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| Imperial Guard Лейб-гвардия | |
|---|---|
 Leib Guards reception at theConstantine Palace | |
| Active | 1683–1917 |
| Country |  Russian Empire |
| Allegiance |  Emperor of RussiaRussian Empire |
| Branch | Imperial Russian Army |
| Type | Army aviation Artillery Cavalry Horse artillery Imperial guard Infantry |
| Size | Division |
The RussianImperial Guard, officially known as theLeib Guard (Russian:Лейб-гвардияLeyb-gvardiya, fromGermanLeib "body"; cf.Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combinedImperial Russian Army forces units serving ascounterintelligence for preventing sabotage of important imperial palaces, personal guards of theEmperor of Russia and theRussian imperial family, public security in the capital and leaders in spearheading attacks on the battlefield.Peter I founded the first such units in 1683 to replace the politically-motivatedStreltsy.
The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become anelite corps of all branches within the Imperial Russian Army, rather than household troops in direct attendance on the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the imperial family, and the bulk of the Imperial Guard's regiments were stationed in and around the capital,Saint Petersburg, in peacetime. The Imperial Guard was disbanded in 1917 following theRussian Revolution.
TsarPeter I (later to become known as "Peter the Great") first established the two senior units of the eventual Imperial Guard, the Preobrazhensky andSemyonovsky infantry regiments,[1]as part of his so-called "toy army" in the 1680s. Peter later built on both regiments as part of his professionalization of the Russian Army after its disastrous defeat in 1700 by theSwedes at theBattle of Narva, during the early phases ofGreat Northern War of 1700-1721.[2]He was influenced too by his distrust of thestreltsy, who had risen against him repeatedly, bothduring his childhood, which traumatised him, andduring his reign.
In 1730, EmpressAnna (r. 1730–1740) formed theIzmailovsky Regiment (recruited from her former domain, theDuchy of Courland and Semigallia) out of distrust of the other guard regiments (especially the Preobrazhensky) as a result of her paranoia of losing power. The Izmaylovsky Regiment became the official palace guards during her reign.
The term "Leib" was not used until the reign of EmpressElizabeth (1741-1762) during her formation of the Leib Company made up of the grenadiers (especially the Preobrazhensky), who had helped put her on the throne.[3]
The Imperial Guard played a key role in suppressing theRevolution of 1905, most particularly atSaint Petersburg on Sunday, 22 January [O.S. 9 January] 1905 (Bloody Sunday). The Semyonovsky Regiment subsequently repressedwidespread disturbances in Moscow. However, a full battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment mutinied in June 1906.[4]
During theFebruary Revolution of 1917, the garrison of Saint Petersburg included 99,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard. They were reserve battalions, made up of a mixture of new recruits and of veterans from the regiments of the Imperial Guard serving at theEastern Front ofWorld War I. While generally still recruited from rural districts, the Guards' rank and file were no longer the reliable instruments ofTsarist autocracy that their predecessors had been during the abortive revolution of 1905. About 90% of the officers of the reserve units had been commissioned during the war, and they were often militarily inexperienced and sometimes sympathetic towards the need for political reform.[5] The overall morale and leadership of the Saint Petersburg troops was poor although they still enjoyed the status of the historic regiments that they represented.
During the early days of rioting in Saint Petersburg, the Semyonovsky,Pavlovsky andVolinsky Regiments obeyed their officers and fired on the crowds of demonstrators. However, on 27 February, the Volinsky and then the Semyonovsky,Moskovsky, and Izmailovsky Regiments defected in large numbers to what had now become a revolution. Some officers were killed. An estimated 66,700 guardsmen in the capital had deserted or defected within about two days.[6] This mass defection from units of the Imperial Guard marked the end of the Tsarist régime.
During theOctober Revolution of 1917, the Pavlovsky Regiment, though it was celebrated for its actions during theNapoleonic Wars, was one of the first regiments to mutiny and to join theBolsheviks. It then participated inthe storming of theWinter Palace.[7] Much of the former Imperial Guard was still extant in October 1917. It retained its historic titles though its role was now that of politicised republican soldiers. In addition, the Semenovsky and the Ismailovsky Regiments rallied to the Bolsheviks at a crucial stage during the revolution.[8]
The final composition of the Russian Imperial Guard at the beginning of 1914 was the following:
Guards Corps St. Petersburg District. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Millionaya. (Guards units not part of the Guards Corps were the Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment and Guards Field Gendarme Squadron.)
Guard units of direct subordination as of 1917:
Also, the following were part of the23rd Army Corps,Warsaw Military District. Headquarters,Warsaw,Poland.
Every soldier and officer of the Imperial Guard had the styleof the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии...) such asColonel of the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии полковник). It is a misconception that the tsar himself functioned as the commander of the Leib Guard regiments since only he and some members of theimperial family could hold a title ofcolonel(polkovnik) of the Guards. In fact, there were many guards officers in the rank of colonel.[specify]
Commissioned officers enjoyed a two-grade elevation in theTable of Ranks overregular army officers, which was later changed to a one-grade elevation—first for theNew Guards and later for the rest of the Leib Guard. Following the abolition of the rank ofmajor in 1884, most grades below VII shifted one position upwards and so effectively returned to those of theOld Guards.
| Grade, Old Guards | Grade, New Guards | Category | Infantry | Cavalry, Cossacks until 1891 | Cossacks (since 1891) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | V | Staff Officers | Colonel (Полковник) | ||
| V | VI | Lieutenant colonel (Подполковник) (until 1798) | |||
| VI | VII | Premier Major,Second Major (Премьер-майор, секунд-майор) (until 1798) | |||
| VII | VIII | Ober-Officers | Captain (Капитан) | Rittmeister (Ротмистр) | Yesaul (Есаул) |
| VIII | IX | Staff Captain(Штабс-капитан) | Staff-Rittmeister (Штабс-ротмистр) | JuniorYesaul (Подъесаул) | |
| IX | X | Poruchik/Lieutenant (Поручик) | Sotnik (Сотник) | ||
| X | XI | JuniorPoruchik/Sub-lieutenant (Подпоручик) | Khorunzhiy (Хорунжий) | ||
| XI | XII | Praporshchik (Прапорщик) | Cornet (Корнет) | ||
| XII | XIII | Under-Officers | Feldwebel (Фельдфебель) | ||
| XIII | XIV | Sergeant (Сержант) (1800-1884) | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | JuniorKhorunzhiy (Подхорунжий) | |
| XIV | |||||
| Junior Praporshchik (Подпрапорщик); SeniorUnteroffizier (Старший унтер-офицер) since 1800 | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | ||||
| Unteroffizier (Унтер-офицер) | Uryadnik (Урядник) | ||||
| Gefreiter (Ефрейтор) | Prikazny (Приказный) | ||||
| Privates | Musketeer,Fusilier,Grenadier etc. (Мушкетер, фузилер, гренадер и т.д.) | Dragoon,Hussar,Cuirassier,Cossack etc. (Драгун, гусар, кирасир, казак и т.д.) | Cossack (Казак) | ||
From the 18th century onwards, the rank and file of the Imperial Guard were picked from each annual intake of conscripts. In peacetime, most regiments had a selection criteria based on features of physical appearance such as height and hair colour. The purpose of that tradition was to enhance the uniform appearance of each unit on parade.
For example, the Semyonovsky Regiment's conscripts were picked for their height (the tallest of the Guard Infantry), light brown hair and clean-shaven appearance.[9]
The Russian Guard was first formed in the time of Peter the Great from the Preobrajensky and Semenoffsky regiments [...].
As a prince, [Peter] played war games with real regiments, the Semenovskoe and Preoobrazhenskoe. Created by Peter in the 1680s, they would become the elite Guards units in the Russian army. But at first they formed a sort of personal following and bodyguard. [...] [After thestrel'tsy rebellion of 1698, t]here began a period of frenetic military reform, during which he gathered around himself a loyal and hard-working group of friends and dependents, some from the boyar class, but many from lower levels of society. Some came from the Guards regiments, some from the foreign quarter. All were capable, energetic and practical, and shared Peter's appetite for military reform. After Sweden defeated his armies at Narva, in 1700, Peter committed himself wholeheartedly to reform. That defeat increased Peter's confidence in his own reform ideas, because his Guards regiments were the only units to perform creditably at Narva.