There are different opinions about the time of the appearance of the Streltsy army in historical literature. This is explained by the fact that documentary sources testifying to the establishment of the Streltsy army have not been preserved, and perhaps they never existed. Therefore, some researchers limit themselves to only mentioning the middle of the 16th century. or the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Most pre-revolutionary historians claimed that the archers appeared in 1550; some historians attributed the time of their appearance to the 15th - early 16th centuries, considering the squeakers as archers. By identifying the Streltsy with the Pishchalniki, they thus removed the question of establishing a Streltsy army.

Soviet historians joined the opinion of the majority of pre-revolutionary authors who believed that the Streltsy appeared in Rus' in 1550.

A careful study of the sources makes it possible to clarify this issue.

On January 16, 1547, Ivan the Terrible was crowned king. Noting in this regard the position of the military men under the new king, the chronicler points out: “... and again, add to them a lot of fiery archers, much studied in military affairs and not sparing their heads, and at the right time fathers and mothers and wives , and forget their children, and are not afraid of death...”

The chronicler's message gives the right to assert that the Streltsy army was established under Ivan the Terrible. Noting the appearance of the Streltsy in connection with the accession of Ivan the Terrible, the chronicler apparently recorded a fact that took place even before Ivan the Terrible’s accession to the throne, that is, before 1547. Other sources confirm this assumption.

K. Marx points out in his “Chronological Extracts” on the history of Russia that in 1545 Ivan IV established a permanent personal guard (Leibwache), which he called archers, since it was armed with arquebuses, that is, firearms instead of bows and quivers. He sent part of this guard as the main core to the troops.

K. Marx's instruction is confirmed by some Russian sources.

In June 1546, a supporter of the Moscow government, Kasimov's Tsar Shah-Ali, sent from Moscow on April 7 of the same year, was imprisoned in the Kazan Khanate. “The Legend of the Conception of the Kazan Kingdom” reports on this occasion that Shah-Ali went to Kazan, accompanied by

The three-thousand-strong detachment of Tatars did not take with them “neither fiery archers” nor “attack” (artillery).

Shah-Ali stayed in Kazan for about a month and was expelled by the former ruler of the Kazan Khanate - Khan Safa-I Prey. Sources indicate that the next year after the expulsion of Shah Ali, Ivan the Terrible sent his governors Semyon Mikulinsky and Vasily Obolensky Serebryany to Kazan with a large army, which included the “fiery archers” . Thus, the archers took part in the hostilities of the Russian army in 1546-1547. and, therefore, appeared earlier than this time.

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. The elected cavalry and foot units created by Ivan the Terrible were the predecessors of the Russian Guard.

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 with their heads, atamans and centurions went on the offensive.

A shootout ensued, in which the archers also took part. When the mounted Tatars made a sortie against the foot archers, the tsar ordered the commanders of the Ertaul regiment to “help” the archers. By order of the governor, the archers “buried themselves in ditches” on the bank of Bulak and did not allow the Tatars to make forays out of the city.

The second governor of the large regiment, M.I. Vorotynsky, was ordered by the entire regiment to dismount from their horses and ride on foot to Kazan.

Vorotynsky “first ordered the archers led by their heads to go to the city,” then the Cossacks with their atamans, the boyar people with their heads and the tours to roll to the indicated place, “and you yourself go with the boyar children after them.” While the tours were being installed (“50 fathoms from the city”), archers, Cossacks and boyars fired at the city with arquebuses and bows. When the tours were installed, all the people were taken to them. “And before the tours, the archer and the Cossack are ordered to dig into ditches against the city.” The battle continued all night.

On Saturday, August 27, Voivode M. Ya. Morozov was ordered to roll out a “large outfit” to the tours. Artillery shelling of the city began. The archers, who were in the trenches before the tours, actively helped the artillery, “not allowing people to be on the walls or climb out of the gates.”

On Monday it was decided to stage tours along the river bank. Kazankas. The governors sent forward the archers under the command of Ivan Ershov and the atamans with the Cossacks, who dug into the ditches. The archers responded to the shelling from the city with arquebuses, and the Cossacks with bows. Meanwhile, the governors placed the tours in the designated place. The same thing happened when installing the tour from the Arskoe field; the Kazan forays were repelled by archers, boyar people and Mordovians.

To intensify the shelling of the city, a 12-meter tower was built near the tour, on which guns were raised. Active assistance to the artillery was provided by the archers, who fired at the city walls and streets with hand-held arquebuses day and night.

According to the royal decree, the first to attack the city were the archers, Cossacks and boyar people. They had to withstand the main attack of the besieged and capture the city walls. The attackers were helped by the governors with the boyar children from the regiments. The archers and other foot soldiers filled the ditch with brushwood and earth and moved towards the city walls. “And so,” the chronicler adds, “soon he ascended the wall with great strength, and erected that shield and fought on the wall day and night until the city was captured.”

Sources show that the decisive force in the capture of Kazan were archers, Cossacks and boyar people (slaves), i.e. foot soldiers. The Sagittarius also took an active part in the Livonian War. The siege and capture of all Livonian cities and castles took place with the participation of archers. The siege of Polotsk showed quite well the role and importance of the Streltsy army in the armed forces of the Russian state in the 16th century.

• On January 31, 1563, the Russian army approached Polotsk. On the same day, Ivan the Terrible ordered his regiment to set up a convoy (“kosh”) and placed archers in front of the regiment, near the city, who guarded the royal regiment all day. Polotsk residents opened gunfire on the Russian regiments. Situated on the banks of the river. Dvina and on the island the gunners and archers knocked down the enemy gunners from the island and killed many people in the prison. The next day, the king sent two more devices (detachments) of archers with heads to the island; The archers were ordered to dig in and begin shelling the settlement.
• On February 4 and 5, the deployment of tours and detachments began, the protection of which from possible attacks by the enemy was carried out by archers, Cossacks and boyar people. At the same time, the archers of the device of the head of Ivan Golokhvastov set fire to the tower of the prison from the Dvina side and entered the prison through the tower. However, the tsar ordered the archers to be taken back, “without intent” they went to the fort, since the siege tours had not yet been set up everywhere. In a bold attack, the archers lost 15 people killed.

The enemy tried to stop the siege through negotiations, but the siege continued. The tours were deployed, and the arriving battering squad joined the shelling of light and medium cannons; The archers settled under the tours. On February 9, the Polotsk governor ordered the fort to be set on fire in several places, and the townspeople from the fort to be driven into the city. Streltsy, Cossacks and boyars burst into the fort, and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Reinforcements from the royal regiment were sent to help the archers. After the capture of the fort, tours were placed around the city, followed by large and mounted guns, and they began round-the-clock shelling of the city. The arrangement of the tours and their protection were carried out by archers and boyar people. On the night of February 15, the archers set fire to the city wall. The regiments were ordered to prepare for the assault, but at dawn on February 15, Polotsk surrendered.

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 whom was occupied by “fiery” archers.

Having briefly traced the participation of the archers in the siege and capture of Kazan and Polotsk, we will draw some general conclusions.

The absence of permanent infantry in the Russian army has been felt for a long time. A long and unsuccessful struggle with Kazan throughout the first half of the 16th century. was partly a consequence of the fact that the Russian army did not have permanent detachments of foot soldiers.

The government sent dismounted cavalry to Kazan, but it could not replace standing infantry, especially since the noble cavalry considered it beneath its dignity to carry out military service on foot. Neither the pishchalniks, temporarily convened for military service, nor the Cossacks, armed primarily with bows, could replace the permanent infantry.

The Streltsy were the embryo of that standing army to which F. Engels attached great importance.

Engels wrote that to strengthen and strengthen the centralized royal power in the West (and therefore the tsarist power in Russia), a standing army was needed.

It is important to note the fact that the archers were armed with arquebuses. For the Russian army, whose noble cavalry was armed with bows and edged weapons, the appearance of detachments with firearms was of great importance. The universal arming of the archers with firearms placed them above the infantry of Western states, where some of the infantrymen (pikemen) had only edged weapons.

Sagittarius were good at using firearms. Already near Kazan, according to the chroniclers, “the archers danced byahu skillfully and taught military skills and arquebus shooting, like small birds in flight, killing with hand arquebuses and bows.”

Finally, repeated indications in the chronicles indicate that the archers knew how to adapt to the terrain and use artificial shelters, and this was possible only as a result of the archers being trained in military affairs.

Thus, it is impossible to identify archers with squeakers. The Pishchalyshkov can be called the predecessors of the Streltsy, but only in relation to the nature of the service (branch of the army) and weapons. Both of them (the squeakers predominantly) were foot soldiers, and both of them had firearms. This is where the continuity ends. The Streltsy army, which was permanent, in its organization and combat capability stood incomparably higher than the detachments of temporarily convened pishchalniks - militias. Therefore, even after the formation of the Streltsy army, the pishchalniks could not have disappeared, but remained part of the march army, although sources, mostly foreign, sometimes call Streltsy by this name.

The Sagittarius deservedly considered themselves the military elite of Russia. They heroically fought the enemy, settled new lands, but also the archers, dissatisfied with their position, undermined the foundations of Russian statehood.

How it all began

In 1546, the Novgorod squeakers came to Ivan the Terrible with a petition, but their complaints were not heard by the tsar. The offended petitioners staged a riot, which resulted in mass clashes with the nobles, where there were both wounded and killed. But further - more: the rebels did not let the tsar who was about to go to Kolomna, forcing the sovereign to get there by a bypass road.

This event angered the king, which had its consequences. In 1550, Ivan the Terrible issues a decree on the creation of a permanent Streltsy army, which replaced the disgraced squeakers.

The first streltsy were recruited “by instrument” (for hire), and their composition was replenished mainly from former squeakers adapted for military service. At first, the number of Streltsy troops was small - 3,000 people, divided into 6 orders. Most of them included the free townspeople or rural population, but the orders were commanded by people from the boyars.

Despite the fact that the Streltsy recruited mainly people from the poor class, getting there was not so easy. People were taken of their own free will, but most importantly - those who knew how to shoot. However, later they began to demand guarantees. It was enough for a few experienced archers to be responsible for the escape of a recruit from service or the loss of his weapon. The age limit for newly hired workers was no higher than 50 years - this is quite a lot, given the low average life expectancy at that time. The service was for life, but it could also be inherited.

Life

The archers settled in settlements, receiving a manor place there. They were instructed to plant a vegetable garden and a garden, as well as build a house. The state provided settlers with “yard housing” - monetary assistance in the amount of 1 ruble: a good financial support, considering that a house at 16th-century prices cost 3 rubles. After the death or death of the archer, the courtyard remained with his family.

In remote settlements they lived very simply. The streets were mostly unpaved, and the huts (without a chimney) were covered with birch bark or straw; there were no windows as such, much less ones covered with mica - they were basically small slits in a log wall with oiled canvas. In the event of an enemy raid, the Sloboda residents sat out the state of siege behind the walls of the nearest fortress or fort.
Between military service, the archers were engaged in various trades - carpentry, blacksmithing, wheeling or carriage. They worked only to order. The range of “streltsy” products is impressive - grips, stags, openers, door handles, chests, tables, carts, sleighs - this is just a small part of what is possible. Let's not forget that the archers, along with the peasants, were also food suppliers for the city - their meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits were always welcome in city bazaars.

Cloth

The Sagittarius, as expected in a professional army, wore uniforms - casual and formal. The archers looked especially good in full dress uniform, wearing long caftans and tall hats with fur cuffs. Although the uniform was uniform, there were color differences for each regiment.

For example, the archers of Stepan Yanov's regiment sported a light blue caftan, brown lining, black buttonholes, a crimson hat and yellow boots. Some of the clothes - shirts, ports and zipuns - the archers had to sew themselves.

Weapon

History has preserved for us an interesting document that describes the reaction of the Vyazma riflemen to receiving a new weapon - matchlock muskets. The soldiers said that “they don’t know how to shoot from such muskets with zhagra (matchlock),” since “they had and still have old squeaks with locks.” This in no way indicates the backwardness of the archers in comparison with European soldiers, but rather speaks of their conservatism.

The most common weapons for archers were the arquebus (or self-propelled gun), the berdysh (an ax in the shape of a crescent) and the saber, and mounted warriors, even at the beginning of the 17th century, did not want to part with their bow and arrows. Before the campaign, the archers were given a certain amount of gunpowder and lead, the consumption of which was monitored by the governors so that “potions and lead would not be wasted.” Upon returning, the archers were obliged to hand over the remaining ammunition to the treasury.

War

The siege of Kazan in 1552 was a baptism of fire for the archers, but in the future they were indispensable participants in major military campaigns, having the status of a regular army. They witnessed both high-profile victories and painful defeats of Russian weapons. The archers were quite actively called upon to guard the always turbulent southern borders - an exception was made only for small garrisons.

The favorite tactics of the archers was the use of field defensive structures called “walk-city”. Streltsy were often inferior to the enemy in maneuverability, but shooting from fortifications was their trump card. A set of carts equipped with strong wooden shields made it possible to protect against small firearms and, ultimately, repel an enemy attack. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, the Crimean Tsar would have beaten us,” wrote Ivan the Terrible’s German guardsman Heinrich von Staden.

The Streltsy contributed greatly to the victory of the Russian army in the Second Azov Campaign of Peter I in 1696. The Russian soldiers, who had besieged Azov in a long, hopeless siege, were already ready to turn back when the archers proposed an unexpected plan: it was necessary to erect an earthen rampart, bringing it closer to the rampart of the Azov fortress, and then, filling in the ditches, take possession of the fortress walls. The command reluctantly accepted the adventurous plan, but in the end it more than justified itself!

Riot

The Sagittarius were constantly dissatisfied with their position - after all, they considered themselves a military elite. Just as the pishchalniks once went to petition Ivan the Terrible, the archers complained to the new kings. These attempts were most often unsuccessful and then the archers rebelled. They joined the peasant uprisings - the army of Stepan Razin, and organized their own revolts - “Khovanshchina” in 1682.

However, the riot of 1698 turned out to be the most “senseless and merciless.” Princess Sophia, imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent and thirsty for the throne, with her incitements, heated up the already tense situation within the Streltsy army. As a result, 2,200 archers who removed their commanders headed to Moscow to carry out a coup. 4 selected regiments sent by the government suppressed the rebellion in the bud, but the main bloody action - the Streltsy execution - was ahead.

Even officials had to take on the work of executioners by order of the tsar. The Austrian diplomat Johann Korb, who was present at the executions, was horrified by the absurdity and cruelty of these executions: “one boyar distinguished himself with a particularly unsuccessful blow: without hitting the condemned man’s neck, the boyar hit him on the back; the archer, cut almost into two parts in this way, would have suffered unbearable torment if Aleksashka (Menshikov), deftly using an ax, had not hastened to cut off the unfortunate man’s head.”

Peter I, who urgently returned from abroad, personally headed the investigation. The result of the “great manhunt” was the execution of almost all the archers, and the few survivors were whipped, branded, some were imprisoned, and others were exiled to remote places. The investigation continued until 1707. As a result, the archers' yard positions were distributed, houses were sold, and all military units were disbanded. This was the end of the glorious Streltsy era.

Streltsy were initially recruited from free people, then this service became lifelong and hereditary. According to the famous researcher Kazimir Valishevsky, archers received from the treasury upon entering the service a ruble for building a house and setting up a household, as well as a ruble salary per year. True, another historian, Boris Kraevsky, citing information from Professor Bogoyavlensky, claims that the salary of an ordinary streltsy was 10 rubles a year, and that of a streltsy head was 2007. Nefedov. S. A. Reforms of Ivan III and Ivan IV. Ottoman influence // “Questions of history”. 2002. No. 11. 104 S.. In addition, the treasury armed the archers, provided them with military supplies, and also supplied them with a certain amount of food. Subsequently, in order to save the sovereign's funds, the archers were allowed to engage in trade, crafts, and agriculture, for which they began to be allocated plots. An important circumstance is that the Streltsy were exempt from taxes, while other classes had to pay the “Streltsy” tax.

The armament of the Streltsy army was quite at the level of the era from which we are separated by almost 500 years: hand-held arquebuses, reeds, sabers or swords. Since the arquebus was heavy, when firing, instead of a bipod, a reed was used, which was then used as a bladed weapon.

Under Ivan the Terrible, there were approximately 25 thousand archers, and by the beginning of the reign of Peter I - 55 thousand. Half of them lived in Moscow, essentially performing the functions of the Life Guards. The rest were located in garrisons8.Lobin A.N. Artillery of the Moscow Streltsy regiments in the 1670-1680s. History of military affairs: research and sources. [Email: resource]. www.milhist.info.ru ( 04/11/2014).. The Streletsky army was first divided into instruments, then orders, and from 1681 into regiments. As today, service in the capital and in the garrison differed significantly. For example, in the border fortress city of Vyazma in the middle of the 17th century, a powerful garrison was crowded into a limited area enclosed by walls. It included, in addition to the Cossacks, artillerymen and Tatars in Russian service, 910 archers. And this is in a city devastated by the Time of Troubles, in which they have just begun to restore the citadel, and even under the constant threat of attack by the Poles or Cossacks! With the beginning of the unsuccessful Smolensk War, this is what happened - enemy troops repeatedly approached the walls of the fortress and burned everything around.

It was no easier for the archers, who were sent to serve beyond the Urals. For example, the Streltsy foreman Vasily Sychev in the middle of the 17th century was sent from Mangazeya (the oldest city on earth beyond the Arctic Circle, located on the Taz River, which flows into the Ob Bay) at the head of 10 Streltsy and 20 industrialists to collect yasak (fur tribute) in the Khatanga basin . Only five years later, another detachment of archers, commanded by the Cossack Yakov Semenov, who came from Turukhansk, arrived to “replace” him. On the way back, the combined detachment almost died due to lack of food. And many similar examples can be given.

However, the life and service of the capital’s (elected) archers was not all sugar either. Constant delays in the payment of money and food supplies forced the soldiers to look for work on the side. Thus, documents have been preserved that, say, the archer Ivan Moiseev bought a trading shop from the merchant Pyotr Akudinov. In addition, the Streltsy head was the absolute master in his orders. He personally issued monetary allowances, and he himself determined which of his subordinates was owed how much. He could have fined him, he could have rewarded him. He could punish the offender with batogs, he could put him under arrest, he could release him from service, or he could appoint him as “eternal duty officer.” Under these conditions, the archers who were personally loyal to the colonel found themselves in a privileged position, and the obstinate ones turned out to be “beating boys”9. Tyurin A.V. War and Peace of Ivan the Terrible. M.: EKSMO, 2009. 480 pp.

It was useless to complain about the commanders - they all came from the highest Russian nobility and were well-known to the tsar. If the archer even dared to file a petition, most often he himself was “designated” as the culprit and a fine “for dishonor” was collected from him in favor of the commander. In the garrisons, however, the archer had an even harder time, since there he was equally powerless before the local governors.

All this led to significant stratification within the Streltsy army. Some of the “sovereign people” were engaged in trade, some were craftsmen, some plowed the land, and some had to do nothing but beg. And yet the archers were the most combat-ready part of the Russian army and formed their basis. Let's say, in the Lithuanian campaign of 1578, 2 thousand people took part in the “palace”, that is, Moscow, archers alone.

The Streltsy army was assigned another important function. It played the role of modern Internal Troops, as well as the police. Under Ivan the Terrible, the punitive mission was carried out by the guardsmen, while the archers were left with law enforcement functions. They, along with the Cossacks, carried out border service.

Foreigners, who for one reason or another found themselves in Rus' at that time, left written evidence about the state of the tsarist troops. For example, the Englishman Richard Chancellor (Chancellor), who reached “Muscovy” on the ship “Edward Bonaventure” that circumnavigated Scandinavia, as well as the traveler Clement Adams noted that, despite such qualities of warriors as personal courage, their endurance and ability to endure the hardships of the campaign , their military training leaves much to be desired. Discipline was also weak, desertion flourished, especially during the period of hostilities.

Sagittarius repeatedly rebelled, often joining the enemies of the royal throne. There were many archers in the detachments of the False Dmitrievs, in the gangs of Ivan Bolotnikov. Ultimately, in parallel with the existing streltsy army, the creation of “foreign regiments” began in the 1630s. Now the Streltsy formations were doomed - it was only a question of timing.

The Streltsy were a more modern army. They carried out constant service and underwent some training. In peacetime, the archers carried out city service - they guarded the royal court, the king during his trips, were engaged in guard duty in Moscow and a number of other cities, and became messengers. In their free time from war and service, they were engaged in crafts, trade, arable farming, and gardening, since the royal salary could not fully meet the needs of the servicemen and their families. The Streletsky army had an organization - it was controlled by the Streletsky order. He was in charge of appointments, payment of salaries, and supervised military training. Throughout the 17th century, regular combat skills were introduced into the rifle regiments.

The combat effectiveness of the Streltsy was highly appreciated by contemporaries, who believed that the main force in the Russian army was the infantry. Strelets regiments were widely used in various wars, participating both in the defense of fortresses and in long-distance campaigns (for example, the Chigirin campaigns of 1677-1678). But gradually their role began to decline; they were strongly tied to their daily activities, the life of the townspeople (the majority were close in status to the lower classes of the townsfolk population). As a result, in a number of uprisings of the 17th century, their “shakyness” manifested itself - political unreliability; the archers were ready to support those who offered more10. Tyurin A.V. War and Peace of Ivan the Terrible. M.: EKSMO, 2009. 480 pp. In the uprisings of 1682 and 1698, the archers became the main driving force. As a result, the growing royal power began to think about eliminating this social layer.

Abolition of the Streletsky Army

The Streltsy riot that broke out in Moscow in May 1682 frightened young Peter too much. The future emperor never forgave the archers for this fear. Even the fact that in 1689 they saved him and his mother and supported him in the confrontation with Sophia the ruler did not help. He made up for everything after another rebellion that occurred in 1698, when four rifle regiments without permission left the Lithuanian border and moved to Moscow, threatening to kill the boyars and Germans. Despite the fact that the uprising was suppressed and the instigators were executed by boyar Shein, Peter rushed to the capital and ordered the repressions to continue. Red Square was strewn with the headless bodies of archers, the walls of the White and Zemlyanoy cities were strewn with gallows. By special order, those executed were prohibited from cleaning. Then, by the way, the rich collection of punishments practiced in Russia was replenished with another “find”: 269 archers were sent to hard labor - to mines, saltworks, factories and factories, including in Siberia and the Urals. (Peter liked the experience - in the Military Article of March 30, 1716, the practice of exile to hard labor and to the galleys received legal justification.)11. Margolin.S.L. Armament of the Streltsy army//Military historical collection of the State Historical Museum. M., 1948. P.85 - 105

Then the Streltsy army gradually and finally sank into oblivion. It should be noted that a significant part of the cadres of the Streltsy army joined the emerging regular army. And the city archers survived the era of Peter.

It was the middle of the 16th century

It all started in 1546, when squeakers from Novgorod came to Ivan the Terrible with a petition. They wanted to tell the sovereign about their disadvantageous position, but the king did not listen to them. Without thinking twice, the soldiers rebelled. They not only began to measure their strength with the nobility, but also blocked the tsar’s path to Kolomna.

Ivan the Terrible could not forgive this. Therefore, in 1550, he signed a decree on the creation of a new permanent army - the Streltsy. It was supposed to replace the disgraced squeakers.

Sagittarius appeared under Ivan the Terrible

True, the newly formed “caste,” especially at the beginning, recruited the same former squeakers and people from the poor segment of the population. Only people from the elite were in charge. The number of archers did not exceed 3 thousand; they were divided into 6 orders.

In general, it was not easy to get into the archers. The main criterion for selection was the ability to shoot well. But then, due to the unreliability of the contingent, they demanded guarantees for the newly minted archer. Simply put, one of the experienced soldiers had to be responsible for ensuring that the “newcomer” did not run away or lose their weapon.

Service was considered lifelong and could be inherited.

Way of life

The archers lived (settled) in settlements. There, the soldiers were ordered to build a house and also develop the land for agricultural purposes. The state also paid the archers an impressive allowance of 1 ruble at that time. For example, in the 16th century a house cost 3 rubles. Another important thing was this: in the event of the archer’s natural death or death on the battlefield, his yard remained with the family.

They were paid a large allowance for those times - 1 ruble

The farther the settlement was from the capital, the simpler and poorer they lived there. The houses were small, without a chimney (kurnaya), covered with birch bark or straw. Instead of windows there are tiny slits, which were used as loopholes in the event of an enemy attack.

In peacetime, the archers did not disdain fishing. They were engaged in various crafts: blacksmithing, carpentry, wheelwork. Moreover, they worked exclusively to order. Soldiers could make expensive chests, tables, door handles, carts, or even sleighs. In addition, together with the peasants, they were the main city suppliers, supplying vegetables, fruits and meat to the local market.

The clothing of the archers was divided into two types: casual and formal. Their dress uniform is known to everyone - these are long caftans, high boots with fur cuffs. Each regiment had its own colors. Some are light blue, others are bright red. It is interesting that the soldiers sewed their own shirts, zipuns and trousers.

Baptism of fire

The archers had a chance to smell gunpowder for the first time in 1552, when the siege of Kazan took place. They performed well in this battle and have since become the main striking force of the Russian kingdom. In addition, they were often sent to guard the state border. Most often - to the southern, most turbulent borders.

The baptism of fire of the archers took place during the capture of Kazan

During the war, the archers often resorted to the use of “walking cities” - field defensive structures. The fact is that the soldiers were much inferior to the Tatars in maneuverability, but they shot better. Therefore, they quickly erected an outpost protected by shields from carts. This made it possible to repel an attack with little bloodshed. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, the Crimean Tsar would have beaten us,” wrote Heinrich von Staden, a German guardsman from the time of Ivan the Terrible, in his memoirs.

The archers reached the peak of their glory under Peter I. They took part in the Second Azov Campaign in 1696. It was the archers who then proposed a plan to capture the fortress: using an earthen rampart to fill up its ditches.

Enemies of the State

It must be said that the archers were always dissatisfied with their position. They constantly demanded more privileges and financial support. But the kings could not always fulfill their inflated demands. And then the archers began to rebel.

First, several streltsy detachments went over to the side of Stepan Razin in 1682. But the peak of discontent came in 1698. Princess Sophia, while imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent, nevertheless managed to incite the archers to revolt. More than 2 thousand dissatisfied archers went to Moscow “for the truth.” And at the same time to carry out a coup d'etat. The idea failed.

This riot is known primarily for the Streltsy execution. Moreover, even officials acted as executioners on Peter’s orders. This is how the Austrian diplomat Johann Korb describes these events: “One boyar distinguished himself with a particularly unsuccessful blow: without hitting the convict’s neck, the boyar hit him on the back; the archer, cut almost into two parts in this way, would have suffered unbearable torment if Aleksashka (Menshikov), deftly using an ax, had not hastened to cut off the unfortunate man’s head.”

Peter I brutally dealt with the rebels

Almost all the Streltsy were executed as a result of the “great manhunt.” And those who escaped the death penalty were imprisoned or exiled. Their houses were sold, and all military units were quickly and quietly disbanded.

The records of the Englishman W. Parry, dating back to 1599, allow us to unequivocally state that at the end of the 16th century, Moscow archers had a uniform uniform. This is what he writes: “... the guard, which was all cavalry, numbering 500 people, dressed in red caftans...”. Whether it was uniform in cut or not, we cannot say, but here is a description of the Russian archers, given in 1606 by a certain Paerli: "...Moscow archers on foot, up to 1000 people, in red cloth caftans with a white bandage on the chest, were lined up in two rows. ..". The archers who were on duty or accompanying the king wore caftans, which they received in their orders, and at the end of the service they returned them there again.

"Sagittarius in 1613". According to A.V. Viskovatov, 1899

In the picture, the archers have the same weapons and ammunition: metal helmets, matchlock guns (squeaks), sabers and reeds. Over the shoulder are identical belts with wooden pencil cases for powder charges suspended from them. This ammunition was called "berendeyka".

Reeds were used both as a polearm bladed weapon and as a support for a heavy matchlock gun when shooting.

According to M.M. Khrenov, the military uniform of the archers of the early 17th century consisted of a long dress of the feryazi type with a turn-down collar, a hat with a fur band or an iron helmet, and a white baldric (berendeyka), worn strictly over the left shoulder.

Ordinary shooter. Miniature by A. Meyerberg, 17th century.

Streletsky head. Drawing by E. Palmquist, 1674

The Swedish officer E. Palmquist, who served the Russian Tsar in 1674, described the uniform of the Moscow streltsy in the most detail and accuracy:

Hat: Velvet, with a high cap and a fur band. The color of the cap depends on the shelf. The fur of ordinary riflemen is sheepskin, while that of officers (primary people) is sable. On the front of the cap, officers have a gold emblem in the form of a crown.

Outer caftan: Eastern European type, fastened from right to left with spherical or flat round gilded buttons. Buttonholes of colored (on the shelf) cord with tassels at the ends. Officers often have gold or silver cord. The number of rows of buttonholes and buttons is regulated by shelf. Sometimes instead of cords there is gold or silver braid. Stand collar. There are small slits on the sides of the floors, fastened with three buttons with the same buttonholes. The length of the caftan is slightly above the ankles.
The same caftan for cold weather was lined with sheepskin or fur and had a fur shawl collar and fur trim on the bottom of the sleeves. There are holes in the upper part of both sleeves, trimmed with fur.
The caftan is belted with a cloth sash made of colored fabric (on the shelves); officers have a sash with gold embroidery, fringe and tassels at the ends. The gloves are brown leather with soft cuffs; officers have gloves with hard cuffs and decorated with gold embroidery and fringe.

Zipun: Worn under a caftan. It has the same color as the caftan. The color is the same as the caftan. Fastens with the same buttons. Stand collar or no collar. Length above the knees. Officers' collars and sides are trimmed with gold or silver braid.

Pants (Ports): Straight cut, narrow at the knees, mid-calf length. Color is not regulated. There are no decorations.

Boots: Leather, color assigned to this regiment, with heels. Knee height.

General view of the Streltsy caftan according to the artist O. Fedorov, “Tseykhgauz” magazine, N1/2002

General view of the Streltsy caftan according to R. Palacios-Fernandez, Zeichgauz magazine

The name berendeika is derived from the word Bandelier, which denoted a musket belt with charges, tension and a bag with bullets and wads. In the inventories of the shells of the German musketeer regiments, berendeiki were called bandelers.

Armament

Sagittarius is entitled to: arquebus, reed and saber. They do not wear armor other than a quilted cloth caftan, only “iron caps.”

Berdysh

Berdysh is one of the oldest hand-to-hand weapons in the form of a wide ax on a long shaft with sharp horns, like the moon; for this reason, the berdysh was called lunata securis by the Romans; among the Slavs it is simply an axe, among the Goths - Bart and Bardisan2. The berdysh shown in the figure are kept in the Armory Chamber under numbers 243 and 244, where they were received in 1786 from the Life Guards of the Moscow Battalion.

The part of the reed intended for mounting on the shaft, like that of axes, is called the butt; the edge opposite to the blade is called blunt, and the end drawn down is called a braid. The shaft of the berdysh - ratovishche - had an oval, round or faceted shape. Having driven the rativishche into the butt, it was nailed with rivet nails through the butt. The braid was also attached to the shaft with two or three nails and wrapped in several rows with a thin strap or rope. At the lower end of the ratovishche an iron tip (podtok) was attached to stick the reed into the ground.

In Russia in the 16th century, the berdysh was a weapon of the Streltsy troops, for whom the berdysh served not only as an additional edged weapon, but also as a stand - a subpod (bipod) when firing from heavy matchlock rifles. A characteristic feature of the early reeds of the 16th century is the forging of the upper end into a single point; Obviously, the reed was designed for an injection. In the 17th century, the upper ends of the reed began to be forged into two shorter points. The planes of the reed were often covered with carved patterns, either in the form of simple dots and schematic leaves, or in the form of complex designs depicting unicorns fighting dragons, various chimeras and flowers.
The reeds of mounted archers and dragoons were made smaller than the usual type and had two iron rings on the shaft for a shoulder strap. Berdysh was an honorary weapon of the palace guards and a weapon of police guards until the end of the 18th century.

The following are allowed for the game: a shaft length of no more than 2.5 m, a blade made of rubber, cut in the center, semicircular and smooth, painted with silver, a total weight of no more than 2.5 kg.

The picture above shows a damask, slotted, gold-notched saber, or cleaver in Czech, made in the workshop of the Armory Prikaz by saber maker Nil Prosvit, originally from the Czechs, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and by order of the gunsmith M.M. Saltykov in 1617

In Rus', the saber has been known since the ninth century; from the fourteenth century it became the dominant type of bladed weapon in the Russian army (in Western Europe - from the end of the 16th century). In the 15th-17th centuries, warriors of the Russian local cavalry, archers, and Cossacks armed themselves with sabers.

The following are allowed for the game: made of fiberglass, with a length from 70 to 105 cm and a weight from 0.7 to 1.2 kg.
The blades of sabers must be painted silver and not have nicks.

Allowed for the game: made of textolite and duralumin. The main requirement is safety during use. Weapons with protruding unrounded guards and jagged blades will not be allowed.