Russian History: A Very Short Introduction by Hosking, Geoffrey [Oxford University Press, 2012] ( Paperback ) [Paperback] by Geoffrey Hosking

Author:Geoffrey Hosking [Hosking, Geoffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00LMSKE9Q
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012
Published: 2012-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

It is remarkable that such a far-reaching measure could be carried out at all in opposition to the interests of the ruling class. It was a vindication of the power of the much-criticized autocratic state, which alone could rise above the interests of all social classes.

One of the main reasons for abolishing serfdom was to create a non-serf army, in which all adult males would have the duty to serve, and in which a reserve could be built up without endangering rural security. War Minister Dmitry Miliutin pushed through that reform in the Military Conscription Act (1874), and insisted that all new recruits should take literacy classes. He also stipulated that officers should be professionally trained: he abolished the Cadet Corps and introduced so-called Junker Schools where non-nobles could qualify. After Miliutin left the post, however, the Cadet Corps were revived and literacy training was dropped. The chance to reforge the army as a ‘school of nationhood’, which is what Miliutin intended, was lost. Only in the First World War was that aim suddenly revived, but far too late to effect the necessary changes of mentality and organization.

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