Mechanisms of the emergence and formation of guard units in the Russian Imperial Army

Andriainen Stanislav Valterovich PhD in History Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Media Studies, Political Science and History, St. Petersburg State University of Economics 197373, Russia, Saint Petersburg, ul. Aviakonstruktorov Ave., 19 andriainen2012@yandex.ru

The Russian Imperial Guard is the topic on which hundreds of research papers have been written, without exaggeration ^{[3; p.88]}. However, despite an intensive research search, there remain topics that are insufficiently studied, but at the same time important for understanding the development and functioning of the guard.

Within the framework of this article, we will study such an issue as the process of creating new military units of the Russian Imperial Guard. We will try to trace the patterns of formation of new guard units in various historical epochs, to identify individual models of the creation of new guard units. Also, part of our research will be an analysis of why individual military units of the army could qualify for promotion to the status of the guard, and others could not.

By the summer of 1914, the following guard units existed in the Russian Imperial Army. Infantry - 13 Guards infantry regiments (taking into account His Imperial Majesty's Own Consolidated Infantry Regiment), 4 Guards rifle regiments, a company of Palace Grenadiers.

Cavalry – 13 Guards Cavalry regiments, Guards Field Gendarmerie Squadron, His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy and Guards Reserve Cavalry Regiment.

Artillery – 3 Guards artillery brigades, rifle and mortar artillery divisions, Life Guards Horse artillery.

The engineering and special units of the Guard were the Life Guards Sapper Battalion and the Guards Crew

It is these parts that form the basis of our research.

The concept of "guard". The historical roots of the Guard of the Russian Empire.

"Military encyclopedic lexicon", published in Russia in the middle of the XIX century. gives the following interpretation of the concept of "guard": "... the word guard means a special army assigned either to the composition of the security guard of the sovereign and commander-in-chief, or to serve as the main reserve of troops. These are usually selected troops both in relation to the external bearing and height of the soldiers, and by their good behavior, exemplary courage, devotion to the throne and the fatherland. They serve as a support for other troops in battle, support their moral strength, and complete the victory with a decisive blow." ^{[5; p.116]}

From this definition, we see that the guard units are equipped with selected personnel and perform several functions: a reserve shock unit, the protection of the ruler, participation in symbolically important ceremonies (for example, a meeting of foreign embassies). In Russian conditions in the XVIII century. the Guard was also a training school for officers for army units.

In Russia, where the army traditionally plays one of the most important roles in the life of the state, units with guards status have been known since at least the XVII century. By the 1680s, several privileged Streletsky regiments and two elected Moscow soldier regiments could be considered "guard regiments" of the old Moscow kingdom.

The future first regiments of the Russian Imperial Guard, Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, began to form in 1690 and for several years organizationally existed together in the form of the 3rd Moscow Elective Regiment. ^{[4; c.303]}

However, in 1700, Tsar Peter Alekseevich ordered the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments to be called the Life Guards. That is why the year 1700 is the starting chronological point in our study.

In the history of the Guards formations, we can distinguish six main periods.

The first period. 1700-1730 . During this period, 3 Guards infantry regiments (Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Izmailovsky) were formed and preserved as part of the Guard, and one Guards cavalry regiment – the Life Guards Mounted.

Distinctive features of this period of creation of guard units are the following.

Firstly, guard units are created immediately with the elite status of the Guard, the division of Guard regiments into Old and Young Guards will appear much later.

Secondly, Pyotr Alekseevich's activity was characterized by some blurring of the way of reforming Russia. This also affected the guards. A full-fledged regular regiment of Guards cavalry was created in a very ornate way. In 1707, according to the Swedish model, the Life Region was created, the new regiment performed the functions of the Guards cavalry - trained officers, participated in decisive battles, but was abolished in 1719 and formed anew. Emperor Peter I ordered the creation of a Guards cavalry regiment. He was to train cadres of officers for the army cavalry, staff officers in the regiment were to be appointed from the Guards infantry regiments. Despite this clearly formulated decree, its execution was delayed in 1721. Peter changed his mind, deciding to create an ordinary Kronstadt Dragoon regiment. However, in 1722, it was ordered to start forming the Life-Region again, but this decision was finally implemented only in 1730, when a Life Guards Mounted regiment was created on the basis of the regiment. ^{[2; c.12-18]}.

In the same 1730, the Izmailovsky Regiment of the Life Guards was created.

The creation of two guards regiments by Anna Ioanovna in 1730 solved not only the military, but also the political task. The new Guards regiments were supposed to be a counterweight to the two old ones. ^{[8; c.241]}. In addition, in their projects, which the nobility submitted to the Empress during the Supreme Court case, the nobles demanded that their sons not be assigned to army service as privates. ^{[8; p.181]} In this regard, the creation of two Guards regiments dramatically increased the number of prestigious vacancies for guards.

Another exceptional circumstance of the era was the decision of Emperor Peter the Great to allow his commanders to oversee the creation of army regiments with a privileged status in the Russian army, which we will call "elite units of the army."

The study of how such parts developed is important for our research. Without studying this phenomenon, it will not be clear why certain army units "suddenly" (in fact, naturally) became guards, and others did not. According to our classification, the criteria for classifying a military unit as an elite unit were as follows:

1.                     Recruitment of a military unit with selected personnel

2. The use of a military unit in decisive battles as a reserve or strike force.

3. The exemplary nature of service in peacetime – that is, a military unit should set the tone in drill, military fashion.

4.                     The military unit should be located in St. Petersburg itself or its immediate surroundings – that is, "in front" of the ruling monarch.

5. The presence of an authoritative chief in the military unit (preferably a member of the Romanov dynasty or one of the prominent military / court figures).

We emphasize that in order for a military unit to become elite in our classification, it is necessary that all or at least 4 conditions out of 5 coincide. It was not enough that a military unit had a good combat reputation, fought with distinction in wars and was equipped with selected personnel.

This did not make such a regiment an automatic candidate for the Guard. That is why Grenadier regiments did not automatically become guards, although they were traditionally equipped with selected personnel and used in decisive battles. Similarly, it was not enough to house a military unit in St. Petersburg to make it elite. Let me remind you that almost throughout the history of the Russian Empire, not only guards, but also army military units were quartered in St. Petersburg and the suburbs. Let's give an example. The Belozersky Musketeer Regiment was stationed in St. Petersburg from 1783 to 1797, but despite this, it was never considered as a candidate for the 8th Guard or elite. ^{[11; c.480, 494]}

During the first period, the most famous elite army unit was the Ingermanland Infantry Regiment. It was formed under the leadership of the future Field Marshal and Prince A.D. Menshikov in 1703, was staffed with selected personnel and had increased salaries, was used in the decisive battles of the Northern War together with the Guards (especially distinguished himself in the Battle of Lesnaya). In the 1720s, the regiment was quartered in St. Petersburg. Thus, we see that this regiment has a composition of all five factors necessary for the recognition of an elite unit and a candidate for the guard. However, the Ingermanland regiment remained a candidate without becoming a full–fledged guard unit - after Prince Menshikov was sent into exile in 1727, it gradually lost its elite status and by the middle of the XVIII century turned into an ordinary good army regiment. However, the history of the Ingermanland Regiment is the first example. It was followed by other, often more successful samples. ^{[1; c.49-51]}.

Also in the Peter the Great era, another characteristic model of Guards construction appeared. Within the framework of the Guards military units, tactical units are created - the "embryos" of future guards units, which in subsequent eras turn into independent military units of the guard. At the same time, such units should differ in their combat tasks and status from the combatant units of the unit in which they initially function.

Within the framework of the 1st period of speech, the Bombardier Company of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment was such an embryo. The company was supplied with all property except artillery, from the Preobrazhensky regiment, but often acted separately in campaigns as an independent unit. In addition, the ranks of the Bombardier Company were the actual mentors for the Russian artillery units. ^{[4; pp.211-212]}

The second period from 1730 to 1775 was the least significant in terms of the number of new guard formations. Over the years, only two new military units with guards status have been formed. In 1741, a Life Campaign was created on the basis of the Grenadier company of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. This special military unit was founded with the aim of carrying out guard duty at the Empress' chambers.

In 1762, this division was dissolved by Emperor Peter III. However, when Empress Catherine II overthrew him in a coup on June 28-29, 1762, in July of the same year she created a new small unit with security functions – the Cavalry Corps. ^{[7; p.23]}

Thus, both new guard units formed in this era were created to protect the monarch. They were not designed to solve other guard tasks – such as participation in combat operations.

We can explain the absence of large guard formations in that era by the fact that the Russian Empire at that time was waging wars of limited scale. Russian Russian-Swedish war of 1741-1743), or only separate units of guards regiments (during the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739, one battalion of infantry from each of the three Guards infantry regiments and three companies of Horse Guards took part in the fighting.). The limited scale of hostilities allowed to attract guards units only for a short time (the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-1743), or only separate units of Guards regiments (during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739, one battalion of infantry from each of the three Guards infantry regiments and three companies of Horse Guards). ^{[2; p.5]}

The Seven-Year War stands apart in this list of conflicts, because it was a major conflict in which Russia fought with great effort. However, although this war was waged on a large scale, it was at a distance from the indigenous territory of the Russian Empire. The Russian army coped there without the help of the guard. The only significant moment was in 1758 – after heavy losses in the Battle of Zorndorf, the question arose about sending the guards to the theater of operations, but this idea was abandoned. ^{[10; p.357]}

Also during the second period, two more dragoon army regiments (Yaroslavl and Nevsky) received the status of the army elite and became candidates for the Guard. In 1733, both regiments were renamed Cuirassiers. Yaroslavl Dragoon became the 3rd Cuirassier, and Nevsky became the Life Cuirassier. In order not to confuse the reader, he will immediately note that the names of the regiments changed once again in the XIX century. 3 The Cuirassier regiment became the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment of His Majesty, and the Life Cuirassier Regiment was transformed into the Life Guards Cuirassier of Her Majesty. ^{[6; pp.131,135]}

A number of circumstances contributed to the elevation of the status of these regiments. These regiments had influential chiefs. The chief of the future cuirassiers of His Majesty since 1742 was the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich, since 1762 the chief was Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. Since 1733, Empress Anna Ioanovna was the chief of Her Majesty's cuirassiers and the regiment was called the Life Cuirassier Regiment. After Anna Ioanovna, other Russian rulers were the chiefs of the regiment.

In addition, cuirassier regiments created during the military reforms of the 1730s were created as elite military units, which in itself increased the status of these regiments during their army life.

We define the third period of formation of guards units as 1775-1800 .

During this period of time, we can distinguish several waves of creation of guards military units. At the beginning of this period, the "embryos" of guard units were created. The first wave of such formations is associated with the activities of G.A.Potemkin. In 1775, he formed the Don and Chuguev court Cossack teams, as well as the life-Hussar squadron. The creation of these units reflected the idea of increasing the number and importance of light and Cossack cavalry in the army, which was important for G.A. Potemkin. Although these teams did not receive an unambiguous guards status, their privileged position was undeniable – they were manned by selected people of army hussars and Cossack units, carried convoy service under the Empress. ^{[6; p.138]}

Another "germ" that emerged in that era as part of the guard was the jaeger teams created in 1770 as part of the Guards infantry regiments. Their creation was the result of an analysis of the Seven Years' War, where light infantry proved its usefulness. ^{[9; p.133]}

In 1775, another elite army regiment was determined, which became a "candidate for the guard" - it became the former 1st Grenadier regiment, formed in 1756. For the differences in the battles, the regiment was named the Life Grenadier Regiment in 1775, the Empress herself became its chief, the regiment was stationed near St. Petersburg. ^{[13; p.206]}

Paradoxically, the new guards units on the basis of the "embryos" created by Potemkin and Chernyshev were created by Emperor Pavel Petrovich, a cruel hater of Potemkin's activities. In the short period of Pavel Petrovich's reign, there was a sharp increase in the number of guards units. All the "embryos" of the Guards units turned into independent military units.

On the basis of the Don and Chuguev commands, as well as units of the Gatchina troops, a Life Guard Cossack regiment was created. In 1798, the gender was divided and in addition to the Cossack Life Guard, a new Hussar Life Guard was formed.

On the basis of the Bombardier Company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, an Artillery battalion of the Life Guards was created. On the basis of the jaeger teams of the Guards Infantry, an independent unit was created – the Life Guards Jaeger Battalion.

A distinctive feature of the Pavlovian reign is also the chaotic nature in the creation of guard units. The Cavalry corps guarding the Empress Catherine was abolished in early 1797. At the same time, at the end of 1796, a new formation of a separate Cavalry regiment began. In 1797 the regiment was disbanded. In 1799, a new formation of cavalry guards began as the guard of the Master of the Order of Malta. All the privates of the new corps had to be nobles. In 1800, the Cavalry Guard regiment was reorganized once again – now it has become a regular drill regiment of the Guards cavalry. During the new formation, the budding method was used – a significant part of the first cavalry guards were transferred by Emperor Paul from the Horse Guards. ^{[1; pp.129-131]}

Pavel Petrovich also paid tribute to the creation of army or close to the guard units with elite status. In 1796 he formed the Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment, in 1798 the Life-Ural Hundred was created.

In 1799, a Garrison battalion of the Life Guards was created for the honored veterans of the Guard. Like the Guards invalid teams that existed before 1859, the battalion was not considered a combat unit.

The fourth period of 1801-1825 was the maximum in terms of the number of formations of new guard units. During this time, 17 new units and separate units were created or promoted to the status of the Guard. (in the infantry, the Finnish, Moscow, Lithuanian, Volyn were created, in the cavalry – two Uhlan regiments, horse chasseurs, dragoons, Podolsk cuirassiers, Grodno hussars. Sapper battalion and Guards crew, Horse artillery, Guards Gendarmerie half-squadron. The Pavlovsky Grenadiers, Life Grenadiers and cuirassiers of His Majesty were promoted to the status of the Guards).

A huge number of new formations is due to the fact that Russia participated with great intensity in the Napoleonic wars. The size of the army increased rapidly. In this regard, the guard was also strengthened – new guard units were created as a selective core for the army.

The first guard formations of the new era took place according to the budding model. However, in the conditions of intense hostilities, all the processes of development of military units were sharply accelerated. In 1803, on the initiative of Grand Duke Konstantin, the Ulan Regiment of His Imperial Highness Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich was formed. It was a typical military unit of the army elite – it had a high patron (the Tsarevich himself), was initially equipped with the best men of the army light cavalry, in combat in 1805. she fought alongside the guard.

Already in 1809, on the basis of this military unit, two new guards regiments were formed at once by budding – the Ulan Life Guards and the Dragoon Life Guards. ^{[6; p.148]}

The wars have again shown the importance of light infantry. Therefore, the Guards battalion was reorganized into a regiment. In addition, the Finnish Life Guards Regiment was urgently created. He also made his way to the Guard in months, which other units overcame for decades. In 1806, according to the model of an elite army unit, a battalion of riflemen of the imperial family was created, which in 1808 was transformed into a Finnish Life Guards battalion, and already in 1811 turned into a light Guards infantry regiment. ^{[6; p.82]}

Another infantry unit of the Guard was created by budding - in 1811, on the basis of the battalion of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, a new Lithuanian Life Guards regiment was created.

In parallel with the infantry and cavalry, there was an intensive formation of special units designed to ensure the actions of the growing Guards Corps. In 1810, a Guard Crew was created, the creation of a new unit was the result of military fashion – a unit of sailors was part of the guard of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The new military unit was initially thought of as "universal soldiers". The sailors of the crew received infantry weapons, the crew included its own artillery team. However, the first combat test, the campaign of 1812, showed that sailors are especially effective when performing the functions of pontoons – guiding crossings over water barriers.

 In 1812, according to the selection model, the Life Guards Sapper Battalion was created - from the best people of the army sapper units. ^{[6; p.109]}

The emergence of new types of troops also required that the new type had its own elite guard representative. It was for such reasons that in 1814 in Versailles the Life Guards Cavalry-Jaeger Regiment was created as a young guard. Mounted chasseurs were the kind of troops that actively participated in the battles of the Napoleonic era. There is information that the Emperor Alexander I himself loved horse huntsmen. These factors were enough to form a new military unit. It was created according to the "selection" model - the best people from the army horse rangers were also transferred to it. ^{[6; p.156]}

In 1813, the composition of the Russian Imperial Guard was significantly increased – a number of elite army units were enlisted in the guard, which had long been perceived as comrades of the guard. The status of the guard was given to the Life Guards of the Pavlovsky Regiment, the Life Guards of the Grenadier Regiment, the Life Guards of His Majesty's Cuirassier.

Since the number of military units of the Guard was increasing, then, following the example of Napoleon Bonaparte's army, the division into the Old Guard and the Young was introduced. All units accepted into the Guard in 1813 became the Young Guard. The lower status of the Young Guard was expressed primarily in the fact that the chief officers of the Young Guard had an advantage over their army colleagues in one rank, and not two, as in the Old Guard.

To maintain law and order in the growing Guard in 1815, the Guards Gendarmerie Half-Squadron was formed, which in 1816 was granted the rights of the Old Guard. ^{[6; p.174]}

At the end of the reign of Alexander I, the guard again increased significantly. And it was also directly related to the results of the Napoleonic Wars. By the decision of the Congress of Vienna, most of the Duchy of Warsaw was annexed to Russia, which in Russia became the Kingdom of Poland. Grand Duke Constantine became the viceroy of the Kingdom. A new guard detachment was formed for him, which by 1824 consisted of 2 infantry regiments, 3 cavalry and 2 artillery batteries. New military units were formed by budding. The Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment was created from a battalion of the old Lithuanian Regiment (which was renamed the Moscow Life Guards at the same time). The Volyn Regiment of the Life Guards was deployed on the basis of the battalion of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment. The Life Guards Uhlan Regiment of His Imperial Highness Tsarevich was formed on the basis of a division of the old Life Guards Uhlan Regiment.

The Podolsk Life Guards Regiment was formed from among the natives of the western provinces who served in the cavalry regiments of the Russian Guard (Cavalry, Cavalry, Cuirassier Life Guards and Cavalry Guards Cavalry). ^{[1; pp.198-199]}

It is interesting to note that since all these units were formed by budding from the Old Guard units, all new formations also received the rights of the Old Guard. The same was done with the two artillery batteries formed for the Guards detachment in Warsaw.

The rule was very strict. When in 1824 another Guards cavalry regiment was formed for Tsarevich Konstantin (the Grodno Hussar Life Guards), it initially received the rights of only the young Guard, since it was equipped with the method of selecting the best people from army hussar regiments. ^{[6; p.167]}

Finally, during this period, two grenadier regiments gained their reputation as elite army units, which became permanent companions of the guard. We are talking about the Grenadier King of Prussia and the Grenadier Emperor of Austria regiments. These units had all the necessary attributes of the army elite - a glorious history of military campaigns, influential bosses. The Kexholm regiment was quartered in St. Petersburg for a long time. It should be especially emphasized that these regiments were considered the standard of combat service in peacetime. At the end of the reign of Alexander I, an amazing situation developed. In 1819, the "army" grenadiers of the Kexholm regiment showed their fellow guards the wisdom of a "quiet training step". ^{[1; p.201]}. In 1831, Emperor Nicholas I formally incorporated these two regiments into the Guards Corps, but without the rights of the Guard.

The fifth period of 1825-1856 is mainly associated with the activities of Emperor Nicholas I.

At this time, the following trends can be distinguished in the development of guard formations.

For his services in the war with the Polish rebels, a large wave of raising units in the status to the Old Guard was carried out. In 1831, two Guards infantry regiments (Pavlovsky and Grenadier) and 3 cavalry regiments (His Majesty's Cuirassier, Grodno Hussar and Life Guards Horse-Jaeger, which at the same time changed its name and became the Life Guards Dragoon. The former Dragoon was called the Horse-Grenadier.)

New guard formations were held. In order to train the loyal national elite in 1829, the Finnish rifle training battalion was renamed the Finnish Life Guards Rifle Battalion with the rights of the Young Guard. ^{[14; c.68]}. For the same purposes, units of highlanders were created – the Caucasian-Mountain and Crimean Tatar squadrons of the Life Guards. The Highlanders and Crimean Tatars were included in a new separate military unit – His Imperial Majesty's own convoy, which was finally separated from the Life Guards of the Cossack Regiment in 1842. The basis of the convoy was still the Highlanders, and the Kuban, Terek and Ural Cossack hundreds, also included in the convoy. All of the above units, except for the Finnish battalion, were created by selecting the best military personnel of certain nationalities and class groups.

Emperor Nicholas I paid great attention to the development of Cossack troops. Therefore, in 1829, another selected Cossack regiment appeared under the Guard – the Ataman. At the same time, he did not immediately receive the rights of the guard. ^{[6; p.142]}. In 1830, the 6th Don Cossack Battery of the Life Guards was formed from the selected lower ranks of the Don Cossack artillery.

The creation of the Life Guards Consolidated Regiment, which was created in 1826 in order to distinguish the soldiers involved in the Decembrist uprising and the Semenov story, stands out. After the regiment participated in the Russian-Persian War of 1826-1828, it was disbanded, and its servicemen were included in the permanent guard formations. ^{[12; p. 15]}

A remarkable circumstance is also the only merger of guards military units in the imperial history of Russia with the actual liquidation of one of them. In 1833, as part of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Cuirassier Regiment, the personnel of the Life Guards of the Podolsk Regiment were united. A possible reason for the merger of the "Podoltsy" was the fact that the regiment turned out to be the fifth regiment of the Guards heavy cavalry. Since the cavalry divisions in the states of 1833 were supposed to have 4 regiments, the "Podoltsy" turned out to be superfluous.

At the very finish of the studied period, two more military immediately became guards. We are talking about the 1st and 2nd Life Guards rifle battalions, which were formed in 1856 on the basis of rifle companies of the regiments of the 1st and 2nd Guards Infantry divisions. By tradition, both battalions immediately received the status of the Old Guard.

In addition, according to the model of the Napoleonic Wars, a regiment of riflemen of the imperial family was formed in 1854. In fact, its creation became a tracing paper from the history of the Finnish regiment. As in the period of the Napoleonic Wars, the new unit was deployed at the expense of recruits from among the peasants of the appanage department. And therefore the regiment received the name Rifle Regiment of the imperial family. In 1856, on the occasion of the end of the war, the regiment was folded into one battalion, which received the status of the Young Guard. ^{[6; pp.100-104]}

The sixth period of 1856-1914 is a natural result of the development of guard formations before the First World War.

Due to the fact that a large number of military units already existed in the Guard, the formation of new guard combat units was practically not carried out during this period.

In 1856 and 1859, two cavalry regiments received the status of the Young Guard. These were the Life Guards of Her Majesty's Cuirassier and the Life Guards of the Ataman Cossack Regiments, respectively).

Instead, in several waves, the units of the Young Guard were promoted to the status of the Old One. In 1870-1873, 7 batteries of Guards foot artillery and one battery of horse artillery received the status of the Old Guard.

In 1877, Cossack units were promoted to the Old Guard – the Life Guards Ataman Regiment and the Life Guards 6 Don Cossack Battery. The 3rd Finnish Rifle Battalion was also awarded this promotion to the Life Guards. In 1884, this status was awarded to Her Majesty's Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment and the 4th Life Guards Rifle Battalion. Finally, in 1894-1897, the 2nd regiment of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division (the St. Petersburg Life Guards and the Kexholm Life Guards) were finally transformed into the Old Guard. ^{[6; p.215]}

Artillery was required for the 3rd Guards Infantry Division and the Guards Rifle Brigade, so in 1895 and 1898, 6 artillery batteries of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division and two batteries of the Guards rifle artillery division at once. Three more batteries of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division, which had existed since 1873, received the rights of the Old Guard in 1894.

Formations of new guard units, except for artillery, are very few in this period of time.

The need to protect the Emperor both in the theater of military operations and in the fleeting time required the creation of a special military unit for this purpose. In 1881, people were selected from all the Guards (except the 3rd Guards Infantry Division) to form a Consolidated Guards Company.

In 1883, the company was transformed into a battalion, and with the right to replenish it already with soldiers of army units and the 3rd Guards Infantry Division. In 1907, the battalion was transformed into His Imperial Majesty's Own Consolidated Infantry Regiment. ^{[6; p.120]}

In 1906, His Imperial Majesty's own convoy was transformed into a Life Guards Consolidated Cossack Regiment with the rights of the Old Guard.

A noteworthy circumstance is the ease with which the composition of the Cossack units of the guard was modified during this period, depending on current needs. In 1860, the Crimean Tatar squadron from the Guards convoy was abolished. In 1882, the same fate befell the Caucasian Mountain Squadron. In 1874, the first divisions of the Cossack Life Guards and the Ataman Life Guards regiments were consolidated into the Life Guards Consolidated Cossack Regiment. In 1877, in the conditions of the Russian-Turkish war, the second (preferential) divisions of these regiments organized the 2nd and 3rd Life Guards Consolidated Cossack regiments. Only in 1884 the Cossack and Ataman regiments of the Life Guards were separated again. ^{[6; p.138]}

Also in this era, the guards unit was disbanded. In 1905, for political reasons, the 3rd Finnish Rifle Battalion of the Life Guards was disbanded.

Instead, the former Life Guards Reserve Regiment (the successor of the Life Guards Garrison Battalion) was included in the Guards Rifle Brigade, which was elevated in status during the specified period. In 1897, the Reserve Battalion of the Life Guards was transformed into a regiment. In 1902, it was reorganized into a Life Guards Rifle Regiment. And finally, in 1910, he received the 3rd number instead of the Finns and became the Life Guards 3rd Rifle Regiment. ^{[6; p.107]}

Conclusion.

Our research has shown that during the formation of guard units in the Russian Empire, several basic models operated.

The first model is "selection", according to this scheme, selected people from army units were reduced to the guards military unit.

The second model is "budding". She assumed that her unit was allocated from the existing guard unit, which was deployed to the full staff of the new unit. At the same time, a strict pattern was observed – since new military units were deployed on the basis of the Old Guard according to the "budding" model, new units on this basis also inherited the status of the Old Guard.

In the period from 1700 to 1812, military units formed and transferred to the Guard had an equal status, since 1813 units of the Young Guard appeared in Russia, which is associated with an increase in the number of guard units and the need to differentiate their status. By the end of the XIX century, the status of the Young Guard was formally abolished by raising the status of the Young Guard units. By the end of the XIX century, the potential for the formation of new guard units in Russia was actually exhausted. There were 3 Guards infantry divisions and a Guards Rifle Brigade, two divisions of Guards cavalry and one Guards cavalry brigade, not counting artillery and special units.

New guard formations throughout the XVIII-XIX centuries were formed due to various considerations. In the era of palace coups, the idea of protecting the throne and creating new units loyal to a particular ruler (ruler) dominated. The huge guard formations of the first quarter of the XIX century were mainly associated with military tasks and the need for Russia to participate in the wars with Napoleon. An important page in the history of the guard formations was the creation by Nicholas I of national units as part of the guard. One of the tasks of these units was to train national elites loyal to the empire. In the second half of the XIX century. such units as part of the Russian Guard were disbanded.

One of the important mechanisms for replenishing the guard were elite army military units. These military units had to meet certain criteria (an outstanding track record, an influential chief, excellent service in peacetime, lodging near St. Petersburg and service next to the guard). Due to such elite army units at the beginning of the XIX century. in Russia, regiments of the Young Guard were created.