The Streltsy army appeared. Sagittarius: security forces of medieval Rus'

Story

Initially, the ancient Slavic word “streltsy” meant archers, who were an important part of any medieval army.

However, later, in Russia, representatives of the first regular troops began to be called this way. In 1550, the pishchalniki-militia were replaced by the Streltsy army, initially consisting of 3 thousand people. The Sagittarius were divided into 6 “articles” (orders), with 500 people in each. The Streltsy “articles” were commanded by heads of boyar children: Grigory Zhelobov, son of Pusheshnikov, Matvey (Dyak) Ivanov, son of Rzhevsky, Ivan Semenov, son of Cheremesinov, Vasily Funikov, son of Pronchishchev, Fyodor Ivanov, son of Durasov, and Yakov Stepanov, son of the Bunds. The centurions of the Streltsy “Articles” were also children of the boyars. The archers were quartered in the suburban Vorobyovoy Sloboda. Their salary was determined to be 4 rubles. per year, archery heads and centurions received local salaries. The Streltsy formed a permanent Moscow garrison. The formation of the Streltsy army began in the 1540s under Ivan IV the Terrible. In 1550, the Tsar ordered to establish in Moscow

“In the summer of 7058, the Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich made three thousand elected archers from the arquebuses and ordered them to live in Vorobyovskaya Sloboda, and killed the children of the boyars;<…>And he ordered the archers’ salaries to be four rubles a year.”…

This decree laid the foundation for a special unit of the royal army - the Moscow Streltsy army. The Moscow archers received their first baptism of fire during the siege and assault of Kazan in 1552 and subsequently were indispensable participants in all major military campaigns. In peacetime, Moscow and city archers performed garrison service, performing the functions of police and firefighters in cities.

By the beginning of the 17th century, the estimated number of the Streltsy army was up to 20,000, of which up to 10,000 were from Moscow. In 1632, the total number of archers was 33,775 people, and by the beginning of the 1680s it had increased to 55 thousand. At the same time, the ranks of the Streltsy were replenished, first of all, due to the addition of Moscow Streltsy, of which in 1678 there were 26 regiments with a total number of 22,504 people.

To control the Streletsky army, the Streletsky Izba was formed in the mid-1550s, later renamed the Streletsky Prikaz. The funds and food necessary to support the Streltsy came to the Streletsky Prikaz from various departments, which controlled the tax-paying population of the cities and the black-growing peasantry. These categories of residents of the Moscow state bore the brunt of government duties, including the obligation to pay a special tax - “food money”, as well as the collection of “streltsy bread”. In 1679, for the majority of urban residents and black peasants of the northern and northeastern districts, the previous taxes were replaced by a single tax - “streltsy money”.

In the second half of the 17th century, standard bearers and vulture musicians were armed only with sabers. Pentecostals and centurions were armed only with sabers and protazans. Senior commanders (heads, half-heads and centurions) were given canes in addition to sabers.

With rare exceptions, ordinary riflemen did not use defensive weapons. An exception is the mention by F. Tiepolo, who visited Moscow in 1560, about the limited use of helmets by Russian infantry. Information has been preserved about the review on the Maiden Field in 1664, when in the Streltsy regiment of A. S. Matveev, two bannermen were in cuirasses and one was in armor. In some of the drawings of the “Book in Persons about the Election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the Tsar” of 1676, the archers are depicted in helmets similar to cassettes, but they are not mentioned in the documents. Such helmets, in the form of a helmet with a brim, were convenient for infantry - they did not interfere with shooting and, at the same time, provided sufficient protection.

Giles Fletcher, who visited Russia in 1588-1589, wrote: “The archers who make up the infantry do not carry any weapons except a self-propelled gun in their hand, a rifle on their back and a sword at their side. The barrel of their self-propelled gun is not the same as that of a soldier’s gun, but smooth and straight (somewhat similar to the barrel of a hunting rifle); the finishing of the stock is very rough and unskillful, and the self-propelled gun is very heavy, although they fire a very small bullet from it.” .

The first legislative definition of the weapons of archers dates back to the 17th century. On December 14, 1659, changes in weapons were made in units operating on the territory of Ukraine. In the dragoon and soldier regiments, berdysh were introduced, and in the archers, pikes. The royal decree read: “... in the Saldatsk and Dragoon regiments, in all the regiments of the soldiers and dragoons and in the Streltsy Prikaz, the Streltsy ordered to make a short pike, with a kopeck at both ends, instead of berdysh, and long pikes in the Saldatsk regiments and in the Streltsy Prikaz, to be made according to consideration; and he ordered the rest of the soldiers and the archers to have swords. And he ordered berdyshes to be made in regiments of dragoons and soldiers instead of swords in every regiment of 300 people, and the rest should continue to have swords. And in the Streltsy orders, inflict berdysh on 200 people, and the rest will remain in swords as before.”

The archers were armed with smooth-bore matchlocks, and later - flint arquebuses. Interestingly, in 1638, the Vyazma riflemen were issued matchlock muskets, to which they stated that “They don’t know how to shoot from such muskets with zhagras, and they never had such muskets with zhagras before, but they still had old squeaks with locks”. At the same time, matchlock weapons were preserved and probably prevailed until the 70s of the 17th century. Firearms were both domestic and imported. Screw-mounted arquebuses, the production of which began in the middle of the 17th century, initially began to be supplied to Streltsy heads and half-heads, and from the 70s - to ordinary Streltsy. In particular, in 1671, 24 were issued to the rifle regiment of Ivan Polteev; in 1675, the archers going to Astrakhan received 489 rifles. In 1702, rifles accounted for 7% of the Tyumen archers.

By the end of the 17th century, some city archers of small towns far from the borders acquired purely police functions, and therefore only a few of them remained armed with arquebuses, and the rest with reeds. In addition, weapons such as spears, slingshots, bows and crossbows are mentioned in the arsenal of city archers.

Form

Sagittarius in a drawing from 1672

The Streltsy regiments had a uniform and obligatory dress uniform (“colored dress”) for all, consisting of an outer caftan, a hat with a fur band, pants and boots, the color of which (except for the pants) was regulated according to belonging to a particular regiment. The ceremonial uniform was worn only on special days - during the main church holidays and during special events.

To perform everyday duties and during military campaigns, a “portable dress” was used, which had the same cut as the dress uniform, but made of cheaper cloth in gray, black or brown.

The distribution of government-issued cloth to Moscow archers for sewing everyday caftans was carried out annually, while to city archers once every 3-4 years. Expensive colored cloth, intended for sewing dress uniforms, was issued irregularly, only on particularly special occasions (in honor of victories, in connection with the birth of royal heirs, etc.) and was an additional form of reward for service. The colors of the regiments stationed in Moscow are known for certain only in the second half of the 17th century.

Dress uniform colors by regiment in 1674:

Regiment	Kaftan	Lining	Buttonholes	A cap	Boots
Regiment of Yuri Lutokhin	Red		Raspberry	Dark gray	Yellow
Regiment of Ivan Poltev	Light gray	Crimson	Raspberry	Raspberry	Yellow
Regiment of Vasily Bukhvostov	Light green	Crimson	Raspberry	Raspberry	Yellow
Regiment of Fyodor Golovlenkov	Cranberry	Yellow	Black	Dark gray	Yellow
Regiment of Fyodor Alexandrov	Scarlet	Light blue	Dark red	Dark gray	Yellow
Regiment of Nikifor Kolobov	Yellow	Light green	Dark crimson	Dark gray	Reds
Stepan Yanov's Regiment	Light blue	Brown	Black	Raspberry	Yellow
Regiment of Timofey Poltev	Orange	Green	Black	Cherry	Greens
Regiment of Pyotr Lopukhin	Cherry	Orange	Black	Cherry	Yellow
Regiment of Fyodor Lopukhin	Yellow-orange	Crimson	Raspberry	Raspberry	Greens
Regiment of Davyd Barancheev	Crimson	Brown	Black	Brown	Yellow
Regiment of Ivan Naramatsky	Cherry	Light blue	Black	Raspberry	Yellow
Regiment of Vasily Lagovchin	Lingonberry	Green	Black	Green	Yellow
Regiment of Afanasy Levshin	Light green	Yellow	Black	Raspberry	Yellow

There is also a version (see “Tseykhgauz” No. 1) that the crimson buttonholes mentioned in this list (compiled on the basis of a contemporary drawing) were actually gold, and the black ones were silver.

Streltsy banners

Banners of the Moscow Strelets regiments, 1674

Ensigns

At the end of the 17th century, ensigns of the Streltsy chiefs appeared.

The Streletsky ensigns were built on the model of the boyars, in the center they depicted the Savior and the Mother of God, the faces of the Holy Saints, Archangels and angels. Ensigns for colonels, half-colonels, majors and quartermasters with two slopes, captain's ensigns - with one slope.

Streltsy regiments

Tactics

At first, during campaigns and battles, the archers were distributed among the regiments of the local army. In the middle of the 17th century they gained independence. During battles, their tasks included shooting at the enemy, as a rule, from behind field fortifications - walk-towns and other barriers, “in the ditch”, “in the dugout”; or under the cover of local cavalry. The presence of barriers protected against enemy cavalry and gave an advantage in defense against enemy infantry.

Famous Sagittarius

Anichkov, Longin Ivanovich (Nekhoroshev) (Onichkov) - head of the Moscow archers, one of the leaders of the defense of Mogilev in 1655.
Grasshopper, Ivan - archer of Artamonov's order of Matveev; journeyman mason (1660s-1670s); one of the founders of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Izmailovo, the Church of Gregory of Neocaesarea in Polyanka and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Stolpi (not preserved).
Lopukhin, Abraham Nikitich - steward and colonel and head of the Moscow archers in 1649-1669, one of the leaders of the defense of Mogilev in 1655. Participant in the Battle of Konotop in 1659. In 1664, together with the Cossacks of the Kyiv regiment, he held a siege in Glukhov. Subsequently, a boyar and manager (judge) of the Order of the Grand Palace,
Matveev, Artamon Sergeevich - steward and colonel and head of the Moscow archers in 1649-1670. Participated in the capture of Smolensk in 1654, the Battle of Konotop in 1659 and the suppression of the Copper Riot. Subsequently, the great sovereign was a close boyar, judge of the Ambassadorial Prikaz.
Sukharev, Lavrenty Pankratovich - steward and colonel of the Moscow archers in 1677-1695. He was the first of the Streltsy commanders to openly side with Peter I during the August crisis of 1689. Participant of the first Azov campaign in 1695. The Sukharevskaya Tower in Moscow and a number of neighboring squares and streets got their names from his surname.
Ievlev, Sylvester Petrovich - steward of Peter the Great, participant in the construction of the Novodvinsk fortress. Together with engineer Georg Rese, he led the actions of coastal batteries during the defense of Arkhangelsk from the Swedish military squadron of Charles XII in 1701. Died in 1708.

Notes

Literature

Buganov V.I. Moscow uprisings of the late 17th century. M. "Science". 1969.
Volkov V. A. Wars and troops of the Moscow State. M. "Algorithm". 2004.
Golikova N. B. Political processes under Peter I. Based on materials from the Preobrazhensky order. M. Publishing house of Moscow State University. 1957.
Muchnik A. B. “Uprising” of the Streltsy in 1698 // People’s uprisings in Russia. From the Time of Troubles to the “Green Revolution” against Soviet Power, ed. H.-D. Löwe, Wiesbaden, 2006, pp. 163-196 (in German). (A.Moutchnik: Der “Strelitzen-Aufstand” von 1698, in: Volksaufstände in Russland. Von der Zeit der Wirren bis zur “Grünen Revolution” gegen die Sowjetherrschaft, hrsg. von Heinz-Dietrich Löwe. Forschungen zur osteuropäischen Geschichte, Bd. 65, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2006, S. 163-196).
Palacios-Fernandez R. Moscow Archers. “Indispensable troops” of the Russian state of the 17th century // Tseykhgauz. 1991. No. 1 -P.8-15.
Pisarev A. The phenomenon of loyalty to the throne // Reitar. 2004. No. 10

The creation of the Streltsy army dates back to 1550, when, based on the already existing scattered and poorly organized detachments of “official” and “staff” squeakers, 3,000 people were “selected”, combined into 6 “articles” of 500 riflemen each. At the head of the articles were the heads - Grigory Zhelobov Pusheshnikov, clerk Rzhevsky, Ivan Cheremisinov, Vasily Pronchishchev, Fyodor Durasov, Yakov Bundov. Subordinate to them were centurions from the boyars' children, fiftieths and tens (the articles themselves, later renamed orders, were divided accordingly). For settlement of elected archers within Moscow, a special settlement was allocated - Vorobyova. From the very beginning, archers were more or less regularly trained in the art of handling matchlocks.

In 1550, “elected” rifle detachments were formed. “Russian Chronograph” talks in some detail about the appearance of these archers. Under 7058 we read: “... the tsar made ... elected archers and 3000 people from the arquebuses, and ordered them to live in Vorobyovskaya Sloboda, and killed the children of the boyars...” In total, six “articles” were created "(detachments) of elected archers, 500 people each. The “Articles” were divided into hundreds, headed by centurions from the boyars’ children, and probably into dozens. Sagittarius received a salary of 4 rubles per year.

The creation of elected archers was part of the major military reform of Ivan the Terrible and was closely connected with the establishment of the “chosen thousand” in the same 1550 (see below). The “thousand” was a detachment of elected cavalry; elected archers made up a three-thousand-strong detachment of selected infantry. Both of them were the personal armed guard of the king. Elected cavalry and foot units created by Ivan the Terrible were the predecessors of the Russian Guard

Participation of Streletsky troops in the siege and capture of Kazan and Polotsk

Almost immediately after their appearance, the archers received a baptism of fire. Gathering warriors for a campaign against Kazan in 1552, Ivan IV included his newly organized “elected” archers in its composition. During the siege and assault of Kazan, the archers played an important role, largely contributing to the successful completion of the campaign and the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. Elected archers differed from the local militia primarily in that they lived in a special settlement and were provided with a constant cash salary. The Streltsy army in its structure approached the regular army.

The social status of the archers was different from that of the local cavalry from the nobles and children of the boyars; The archers were recruited from the people, mainly from the tax-paying townspeople.

The structure of the Streltsy army was reminiscent of the existing organization of the Russian army (hundred division), but this army also had its own characteristics (reducing hundreds into five hundred detachments - articles). Streletsky “articles”, later orders (devices), existed until the second half of the 17th century. In the second half of the 17th century. they began to gradually be replaced by combined arms regiments, and hundreds by companies, and soon lost their originality.

The Streltsy received their first major baptism of fire during the siege and capture of Kazan in 1552. Chronicle sources tell in some detail about the actions of the Streltsy army in this campaign.

The Hertaul, advanced and large regiments were sent to storm Kazan. Ahead of the regiments, foot archers and Cossacks went on the offensive with their heads, atamans and centurions.

The success of the siege of the city was the result of the active actions of artillery and archers, who numbered up to 12 thousand near Polotsk. Here, as well as near Kazan, the burden of the siege of the fortress fell on foot soldiers, the central place among which was occupied by “fiery” archers5. Chernov A.V. . Armed forces of the Russian state in the XV-XVII centuries. M.: “Voenizdat”, 1954. 224 pp.

Constituting a standing army; infantry armed with firearms. Initially they were recruited from the free rural and urban population, then their service became lifelong and hereditary. They received a salary in money, bread, and sometimes land. They lived in settlements and had families, and were also engaged in crafts and trade. Streltsy were active participants in the Moscow uprising of 1682 and the Streltsy uprising of 1698. The Streltsy army was abolished by Peter I with the creation of a regular Russian army.

SAGITTARIUS

SAGITTARIUS, in the Russian state of the 16th - early 18th centuries, service people (cm. SERVICE PEOPLE), who made up the standing army; infantry armed with firearms. The Streltsy army was created in the 1540-1550s on the basis of squeaker detachments. Initially, the archers were recruited from the free townspeople and rural population. Subsequently, their service became lifelong and hereditary. Streltsy were divided into elected (later Moscow) and policemen (in various cities of Russia). Moscow archers guarded the Kremlin, performed guard duty, and took part in military operations. City archers carried out garrison and border service and carried out instructions from the local administration. Streltsy obeyed the Streletsky order, and during the war - the military leaders. City archers were also under the jurisdiction of local governors. The archers were uniformly uniformed, trained and armed (hand-held arquebuses, muskets, reeds, sabers, and partly pikes). The highest military-administrative unit of the Streltsy army was the device, later called the order, and from 1681 - the regiment. At the head of the orders were the Streltsy heads (at the head of the regiments were colonels), appointed from among the nobles by the government.
The orders (regiments) were divided into hundreds and tens, and were mounted (stirrup) and on foot.
The Streltsy had families, lived in separate settlements, and received cash and grain salaries from the treasury. In a number of places, archers were given land instead of a salary, which was allotted to them for joint use for the entire settlement. By the end of the 16th century there were 20-25 thousand archers, in 1681 - 55 thousand, including 22.5 thousand Moscow archers. Engagement in crafts and trade led to property inequality among the archers, bringing them closer in occupation to the townsfolk population. The “arable” archers had a lot in common with the peasantry. The Streltsy army showed its combat effectiveness during the siege of Kazan (1552), in the Livonian War, during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, in the wars with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crimean Khanate. In the second half of the 17th century, the backwardness of the archers in comparison with the soldier and Reiter regiments was revealed. The hardships of service, delays in the payment of salaries, abuses of the local administration and the streltsy authorities led to the participation of ordinary streltsy in the uprisings of the 17th - early 18th centuries: during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, the uprising under the leadership of S. Razin (1670-1671), Khovanshchina (1682) , Streletsky uprising of 1698, Astrakhan uprising (1705-1706). At the end of the 17th century, Moscow archers began to play an active role in the struggle for power among government groups, supporting the ideologists of the schism and being hostile to foreign innovations.

After the fall of the government of Sofia Alekseevna (1689), the government of Peter I began to gradually limit the military-political role of the Streltsy army. Eight Moscow Streltsy regiments were withdrawn from the capital for “eternal life” in Belgorod, Sevsk, and Kyiv. After the Streltsy uprising (1698) and the unrest of the Streltsy in Azov, Peter I ordered the disbandment of the Streltsy army. After the defeat of the Russian army near Narva (1700), the government stopped the disbandment of the Streltsy. The most combat-ready rifle regiments took part in the Northern War and the Prut Campaign (1711). Gradually they were absorbed into the regular army. At the same time, the city archers were abolished. The process of liquidation of the Streltsy army ended in the 1720s, although the city Streltsy remained in a number of places almost until the end of the 18th century as “service men of the old services.”. 2009 .

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Sagittarius- Sagittarius: 1 Sagittarius; 2nd Streltsy centurion (2nd half of the 17th century). SAGITTARIUS, in the Russian state 16th - early 18th centuries. service people; infantry armed with firearms. Initially they were recruited from the free rural and urban population, then... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

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Streletsky army

On October 1, 1550, Ivan the Terrible issued a Verdict On the placement of a selected thousand service people in Moscow and surrounding districts, who laid the foundations for the first standing army in Rus', which had the characteristics of a regular army. It is on this day that the Day of the Russian Ground Forces is currently celebrated.

The history of the Russian Ground Forces dates back to the times of the princely squads of Kievan Rus. The struggle to overcome feudal fragmentation. The immediate predecessors of the Streltsy were tweeters. They appeared at the end of the 15th century.

The first mention of the participation of squeakers in hostilities dates back to 1508, when the Grand Duke ordered them to be sent to Lithuania. In 1512, 1000 pischalniks were recruited from Pskov and took part in the campaign against Smolensk. Since 1512 tweeters began to participate in border defense. In 1515 tweeters together with the boyar children and Cossacks they guarded our embassy in Azov.

In 1545, along with foot soldiers, horsemen were noted tweeters: Yes, those squeakers on horseback and on foot, every person would have a squeaker by hand. The main disadvantage of the pishchalniks was the temporary nature of the army - they gathered for the duration of the campaign, after which they went home. Another disadvantage was the need to arm yourself at your own expense. Therefore, they were able to turn into a permanent regular army only under Ivan the Terrible. It is he who is the first , Ivan IV, later nicknamed Grozny, issued the same Verdict, which played a primary role in the construction and development of the Russian regular army.

The activity was inextricably linked with the strengthening of the Russian centralized state. It had great progressive historical significance, because only a country united into a single centralized state can count on the possibility of serious cultural and economic growth, on the possibility of asserting its independence. And there can be no independence without a sufficiently strong army.

It was the king, nicknamed in the West Ivan the Terrible - Ivan the Terrible, who created the Streletsky army.

The Moscow state was ahead of Western European armies in the mass introduction of firearms, and Sagittarius were a more advanced military formation than the mercenary soldiers of European armies. And the word itself soldier comes from the Latin soldarius, which means "sold out."

At first Sagittarius recruited from the free townspeople and rural population. Subsequently, their service became lifelong and hereditary.

The Streltsy headquarters was originally called the Streletskaya Izba, and later the Streletskaya Prikaz.

Sagittarius were divided into elected (later - Moscow) and police (in various cities of Russia). Moscow Sagittarius guarded the Kremlin, performed guard duty, and took part in military operations. Policemen Sagittarius carried out garrison and border service, carried out instructions from the local administration. Sagittarius obeyed the Streletsky order, and during the war - to military leaders. Policemen Sagittarius were also under the jurisdiction of local governors. Sagittarius were uniformly uniformed, trained and armed (hand-held arquebuses, muskets, reeds, sabers, and partly pikes). The highest military-administrative unit of the Streltsy army was an instrument, later called an order, and from 1681 - a regiment.

Initially, the staff strength of the Streltsy Orders was 500 people, divided into five hundred. Subsequently, their numbers constantly increased. In the second half of the 17th century there were differences thousandths And seven hundredths orders. In the 1680s, the staff of the Streltsy regiments was unified, after which there were 1,000 people in each regiment, and in the regiment there were 500 ranks of 1 person, a bailiff 1 person, Pentecostals 20 people, foremen 100 people, but in practice the number of Streltsy in The regiments still ranged from 600 to 1,200 people.

Teners and Pentecostals made up the non-commissioned officer corps; bailiffs, re-elected annually, served as adjutants to order commanders. In the 1650s, the position was introduced five hundred bailiff or simply five hundred, chosen from among ordinary riflemen or junior commanders. He had the responsibilities of deputy commander of the order for organizing logistics support.
Until the middle of the 17th century, the officer corps of the rifle regiments consisted of heads and centurions. In the 1650s, the position of half-head was introduced - the first deputy commander of the regiment. During the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667, the award of Streltsy heads with the rank of colonel, which initially had an honorary value, was introduced into the practice of the Streltsy service. Accordingly, the half-heads complained with the rank of half-colonel. In 1680, the names of the Streltsy Heads were renamed to Colonels, the Half Heads to Half Colonels, and the Centurions to Captains. From that time on, senior rifle commanders began to automatically be assigned the court rank of steward, after which their official name began to sound like steward and colonel, steward and half-colonel.

At the head of the orders were the Streltsy heads (at the head of the regiments -), appointed from among the nobles by the government. The orders (regiments) were divided into hundreds and tens, and were mounted ("stirrup") and on foot. Sagittarius They lived in separate settlements, receiving cash and grain salaries from the treasury. In a number of places Sagittarius Instead of a salary, they were given land, which was allotted to them for joint use for the entire settlement.

The Streltsy army was armed with squeaks, reeds, half-peaks, and bladed weapons - sabers and swords, which were worn on a belt belt. To shoot from a squeaker, the archers used the necessary equipment: a sling ( Berendeyka) with pencil cases with powder charges attached to it, a bag for bullets, a bag for the fuse, a horn with gunpowder for rubbing gunpowder onto the charging shelf, and a squeak. By the end of the 1670s, as an additional weapon and for making obstacles ( slingshots) sometimes long peaks were used.

The archers, like the Janissaries and Taborites, fought under the cover of field fortifications forming a camp, convoy, kosh, secondly, using the rich traditions of Russian military wooden architecture, a special fortification was created - walk-city, the device of which clerk Ivan Timofeev described in detail in his Temporary.

Walk the city was specifically designed only to fight the Tatar cavalry; its design took into account the features of the weapons and tactics of only the Tatars, since it successfully protected against arrows. Shots from firearms pierced the walls walk the city, especially since it was not protected from field artillery shells.
If walk-city was pulled together in a ring, then he could fight surrounded, and if the shields with loopholes stretched in a line, then he could cover a front 2 to 4 km long. Considering that in walk in town There were cannons, we can confidently assume that the main tactical technique of the archers in a field battle was to stun the enemy with a powerful fire strike, inflict maximum damage on him, disrupt his ranks and expose him to cavalry attacks. Gulyai-Gorod became a tactical prerequisite for the linear arrangement of the archers.

The Streltsy army showed its combat effectiveness during the siege of Kazan in 1552, in the Livonian War, repelling the Polish-Swedish intervention in the early 17th century, as well as in military operations with Poland and. Special role Sagittarius played in which the Tatars had a fourfold advantage over the Russians. In view of this advantage, our entire army occupied defensive fortifications. Sagittarius, being under the protection of the “walk-city”, they used tactics that the Dutch would later use. They, firing from behind cover, inflicted significant damage on the Tatar cavalry and exposed it to the attack of the cavalry led by Mikhail Vorotynsky.

By 1632, the total number of archers was 33,775 people, and by the beginning of the 1680s it had increased to 55 thousand. At the same time, the ranks of the Streltsy were replenished, first of all, due to the addition of Moscow Streltsy, of which in 1678 there were 26 regiments with a total number of 22,504 people.

Streltsy army of Ivan the Terrible

On October 1, 1550, Ivan the Terrible issued a Verdict on the placement in Moscow and surrounding districts of a selected thousand service people, which laid the foundations for the first standing army in Rus', which had the characteristics of a regular army. It is on this day that the Day of the Russian Ground Forces is currently celebrated.

Having suffered a series of defeats from the Mongol army, the Russian princes began to think about what could be opposed to the Mongol and, later, Tatar tactics, which consisted of remotely hitting the enemy with arrows.

The first victory of Russian troops over the regular Horde troops was won in 1285, when the son of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Alexandrovich, opposed his brother Andrei, who brought the Tatar army with him to Rus'. The main role in this victory was played by the participation of Novgorod archers in the battle (see about them in the article Why didn’t the Tatar-Mongols go to Novgorod?), whose almost two-meter infantry bows exceeded the Horde cavalry in firing range.

However, the most radical means of fighting the Tatars were the squeaks - the first examples of Russian firearms, and the immediate predecessors of the Streltsy were tweeters. They appeared at the end of the 15th century.

First mention of participation squeakers in military operations dates back to 1508 - when Grand Duke Vasily III ordered to send them to Lithuania. In 1512, 1000 were recruited from Pskov squeakers who took part in the campaign against Smolensk. Since 1512 tweeters began to participate in border defense. In 1515 tweeters together with the boyar children and Cossacks they guarded our embassy in Azov.

In 1545, along with foot soldiers, horsemen were noted tweeters: Yes, those squeakers on horseback and on foot, every person would have a squeaker by hand. The main disadvantage of the pishchalniks was the temporary nature of the army - they gathered for the duration of the campaign, after which they went home. Another disadvantage was the need to arm yourself at your own expense. Therefore, they were able to turn into a permanent regular army only under Ivan the Terrible. He was the first , Ivan IV, later nicknamed Grozny, issued the same Verdict, which played a primary role in the construction and development of the Russian regular army.

At first Sagittarius recruited from the free townspeople and rural population. Subsequently, their service became lifelong and hereditary.

The Streltsy headquarters was originally called the Streletskaya Izba, and later the Streletskaya Prikaz.

Teners and Pentecostals made up the non-commissioned officer corps; bailiffs, re-elected annually, served as adjutants to order commanders. In the 1650s, the position was introduced five hundred bailiff or simply five hundred, chosen from among ordinary riflemen or junior commanders. He had the responsibilities of deputy commander of the order for organizing logistics support.
Until the middle of the 17th century, the officer corps of the rifle regiments consisted of heads and centurions. In the 1650s, the position of half-head was introduced - the first deputy commander of the regiment. During the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667, the award of Streltsy heads with the rank of colonel, which initially had an honorary value, was introduced into the practice of the Streltsy service. Accordingly, the half-heads complained with the rank of half-colonel. In 1680, the renaming of Streltsy Heads into Colonels, Half Heads into Half Colonels, and Centurions into Captains was carried out. From that time on, senior rifle commanders began to automatically be assigned the court rank of steward, after which their official name began to sound like steward and colonel, steward and half-colonel.

If walk-city was pulled together in a ring, then he could fight surrounded, and if the shields with loopholes stretched in a line, then he could cover a front 2 to 4 km long. Considering that in walk in town There were cannons, we can confidently assume that the main tactical technique of the archers in a field battle was to stun the enemy with a powerful fire strike, inflict maximum damage on him, disrupt his ranks and expose him to cavalry attacks. Gulyai-Gorod became a tactical prerequisite for the linear arrangement of the archers.