A Social History of the Russians and Their Army since 1690 (Russian Shorts)

This book skilfully probes the conflicted relationship that the Russian peoples have had with their army, most often seeing service as a burden to the individual and family, yet a necessary one to defend the interests of the nation/empire.Roger R. Reese reflects on the fact that even from before its formal institutionalization by Peter I, military service and the army as an institution have not been held in high regard by the Russian peoples, except briefly in exceptional circumstances.Reese examines, illustrates, and explains the varying relationships and expectations of all involved in military service - in their own words wherever possible. From the top down, A Social History of the Russian Army shows what the state, whether tsarist, Soviet, or post-Soviet, expected of the army as an organisation and of its members.From the middle, it shows the expectations and behaviors of army leaders, from ensigns to generals and how they related to each other, their soldiers, and civilians.While