Russian guard
The Russian Guard ( Russian Российская гвардия or гвардейские части ) are elite units of the Russian Empire and the Russian Federation .
These units are to be distinguished from the Kremlin Guard , the Red Guard , the White Guard and the Soviet Guard .
The guard units in the tsarist empire
Tsar Peter I created in 1690, the Imperial Guard, the first as a bodyguard should ensure his personal protection.
In the 18th century, the Russian Infantry Guard consisted of the three regiments Preobrazhensky , Semenovsky and Izmailovsky . The Preobrazhensky and Semjonowski regiments were formed from the children's regiments of Peter I, the so-called Potjeschnij. The names go back to the villages in which they were set up. Under Tsarina Catherine I , Ukrainians , Estonians and Kurlanders were recruited to raise the Ismailovsky regiment. The body company was founded in 1742 from former grenadiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment .
Cavalry of the Guard was initially only available as an honorary escort, accompanying Tsarina Catherine I at her coronation in 1724. However, the Chevalier Guard was not to exist continuously in the following years. It was not until Catherine II established a cavalry corps of the guard in 1762. The hussars of the Guard survived 1788 the dissolution of the hussar regiments . The Cavalry Corps of the Guard was then dissolved under Paul I , but was rebuilt in 1799.
Tsar Peter III presented in 1762 an artillery - Battalion on the bodyguard. However, in the same year it was dissolved by Catherine II in order to make the Bombardiere company of the Preobrazhensky regiment and the artillery units of the Semenovsky and Izmailovsky regiments independent. Paul I combined the three units again in 1796 to form the bodyguard battalion.
By 1917, the Tsar's Guard had grown to 13 infantry , 4 rifle and 14 cavalry regiments as well as other support units . These units were used like the regular army .
The guards in the Soviet era
After the October Revolution , all guards and elite units were disbanded by the new Soviet government. There were no guards in the newly formed Red Army . Parts of the previous imperial guard units joined the whites and were defeated in the civil war.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Stalin reintroduced the name of the Guard in the Red Army: units of all branches of service ( army , air force , navy ), which excelled in combat, were elevated to the rank of Soviet Guard unit .
The guard units of the Russian Federation
After 1991 these units retained their Guard status in the Russian Federation, but have now become Russian Guard Units . A large part of these units was dissolved for lack of money, so that today only a few units with this award exist. With the ukase No. 32 of the Russian President Putin of December 22, 2000 (On the establishment of the Russian Guard Day / Об установлении Дня российской гвардии ), September 2nd was set as a day of remembrance on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Guard.
See also
- Guard
- Russian armed forces
- National Guard (Russia)
- Chevalier Guard
- Life Guard Cossacks
- Life Guard Hunter Regiment
literature
- Гвардия российская . In: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона - Enziklopeditscheski slowar Brokgausa i Jefrona . tape 8 [15]: Гальберг – Германий. Brockhaus-Efron, Saint Petersburg 1892, p. 196–197 (Russian, full text [ Wikisource ] PDF - The Russian Guard was established from the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments at the beginning of Peter the Great's reign ...).
- Liliane and Fred Funcken: Historical Uniforms. Volume II: 18th century. French, British and Prussian cavalry and artillery. Infantry, cavalry and artillery from other European countries. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1978.
Web links
- Russian Guard: The History of the Elite Units in Pictures en.rbth.com
- Article Soviet Guard in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
- Russian Guard Day Today (Russian)