The endless expanses of Russia have always been inhabited by many peoples. Militant and rebellious, it was hard for them to get along side by side. Conquering lands from each other, they honed their fighting qualities.
Russians
The harsh climate, vast territories, and an endless line of conquerors forged from the Russians tremendous willpower and perseverance in achieving victories.
“The Russians often attacked our machine guns and artillery, even when their attack was doomed to failure. They paid no attention to either the strength of our fire, or to their losses,”recalled the German general of the First World War, Anton von Pozek.
A quarter of a century later, another German general, Gunther Blumentritt, added to his compatriot: “The Russian soldier prefers hand-to-hand combat. His ability to endure hardship without flinching is truly surprising. Such is the Russian soldier whom we recognized and for whom we were imbued with respect."
"Suvorov's crossing over the Alps", Vasily Surikov, 1899
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The writer Nikolai Shefov in his book "Battles of Russia" provides statistics on the wars from the 18th to the 20th centuries, in which Russia participated. According to the author, for 250 years the Russian regular army won 31 out of 34 wars, won 279 out of 392 battles. In the overwhelming majority of battles, Russian troops were outnumbered by their opponents.
Varangians
The Varangians were not a single people. However, these ethnically variegated groups, inhabiting, among other things, the northern lands of Ancient Russia, were distinguished by their cohesion and warlike disposition. One could either fight with them, or negotiate.
Europe failed to do either one or the other. The Varangians penetrated deep into the continent along the rivers, devastating Cologne, Trier, Bordeaux, and Paris.
“Deliver us from the ferocity of the Normans, O Lord!” Was heard from many churches in Western Europe.
The Varangians reached the Black Sea along the Dnieper, from where they made their ruinous campaigns to Constantinople.
Oleg's farewell to the horse. Viktor Vasnetsov, 1899
The developed iron processing technique allowed the Varangians to create high-quality weapons and armor, which had practically no analogues. Historian Alexander Khlevov notes that neither Europe nor Asia at that time were able to create military formations equal in combat capability to the Varangians.
Byzantine emperors and Russian princes preferred to have Varangians as mercenaries. When the Novgorod prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, with the help of the Varangian squad, seized the Kiev throne in 979, he tried to get rid of his wayward companions, but in response he heard: "This is our city, we captured it - we want to take a ransom from the townspeople for two hryvnias per person."
Baltic Germans
In the 12th century, following the Hanseatic merchants, the crusaders came to the eastern coast of the Baltic. The main goal of expansion is the conquest and baptism of pagan peoples. In 1224, the Germans seized Yuryev, founded by Yaroslav the Wise, and the Livonian Order, which they soon created, would become one of the main threats to the western borders of Russia for a long time.
From the beginning of the 17th century, the descendants of the Livonian prisoners of Ivan the Terrible have been actively involved in the formation of the "regiments of a foreign system."
At the end of the 18th century, along with the Ostsee nobles, Prussian discipline, well-trained and automatic military training came to the Russian army, which inspired Paul I to military reforms.
Many of the Eastsee Germans reach career heights in the Russian military service. For example, Karl von Toll, a native of the old Estonian family. This talented staff general belongs to the plan for the war with Napoleon, it was he who developed the operational plan for the Battle of Borodino. Later, Toll directed successful operations during the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829.
Another famous Ostsee was Barclay de Tolly. The “scorched earth tactics” used by the general during the war with Napoleon provoked protests from the Russian local nobility, but it was she who largely predetermined the outcome of the military campaign.
Before the Russo-Japanese War, the share of generals of German origin in the generals of the Russian army was 21.6%. On April 15, 1914, among the 169 "full generals" there were 48 Germans (28.4%), among 371 lieutenant generals - 73 Germans (19.7%), among 1034 major generals - 196 Germans (19%).
A large percentage of officers of German origin were in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, in which, according to tradition, mainly Baltic (Eastsee) Germans were recruited.
Other famous Baltic Germans in the Russian army and navy were P. K. Rennenkampf, E. K. Miller, Admiral von Essen, Baron A. Budberg, General N. E. Bradov.
Baron Ungern von Sternberg stands out among the Baltic Germans. Extremely decisive, ignorant of dangers, even on the fronts of the First World War, he earned himself the glory of a hero. During the Civil War, the army under the command of General Ungern became one of the main threats to Soviet Russia. The name of Baron Ungern is especially memorable in Mongolia: largely thanks to the general's talent for leadership, this country was able to defend its independence from China.
Shlyakhtichi
The gentry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth more than once brought problems to the Russian state, not only encroaching on the territory of its eastern neighbor, but also owning the Moscow throne. The English historian Norman Davis characterizes the "arrogant gentry" as follows: "They were not engaged in any craft or trade, but could only enter the military service or manage the estate."
The gentry was originally a military-knightly class. Hunting, fencing, horse racing and shooting took the lion's share of the nobleman's way of life. In the collegiums of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, military-sports games were practiced, for example, "finger" fights, which imitated saber fights.
“This fighting principle was a projection of the gentry duels, duels - games with death in real life,” notes the historian Igor Uglik.
A lot of noise in Europe was made by the "winged hussars" - the elite cavalry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which repeatedly defeated the Russians, Swedes, Turks and Germans. The success of the hussaria was brought by her favorite tactics: the increasing rate of attack and the dense front of the banner, which made it possible to inflict maximum damage on the enemy in a collision.
Since the 16th century, the gentry began to join the ranks of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, bringing knightly gloss and military democracy to it. For the impoverished or guilty part of the Polish-Lithuanian gentry, the Cossacks were perceived as a restoration of honor - "either fall with glory, or return with a booty of war."
After the Pereyaslavl Rada, a part of the so-called Russian gentry from the Left-Bank Ukraine voluntarily swore allegiance to the Moscow Tsar. The gentry more than once had the opportunity to prove themselves in military affairs. So, in 1676, when the Bashkirs and Kyrgyz besieged the Menzepa fortress, the gentry fought bravely and held the city for a long time, until the arrival of reinforcements.
Cossacks
This free people was often at the forefront of those who raised uprisings and riots, he was also in the ranks of the pioneers who conquered new lands for the empire.
The exceptional military qualities of the Cossacks are the result of multi-stage combat training. For example, a long process of training a Plastun Cossack made it possible to develop different skills: “shot to crunch” - the ability to hit any target in poor visibility, “wolf's mouth” - the ability to carry out a lightning-fast striking attack or “fox tail” - the art of covering up your tracks when returning tasks.
The feat of the Don Cossack Kozma Kryuchkov, the Order-bearer of the First World War, is a bright page in the chronicle of the Cossacks. In August 1914, a small Cossack patrol attacked a couple of German cavalry patrols. “Eleven people surrounded me. Not wanting to be alive, I decided to sell my life dearly,”the hero recalled. Despite the 16 stab wounds that the Cossack received, not one of the 11 Germans remained alive that day.
Circassians
Already the self-name of the Circassian - "Adyg" - means "warrior". The whole way of life of the Circassians was permeated with military life. As the writer A. S. Marzei notes, “such a state of their life is in constant readiness for defense and battle, the choice of a less vulnerable place for settlements and temporary camps, mobility in gathering and movement, moderation and unpretentiousness in food, a developed sense of solidarity and duty, led, of course, to militarization."
Along with other Zakubans, the Circassians offered the most fierce resistance to the Russian army during the Caucasian wars. Only a century later, at the cost of more than a million lives of soldiers, Russia was able to conquer this proud and warlike people. The most powerful tribe of western Circassia, the Abadzekhs, resigns itself to the capture of Shamil.
Over the centuries, the Circassians have created a special military culture - "Work Khabze", which distinguished them from their neighbors. An integral part of this culture was a respectful attitude towards the enemy.
The Circassians did not burn houses, did not trample the fields, did not break vineyards. The care of the Circassians for their wounded or fallen comrades also deserves admiration. Despite the danger, they rushed to the deceased in the midst of the battle, only to take out his body.
Adhering to the knightly code of honor, the Circassians have always waged open war. They preferred death in battle to surrender. “One thing I can praise in the Circassians, - wrote the Governor of Astrakhan to Peter I, - that they are all such warriors that cannot be found in these countries, because there are a thousand Tatars or Kumyks, there are quite a few Circassians here.
Vainakhi
There is a hypothesis according to which the ancient Vainakh peoples laid the foundations of the Sarmatian and Alanian ethnos. We know the Vainakhs primarily as Chechens and Ingush, who left no less vivid trace in history than their formidable ancestors.
During the invasion of the hordes, first of Genghis Khan, and then Timur, the Vainakhs who had retreated to the mountains were able to offer them heroic resistance.
During this period, the Vainakhs perfected their defensive architecture: the watchtowers and fortresses that rise today in the Caucasus mountains are the best confirmation of this.
An interesting description of a Vainakh is found in the diary of a Russian soldier who was captured by the highlanders during the Caucasian War: overtaking and striking with the speed of lightning.
Ossetians
The motley ethnic lineage of the Ossetians clearly shows the warlike Iranian-speaking tribes of the North Caucasus: the Scythians, Sarmatians and Alans. Unlike other Caucasian peoples, Ossetians establish relations with Russia quite early. Already in the middle of the 18th century, the head of the Ossetian embassy in St. Petersburg, Zurab Magkaev, announced his readiness to send an army of 30 thousand people to participate in hostilities against Iran and Turkey.
Devotion, courage and valor are the traits that most accurately characterize the Ossetian warriors:
“The Ossetians are especially fearless and hardened like the Spartans. It is a political necessity to negotiate with them , - Russian playwright Mikhail Vladykin writes in his notes. General Skobelev noted that if the Ossetians are the last, then only when they retreat.
Tatars
The Tatar cavalry from the time of the first campaigns of conquest of Genghis Khan was a formidable force.
On the battlefield, the Tatar archers used perfect tactics of maneuvering and bombarding the enemy with arrows. The military art of the Tatars was also famous for intelligence, thanks to which small detachments could ambush and carry out lightning attacks.
In the middle of the 15th century, the Moscow tsars had the idea to subordinate the Tatar militancy to their interests.
So on the territory of the Russian state, Tatar enclaves arose, whose members pledged to carry military service in exchange for the inviolability of territory and religion.
To solve political problems, the Tatar troops actively used Vasily II and Ivan III. Ivan the Terrible relied on the Tatars in the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan, in the Livonian War and in the oprichnina.
Nogays
The Golden Horde Beklarbek Nogai gave rise to the ethnonym, with which one of the most formidable and warlike peoples of Eurasia is associated. Already under its founder, the Nogai Horde spread its influence over vast territories from the Don to the Danube; the possessions of Byzantium, Serbia, Bulgaria and many southeastern lands of Russia recognized vassal dependence on it.
The Nogai, who by the middle of the 16th century could deploy a 300,000-strong army, were a force with which few dared to compete. The Moscow tsars preferred to build good-neighborly relations with the Horde. In return for economic aid, the Nogais carried out cordon service in southern Russia, and their cavalry regiments helped the Russian troops in the Livonian War.
Kalmyks
An integral part of the Kalmyk's life was his physical training. Thus, the national wrestling "nooldan" trained young people in strength, endurance and unbending will to win.
During the Tsagan Sar holiday, Kalmyk youths converged with each other in a real "wheelhouse", however, using whips instead of sabers. Such amusements later made the Kalmyk warriors unsurpassed "swordsmen".
The Kalmyks had a special place in the ability to control negative emotions, which allowed them to accumulate physical and moral strength.
During the battle, the Kalmyk warrior entered a special state of mind, in which he did not feel either pain or fatigue, and his strength seemed to multiply tenfold.
Since the 17th century, Kalmyks have been demonstrating their martial art, defending the borders of the Russian kingdom: the irregular cavalry of the Kalmyk Khanate took part in many of the wars that Russia waged during the 18th century.
Muncie
Voguls (or Mansi) who have chosen the harsh northern region have mastered the art of survival to perfection. Excellent hunters and fearless warriors, they forced their neighbors to reckon with themselves: Siberian Tatars, Nenets and Zyryans.
The squad of the Mansi khan was a detachment of professional warriors - "oblique otyrs". The key to their success was covert movement and imperceptible tracking of the enemy.
At different times, the hordes of Batu and detachments of Novgorodians tried to penetrate the lands of the Voguls - all to no avail. Only after suffering a painful defeat from the Yermak Cossacks, the Mansi retreated further to the North.
Tuvans
This small cattle-breeding people during the Great Patriotic War demonstrated miracles of perseverance and courage. It is no coincidence that the Germans called the Tuvans Der Schwarze Tod - “black death”. Of the 80,000 population of Tuva, 8,000 fought in the ranks of the Red Army.
The Tuvan cavalry, which fought in Galicia and Volhynia, without exaggeration, made an indelible impression on the German troops.
During interrogation, a captured Wehrmacht officer admitted that his subordinates "subconsciously perceived these barbarians as the hordes of Attila and lost all combat capability."
It should be noted that their appearance added to the militancy of the Tuvan cavalrymen: on small shaggy horses, dressed in national costumes with outlandish amulets, they fearlessly rushed to the German units. The horror of the Germans was strengthened by the fact that the Tuvans, adhering to their own ideas about military rules, did not take the enemy prisoner in principle, and with the obvious superiority of the enemy they stood to death.