page_title: Imperial Russian Army
section_title: Introduction of conscription
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Russian Army / Introduction of conscription
caption_attribution_description: English: Rußland. Russische Infanterie. 1742-1763 Deutsch: Knötel, Band III, Tafel 34: Rußland. Russische Infanterie. 1742-1763
context_page_description: The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Army consisted of more than 900,000 regular soldiers and nearly 250,000 irregulars.
  The last living veteran of the Russian Imperial Army was Ukrainian supercentenarian Mikhail Krichevsky, who died in 2008.
context_section_description: Conscription in Russia was introduced by Peter the Great in December 1699, though reports say Peter's father also used it. The conscripts were called "recruits" (not to be confused with voluntary army recruitment, which did not appear until the early 20th century).
  Peter formed a modern regular army built on the German model, but with a new aspect: officers not necessarily from nobility, as talented commoners were given promotions that eventually included a noble title at the attainment of an officer's rank (such promotions were later abolished during the reign of Catherine the Great). Conscription of peasants and townspeople was based on quota system, per settlement. Initially it was based on the number of households, later it was based on the population numbers.
  The term of service in the 18th century was for life. In 1793 it was reduced to 25 years. In 1834, it was reduced to 20 years plus five years in the reserve, and in 1855 to 12 years plus three years in the reserve.
caption: Russian infantry in 1742–1763
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