Russian Military Culture during the Reigns of Catherine II and Paul I, 1762-1801 by Eugene Miakinkov A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History and Classics University of Alberta ©Eugene Miakinkov, 2015 Abstract This study explores the shape and development of military culture during the reign of Catherine II. Next to the institutions of the autocracy and the Orthodox Church, the military occupied the most important position in imperial Russia, especially in the eighteenth century. Rather than analyzing the military as an institution or a fighting force, this dissertation uses the tools of cultural history to explore its attitudes, values, aspirations, tensions, and beliefs. Patronage and education served to introduce a generation of young nobles to the world of the military culture, and expose it to its values of respect, hierarchy, subordination, but also the importance of professional knowledge. Merit is a crucial component in any military, and Catherine’s military culture had to resolve the tensions between the idea of meritocracy and seniority. All of the above ideas and dilemmas were expressed in a number of military texts that began to appear during Catherine’s reign. It was during that time that the military culture acquired the cultural, political, and intellectual space to develop – a space I label the “military public sphere”. This development was most clearly evident in the publication, by Russian authors, of a range of military literature for the first time in this era. The military culture was also reflected in the symbolic means used by the senior commanders to convey and reinforce its values in the army. The dissertation posits that it was precisely during the reign of Catherine II, “Minerva on the Throne”, rather than during the reigns of Peter the Great or Paul I, which are usually associated with wars, armies, and militarism, that a military culture began to become increasingly self-aware, self-reflective, and autonomous in Russia. Paul I’s attack on its values, traditions and autonomy did not so much undermine or destroy Catherine’s military culture as confirm its existence. ii In memory of my mother, Lidia Vidmont. iii Acknowledgements I am pleased to express my gratitude to the people whose encouragement, humour, and advice have contributed so much to this project. My supervisor, Heather Coleman, has done more than anyone to shape my infant ideas about Russian military thought into a dissertation project about Russian military culture. Heather taught me the art of asking the right questions, challenged me to justify my answers, and made me think critically about the implications of my conclusion. I have learned a great deal from her not only about Russian Imperial history but also about being an academic and an historian. I am thankful for to my supervisory committee for generous suggestions and interest in my project over the years. Jelena Pogosjan provided excellent insight into eighteenth-century Russian culture and the reign of Peter the Great, which forced me to refine some of my assumptions and ideas. David Marples, Franz Szabo, and David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye have all given generous food for thought that helped me to think about how my project fits into the larger context. Their questions and suggestions challenged and motivated me. I had the pleasure of presenting several of my chapters to the East Europeanist “kruzhok” at the University of Alberta. I am thankful to everyone who participated, especially Victor Taki, Eduard Baidaus, Elena Krevsky, John-Paul Himka, and my committee members. The Russian State Military History Archive could have been an intimidating experience for a new researcher, but the staff and Kirill Tatarnikov especially, were patient, accommodating, and helpful in answering my questions and inquiries. The staff at the department of military literature in the Russian State Library showed a great interest in my project and made numerous suggestions about available literature. iv I also want to thank both the University of Alberta for its generous financial support over the years, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Canada Graduate Scholarship without which the following pages probably would have never seen the light of day. Not only has the funding enabled me to spend a year of research in Moscow, but a Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement provided me with a host supervisor, Elena Marasinova, a senior fellow of the Russian History Institute at the Russian Academy of Science, my host institution in Moscow. Professor Marasinova, an expert on the eighteenth-century Russian nobility, encouraged me to think in new ways about the Russian experience in the eighteenth century and introduced me to many of her Russian colleagues. Finally, my family and friends have provided continuous support and encouragement, which was sometimes mixed with puzzlement about my single-minded persistence in the of study eighteenth-century Russia. I am thankful to my Masters supervisor, Alex Statiev, for making me “the offer I could not refuse,” as he put it. By opening the doors to his family home, Alex had provided me not only with a home- away-from home in downtown Moscow, but also with piece of mind. I think back with warm memories to the many winter nights I spent reading and writing in his apartment, and to the many weekends I spent walking around the Kutuzovskii boulevard, thinking about Russia’s history. I want to thank Jordan Claridge, a friend and historian of Medieval England, for his dry wit during our trips in the Baltic and for the uplifting phone conversations when I was doing my research in the archives. Jordan’s mastery of Medieval Latin script encouraged me not to give up on the lazy handwriting of eighteenth-century Russian scribes. During my stays in Latvia my aunts, Olga and Larisa, and my cousin Edward, provided me with a warm welcome in Riga. My father, Valerij Miakinkov, drove me v from Riga to Moscow several times, over unlit, and broken Russian roads where many drivers have suffered more than just a tire puncture, and once there gave me advice and support. In Moscow, Raia, Lev, Victoria and Alexander, invited me for delicious food and fascinating conversations, which made my stay all the more enjoyable. Throughout my life, my mother, Lidia Vidmont, set an example of the highest standard for intellectual curiosity, personal integrity, and work ethic that I can only aspire to follow. She passed away a year before the completion of this work. It is dedicated to her. Last but not least I want to thank my fiancée, Hayley Orton, who over the years has become an expert in Russian history in her own right. Thank you for sharing this adventure with me, and for going on a new one, in Wales! vi Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE “Those who had a chance”: Patronage, Education, 23 and Becoming an Officer in the Age of Catherine II CHAPTER TWO “Your Excellency needs only to wish it”: 70 Promotions, Awards and the Meaning of Merit CHAPTER THREE “We must distinguish the military establishment 1 21 from other callings”: Values and Beliefs of Military Culture CHAPTER FOUR “Fantastic forms of folly”: Symbolic Displays 186 and Military Culture CHAPTER FIVE “The Russians have always beaten the Prussians, 227 why follow them now?” Russian Military Culture and Paul I CONCLUSION 2 61 vii List of Tables T ABLE 1 72 T ABLE 2 235 viii List of Illustrations Pictures 1 and 2 180 Pictures 2 and 4 181 Pictures 5, 6, and 7 183 ix INTRODUCTION This study explores military culture in eighteenth-century Imperial Russia. It is concerned with two unexplored questions: was there an autonomous military culture in Russia by the end of the eighteenth century and if so, what form did it take. Throughout that period Russia faced an almost uninterrupted series of largely successful wars that stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and that committed an increasing number of people, resources, and thoughts to its cause. The century began with the Great Northern War, which persisted for over twenty years, where Russia effectively challenged the hegemony of Sweden in the Baltic, and ended with the Russians on the shores of Holland, in southern Italy, and then in the Swiss Alps, on the offensive against the French Revolution. The pages below concentrate on the second half of that turbulent century, specifically on the reign of Catherine II and Paul I, which coincided with seven military conflicts – the two Russo-Turkish wars (1768-74 and 1787-91), the two wars with Poland (1768-72 and 1794-5), the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), the Persian Expedition (1796), and the War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802). While the Great Northern War (1700-1721) could rival this period in military scope, success, and impact, it was only during Catherine’s reign that the military began to generate enough cultural and intellectual capital to give shape to an autonomous 1 culture. It was only beginning from the 1760s that the contours of a Russian military 1 During the Great Northern War Peter gave the military an institutional and legal framework, developed mechanisms for recruitment and organization, and laid the foundations for military promotion and education. However, his greatest achievement, according to James Cracraft, was not the military modernization, which had already begun in the Muscovite era anyway, but the cultural revolutions in visual and linguistic matters. Whether or not the military had a distinctive culture during Peter’s reign, and what shape it took, Cracraft does not address directly, which leaves scope for further research.