| The army in the political life of the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was called a military-police empire; many high government posts were occupied by dignitaries wearing general epaulettes; emperors preferred a uniform to a frock coat... The influence of the army, especially its command staff, is undeniable. The Russian officers and growing generals were rightly considered the support of the fatherland and the throne. In Russia they did not follow the principle “the army is out of politics.” On the contrary, the officers were proud of their citizenship, be it loyalty to the monarch or readiness to go to Senate Square.
It would seem that there was ideal ground for direct military intervention in politics. However, after a series of palace coups in the 18th century, the empire did not know military coups. We do not see the actions of the military lobby when making the most important decisions or when carrying out government reforms. After the assassination of Paul I, throughout the 19th century there was not a single serious military conspiracy (the Decembrists cannot be called military conspirators in fact).
Why? What is the matter here - the special character of the officer corps or the skillful policy of the emperors? To better understand the relationship between the army and the authorities, we turned to two fateful events - the Patriotic War of 1812 and the second - victorious - revolution. Olga EDELMAN |
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