Russia's Fighting Men 1880–1914

Russia’s Fighting Men 1880-1914 by Wendell Schollander is an examination of the officers and men who served in the latter part of the nineteenth century up to the commencement of hostilities with the Central Powers in 1914.

This is a unique piece of research, drawn from a wide variety of contemporary sources such as private correspondence and accounts and government records, but also used are social history records. The Russian Empire was huge, as was the army, and was the largest in the world. The author examines the backgrounds and roles of the officer class, the other ranks and the vast numbers of Cossacks of every kind. Indeed I do not think I had previously been aware of just how many Cossack ‘Hosts’ there were, and how ethnically varied they were so I found this section particularly interesting.

Discipline, training schools and education (of officer cadets), the daily duties and lives of officers and men are all covered. The brutality of life for a Russian soldier meant that officers and NCOs were free to ignore the rules about beating or striking their men, who in any event accepted this treatment stoically. I was also surprised to learn that soldiers were employed on civilian tasks in order to help ends meet, and also relied on monies sent from home (assuming their officers passed the money on) but less surprised about the levels of corruption found among the officer class.

Some fascinating statistics regarding the shifting social background of students between 1886 and 1902 reveal a surprising decrease in those from the nobility and a corresponding increase in those from the petty bourgeoise and peasants. The legendary fighting qualities of Russian soldiers are also discussed, and of particular interest to me is the varied ethnic composition of the army.

As in the author’s previous book on the French army of the same period, the treatment of Jewish soldiers is covered in some detail. Discrimination was the norm as this was the era of the various pogroms; it was enough just to be Jewish. While they could serve, they were not trusted, rarely promoted from private, and restrictions were placed on where and in what unit they could serve. Although there were a very small number of exceptions, Jewish officers were not permitted.

For me the sixty or so black and white photographs steal the show. They are evocative of a world long past and if the subjects, all of whom are staring off somewhere into the distance, had been aware of the horrors that would befall many of them in the first quarter of the twentieth century I wonder if they would have stood so proudly in all their splendour?

As a history of the Russian army this is a well put together and very readable account, being part military history and part social history. If the Russian army of the period leading up to the First World War interests you then you will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978-8-88-842357-7 Paperback 125 pages