The Military Reform of 1874

Military reforms related to the reorganization of the army and the transformation of the military department stretched for several years. The urgent need for them arose after the failure in the Crimean War. Most of the transformations were carried out under the guidance of DA Milyutin. In an effort to reduce cash costs, he reduced the service life to fifteen years. And, having served seven years, each soldier could go on leave, so that in peacetime the army significantly reduced. In the company schools began to systematically teach soldiers to read and write, beatings, physical punishment were abolished.

In 1864 the local military administration was reformed. Since then, the territory of the state has been divided into several military districts. This led to the fact that the administration became closer to its troops, which means it could have been mobilized much more quickly if necessary. The army has become much more stable. Since 1865, the troops were managed by the General Staff - the central body. The cadet corps, in which the officers were formerly trained, was transformed into military gymnasiums; Military schools were opened to train future officers. Created Junker schools allowed young people who do not have noble origin, eventually to get into the officer corps. The new system of military education required the Academy of the General Staff and the creation of a new training program.

Now more time began to be spent on combat training. Infantry and cavalry were equipped with Berdan rifles, the corps was abolished, and the troops were divided into local and field. For the first time the artillery received new guns, threaded, which were charged from the breech. The whole complex of these events led to the need to create another military service.

The military reform of 1874 consisted in the confirmation by Alexander II of the Charter of military service. According to the new decree, all men who reached the age of 21 and up to 40 years inclusive were required to perform military service. Six years were served in the army and nine years remained in reserve, and in the navy seven years and three years in reserve. Then all the persons liable for military service were enlisted in the state militia (there were also those who were exempt from conscription). The present period of active service in the army depended on the level of education, which was not the privilege of all classes. The military reform of 1874 served as a significant increase in literacy among men, since only illiterate people served in the army, who were trained in reading, writing and mathematics in the army. For those who had primary education, the service was reduced to four years, former high school students served a year and a half, and people with higher education - only six months.

On the one hand, the military reform of 1874, like no other reform of Alexander II, concerned the entire society, all classes. And on the other - it most expressed the principle of social inequality. The fact is that all sorts of exemptions and privileges depended directly on the draftee's class and on his material well-being. Some peoples of the Far North, Central Asia, the Far East, and the Caucasus were exempted from service for national and religious reasons.

The military reform of 1874 was not approved by a part of the generals led by Field Marshal A. Baryatinsky. He and his supporters accused Milyutin of the fact that the army was mired in bureaucracy, and the command staff was very weak. However, participation in the Russian-Turkish war showed that the army is combat-ready, and officers and soldiers are well-trained.

The military reform of 1874 failed to change the class character of the officers' corps, and did not pursue this goal, but made the army modern. Among the shortcomings of the reforms, we can note the moment that little attention was paid to the quartermaster unit, which nevertheless made itself felt during the war between Russia and the Turks.