Plot Partial mobilization in Russia
The partial mobilization announced on September 21 as part of the Special Military Operation continues to remain in the center of public attention. This is not the first such case in Russian history. 145 years ago, in 1877 g., in the course of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 , the first mobilization measures were completed.
«The task of Russia — build, not destroy"
Considering the events of those years, one cannot refrain from drawing direct historical analogies. By and large, the eve, beginning, course and final of that war can be described by a modern slogan, under which actions —— “We don’t leave our own!” The appeal of Russian II II, addressed to the Balkan peoples: “My orders are entrusted to my army to approve for you those sacred rights, without which the peaceful and correct development of your civilian life is unthinkable. The task of Russia — create, not destroy! From now on, Russian weapons will protect you from any violence. For every crime will be mercilessly followed by legal punishment».
For several years, this was preceded by an unprecedented social upsurge, colored, however, in the same tones of “we don’t leave our own”. The heads of the provincial gendarmerie departments, who were entrusted with the duty of regularly compiling and sending mood surveys among the inhabitants to the center, conscientiously recorded speeches on the spot. Here, for example, was what the peasants of the Vyazemsky district of the Smolensk province were talking about among themselves: “Two years before the war, there were rumors among the people that the Turks were slaughtering Christians, that Christians were suffering martyrdom from them … We knew that our father-tsar is merciful, they thought, and some said aloud: “What is our father giving offense to his filthy Turks?” Well, now, we heard that the tsar began to send people on the sly to step in there … & raquo; In October 1876 , that about about six months before the war the pskov region reported: “From the first days of October the possibility of a war with the Turks came to foreground, and excitement among the masses became appear more clearly. Genuine, folk enthusiasm began to appear…»
strife — society was consolidated even before Russia started hostilities. Rozalia Plekhanova, nee Bograd, married the famous Russian revolutionary Georgy Plekhanovalready after the war. And here this is what this native of the Jewish shtetl of Kherson Uyezd wrote a few months before her beginning: I and my young comrades in the course burned with a desire to go where the great work of liberating the oppressed peoples was being accomplished…» ; She is echoed by a born German, Anna Korba, nee Meinhardt: “I couldn’t stay calm from the very beginning of the uprising of the Slavic peoples. I wanted to give even the slightest help to the fighters for their freedom… I reasoned as follows: at every given moment in history, every nation has its own vital task. In recent years, such a task for Russia has been war. The whole country was interested in the successful outcome of».
And here is a letter from a group of Russian officers published on their pages in 1876 publication “The Illustrated Bulletin”: “There are many of us who want to fight for the liberation of the Slavs; perhaps there will be a war, but for now, for God's sake, can can go there as volunteers, and what needs to be done for this? It's not ashamed to go…»
Everyone considered themselves Russian
However, on this wave of enthusiasm, those who passionately wanted to defiantly separate themselves from the rest of the peoples of Russia also tried to swim out. Kyiv historian Mikhail Drahomanov, the ideologist of the creation of the Ukrainian state, which would become "Union to defend itself from "strangers", for some reason decided that the Ukrainian nation had already been fully formed, and"only "oppression of the empire" prevents her from showing herself. And that's why Drahomanov came up with the initiative to create a separate detachment of Ukrainian volunteers, which would fight in the Balkans under its own special flag, thus showing the whole world the political consciousness of Ukrainians and their ability to self-organize.
The result was disastrous, to say the least — humiliating. On the entire territory of conditional Ukraine, there were exactly six volunteers to help the Balkan brothers. One person from Odessa and five more from Kyiv. Everything. However, no, not everything. Of these six, three were wanted and were looking for a plausible pretext to sneak abroad. Total — three Ukrainian volunteers. On this question about existence back in the XIX century of a “separate formed Ukrainian nation” could have been safely closed.
For comparison — General Mikhail Chernyaev, the conqueror of Tashkent and the publisher of the Russkiy Mir newspaper, goes to the Balkans without permission. A few months later, a corps of 7 thousands of volunteers of different nationalities of the Russian Empire, including natives of Kyiv, Poltava, Zhytomyr, was formed under his command… All of them considered themselves Russians, and everyone went to fight for the common noble cause. And that was just the beginning. The volunteer movement grew and gained momentum every day. It got to the point that teenagers began to run away to the war — by the way, this was the first precedent in national history. So, the future head of the State Duma was going to run away, and in those schoolboys Alexander Guchkov — he was stopped in time. Others turned out to be more agile, and the provincial press wrote about them: “The sons of a merchant” of the II Guild Matvey and Aleksey V., who had intentions to go as volunteers to the Balkans, were taken off the ship in Saratov and delivered to my father, who carved them .
They didn't promise an easy walk
However, these are still volunteers. And how were things with mobilization as such? This question was then asked at the very top. The fact is that mobilization was a novelty. Moreover — a novelty, for which neither the country, nor the army, were ready for objective reasons. Universal conscription and conscription of the army was introduced only in 1874 g.
"In the autumn of 1876, we were only in the third year of general military service and did still haven a a reserve, dismissed on new principles — wrote in his work “The Evolution of Military Art” military theorist, Major General of the Russian Imperial Army Alexander Svechin. — The transitional state in which the army was located made it somewhat difficult to carry out mobilization … The first day of mobilization was scheduled for November 2, 1876; 254 thousands were subject to conscription, of the fifth day of mobilization, 75% of recruiting stations appeared».
In total, three waves of partial mobilization were supposed. The second fell on & nbsp; April 1877 & nbsp; — War was declared just then. The third lasted until the winter of that same year. About the results of the second wave to Emperor Alexander II at the end of April 1977 reported Interior Minister Alexander Timashev: “According to the general opinion of the governors, reserve people gathered everywhere quickly and willingly. There were no those who evaded appearance upon conscription…» The most interesting thing is that the rush did not die out and into the third wave. Here is what he wrote in & nbsp; December 1877 & nbsp; assistant to the head of the Voronezh provincial gendarmerie department: “When recruiting young soldiers in the Ostrogozhsky district, many rejected ones expressed a desire to serve voluntarily, and” those already enrolled in the “service” asked to be sent to the & nbsp; active army.
The most interesting thing is that the captivating moods were reasonably stopped, which, along the way, historian and publicist Dmitry Ilovaisky wrote: «We never talked about lightness the fight ahead of us. We remind you of the possible still complacent people who look at this as a military walk. No, we are dealing with an enemy numerous, and most importantly, dexterous and malicious».
The words are fair. But "the main thing" after all, it was not in this. And in the fact that all the estates, all the peoples of Russia in those years realized their commonality, and, no less important, the need for Russia historical mission to restoration of justice, peace and tranquility, which fits into three words : “We don't leave our own.”
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