. Irregular troops, 



) 33 regiments 6f Kozaks, 



I) The Kalmuck fore 



<;) The Bashkirs, &c. 



12,150 

 4450 



17,200 



317,360 



57,000 



29,522 



1113 



72,800 

 11,500 

 13,927 



Evozaks, ~i 

 rces, > 



c. ) 



After alluding to the 612,000 militia already spoken 

 of, Crome adds, that Russia can defend herself with 

 above 1,200,000 warriors, Allgemeine Uebersicht dcs 

 Staatskr&fle, 1818. 



Though the Russians lost a great number of troops 

 in the eventful years of 181 2,- 13,- 14-,- 15, they were 

 compensated, in a great degree, by the knowledge 

 and experience acquired during the campaigns. Alex- 

 ander had an opportunity of detecting the deficiencies 

 of his own army, and of improving his millitary skill, 

 by seeing and combating with the finest armies of the 

 world ; and his officers enjoyed the same advantages. 

 Ever since his return to his country, in 1815, the Em- 

 peror's great attention ha^ been given to the better or- 

 ganization and discipline of the army, and beyond all 

 question an immense improvement has been the re- 

 sult. 



For a few years past, it has been generally reckoned 

 that the Russian army consists of a million of men. 

 The officers vary in their statements, some estimating 

 its number as low as 800,000, while others maintain 

 that it amounts to 1,200,000 troops. According to a 

 paper in the first number of the Westminster Review, 

 the official reports fix the number of the autocratic 

 army at 950,000, but the writer conjectures that this 

 exceeds the real number by one-third. The following 

 statement is also given, but upon what authority we 

 are not informed. It is believed to be correct, and 

 was made after a reduction of about 30,000 men, which 

 took place a few months ago, the whole of which have 

 been incorporated into the military colonies. 



First army, Gen. Sacken, head quarters, Mohilef 



Second army, Gen. Wittgenstein, the Pruth , 



Imperial Guard, Gen. Uvarof Petersburgh 



Georgian army, Gen. Yetmlolof Tiflts 



Lithuanian army, . . Wilna 



Polish army, . . . Warsaw . 



Disciplined Kozaks, . ..... 



Men. 



320,000 



100,000 



80,000 



60,000 



80,000 



30,000 



7,500 



677,500 



Upon this table, Dr. Lyall remarks, that the words 

 Georgian army appear to include the whole army com- 

 manded by General Yermdlof, in the Kaucasus and 



Georgia, and adds that that army has often been esti- Russia, 

 mated as high as, and even above 100,000 men; and 

 also as in the above report, at only 60,000. He is of 

 opinion, however, that the medium number 80,000 is 

 near the reality. The disciplined Kozak army has 

 never before been estimated so low as 7500, and he 

 says, 20,000 at least would be a near approximation 

 to truth, and in this statement he is supported by other 

 authors. 



As the subject is intimately connected with the army, 

 we shall give an outline of the recently adopted plan 

 of military colonization, for which we are wholly in- 

 debted to Dr. Lyall.* 



The great expence of providing for an army amount- 

 ing to nearly a million of men, induced the Emperor 

 of Russia, soon after the conclusion of the late war, to 

 direct his serious attention to every plan which was 

 offered for supporting the soldiers in the most econo- 

 mical way. Count Araktcheef, who had risen from 

 the ranks, solely by his great talents, to become a ge- 

 neral of artillery, s.nd to be one of the chief military 

 counsellors attached to the person of the emperor, is 

 said to have first suggested the idea of quartering the 

 soldiers upon the crown-peasants, of building military 

 villages according to a regular plan, of allotting por- 

 tions of land to each house, and of framing a code of 

 laws for the government of these new-created colonies.t 

 This system of military colonization, which has been 

 adopted within these few years, presents a new fea-. 

 ture in the history of Russia and of Europe, indeed, 

 in some respects of the world. Its peculiar nature 

 will be at once perceived by the following summary : 

 1st, For the formation of these military colonies, no 

 part of the inhabitants is sent out of the empire, 

 there being a great superabundance of territory in 

 proportion to the population. 2d, The peasantry, 

 who are already civil slaves, by this plan, are abso- 

 lutely made both civil and military slaves, and are in 

 the mean time burthened with the support of regu- 

 lar troops ; and indeed, in time, nearly the whole army 

 is to be formed from among them. 3d, As they are 

 governed by a code of laws peculiar to themselves, so 

 they are not directly dependent upon the general le- 

 gislature of the country, nor are they independent of 

 it, because all their laws emanate from a committee at 

 Petersburgh ; which, after receiving his Imperial Ma- 

 jesty's signature, are put in force. 4th, Like some of 

 the Roman colonies, they are both of an agricultural 

 and of a military nature. 



The objects the Russian government has chiefly in 

 view by the establishment of the military colonies, some 

 of which are peculiar, are chiefly the following : 1st, 

 The increase of the native popuh tion in certain dis- 

 tricts, by the transfer and fixture to them of part of the 

 existing regular troops, and even of peasantry when 

 requisite, and of course, by the progeny of both ; 2d, 

 The extension of knowledge and civilization ; 3d, The 

 saving of the greatest part of the pay of the whole 

 army to the crown ; 4th, The organization of an im- 

 mense army to be employed in agriculture in time of 

 peace, and to form nearly the whole land force of the 

 empire in time of war. 



Military colonies are already in part organized, and 

 no doubt will be more extensively organized, in a line 

 stretching from near Petersburgh, along the borders 



* An account of the organization, administration, and present state of the military colonies in Russia. 1824. 



f This pian met with the immediate approval of th emperor ; and, indeed, some are disposed to think this part of the system origin- 

 ated with his Majesty, 



