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pally by means of a conscription, partly by the adoption of the sons of soldiers, and partly by voluntary enlistment. In January 1874, a law of military re-organisation was sanctioned by the Emperor. This law orders an annual conscription, to which all men who have completed their twenty-first year, and are not physically incapacitated, are liable. Immunity from service by the purchase of substitutes is prohibited under the new regulations. They fix the period of service in the army at fifteen years, six of them in active service, and nine years in the reserve. The men remain with the colours only as long as will be required to keep up the force at its full complement, and during the remaining period they are sent on furlough. After acquitting themselves of their six years' service, the soldiers pass over into the reserve for another period of nine years, during which they are liable to serve only in time of war. If called out during these nine years, the younger men of the reserve are employed in active operations, the older ones being set apart to form a reserve to reinforce the garrisons of fortresses. In time of peace, the men of the reserve are called out only for short periods of drill, undergone near their ordinary places of residence. To enable the educated classes to free themselves from compulsory conscription, and also to provide the requisite number of officers, and persons fit to serve in the supplementary branches, young men possessed of a certain degree of education are permitted to enter from their 17th year as volunteers for a short period of service. After acquitting themselves of service in the line, the volunteers either undergo a military examination of an inferior degree, and pass over to the reserve, or they may pass an officer's examination and become either army officers or reserve officers. Volunteers passing into the reserve, as officers or as privates, remain in the reserve till their 36th year. All other officers leaving the regular army before their 36th year are likewise liable to serve in the reserve to that age. Soldiers belonging to the reserve are exempt from service only in case of illness, or if serving in some other public capacity. All able-bodied men not entering the army, or navy, can in time of war be called out to serve in a militia, to be organised in accordance with the rules announced in an Imperial manifesto. The levies furnished by the Cossacks are regulated by particular treaties; and many half-savage tribes are excused, partly on account of their diminutive size, and partly because of their great aversion to a military life. Generally, it is found that a levy of two in every 500 males produces a supply of about 90,000 or 100,000

men.

Under the law of army organisation the land forces of Russia consist in time of peace of field troops and garrison troops. In addition to these, reserve forces are organised during the con

tinuance of peace, and independently of the army being placed on a war footing. A militia is also formed for extraordinary contingencies, if the safety of the country require it. The forces really disposable in time of war will be best seen from the following composition of the army, each battalion having in time of peace 384 armed men (officers, sub-officers, and auxiliaries not included) and 864 men in time of war; which figure is reduced in reality, to 800 men, the sick and others being taken into account. There are in the active army - Infantry: 768 battalions (192 regiments, 48 divisions), of infantry; 54 battalions of riflemen (of which 8 Finnish); and 32 battalions in Sibèria and Turkestan. Cavalry: 56 regular regiments (4 of cuirassiers, 2 uhlans, 2 hussars, and 48 dragoons); and 29 regiments of Cossacks, all divided into 20 divisions, and all kept in time of peace at the standard of 768 armed men (864 with sub-officers) in each regiment. In time of war only a few harness-horses are added, so that this cavalry can be moved to the field at once. Artillery: 51 brigades, of which 3 (15 batteries) in Siberia and Turkestan, containing altogether 303 batteries of 8 guns each; 30 horse-batteries (all men mounted), of 6 guns each, of which 2 in Siberia and Turkestan; besides, 14 batteries with the Cossack divisions. Fifty 'parks' and 20 sections of 'parks' supply each infantry brigade and cavalry division with cartridges.

During 1884 the engineer corps was reorganised.. Henceforward the peace establishment will consist of 17 battalions of sappers (besides, one half-battalion in Turkestan and 2 companies in Siberia); 8 battalions of pontooners; 16 field telegraph companies, each of which is mounted so as to maintain telegraphic communication for 40 miles, and have 2 stations; 6 engineering parks or trains, each of which has 10 sections, carrying each sufficient tools and material for an infantry division; 4 battalions of military railway engineers; 4 mine companies; 2 siege-trains, and 1 telegraph instruction company. The whole is divided into 6 brigades, and provisions are taken for training recruits and supplying the losses during war. The fortress troops, for the defence of fortresses, consist of 43 battalions of 1,200 men each in time of war, and 9 companies of 300 men each. The depot troops, for garrison service, consist of 13 battalions and 300 detachments.

The reserve troops supply 204 battalions of infantry, 56 squadrons of cavalry, 51 batteries of artillery, and 34 companies of sappers. If all mobilised, they are intended to supply 544 battalions, 56 squadrons, 144 batteries, and 34 companies of engineers. The second reserve, or 'Zapas,' consists of 'cadres' for instruction, organised in time of war.

The nominal strength of the various divisions of the Russian army, according to official returns, was as follows in 1884 :—

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To these numbers have to be added 129,736 horses, and 1,844 guns in time of peace, and 366,354 horses and 3,778 guns in time of war. If various special categories were added, the total peace-footing of officers and men would be about 770,000, and the war-footing 2,200,000; and if the militia (untrained, and levied only in time of war) were added, the total available war forces of Russia would amount to about 3,200,000. A census of horses taken in 1883 in 58 provinces of European Russia, gave a total of nearly 15 millionsas fit for service in case of necessity.

By the law of December 18, 1878, which came into force on January 1, 1881, personal military service is declared obligatory in Finland. The Finnish troops form nine battalions of riflemen, each with 18 officers and 505 men, and number in all 4,833.

Among the irregular troops of Russia, the most important are the Cossacks.

The military organisation of the Cossacks is in ten great divisions, called Woisskos Don, Kuban, Terek, Astrakhan, Orenburg, Ural,

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Siberia, Semirechensk, Transbaikalia, and Amur. Each Woissko furnishes a certain number of regiments, fully armed and equipped, and undergoing constant military exercise, so as to be prepared to enter the field, on being summoned, in the course of ten days. The Cossacks are a race of free men; neither serfage nor any other dependence upon the land has existed among them, except those of Transbaikalia and Amur, who were Crown serfs. The entire territory belongs to the Cossack commune, and every individual has an equal right to the use of the land, together with the pastures, hunting-grounds, and fisheries. The Cossacks pay no taxes to the Government, but in lieu of this they are bound to perform military service. They are divided into three classes, viz., first, the minors or Maloletniye,' up to their sixteenth year; secondly, those on actual service, the Sluzhiliye,' for a period of twenty-five years, therefore until their forty-second year; thirdly, those released from service, the Otstavniye,' who remain for five years, or until their fortyseventh year, in the reserve, after which period they are regarded as wholly released from service and invalided. Every Cossack is obliged to equip, clothe, and arm himself at his own expense, and to keep his horse. Whilst on service beyond the frontiers of his own country, he receives rations of food and provender, and a small amount of pay. The artillery and train are at the charge of the Government. Instead of imposing taxes on the Don Cossacks, the Russian Government pays them an annual tribute, varying in peace and war, together with grants to be distributed among the widows and orphans of those who have fallen in battle. The regular or Don Cossacks' war strength is 46,985 officers and men and 47,413 horses; Cossacks of the Kuban, 36,521 men; of the Terek, 8,956 men; of Astrakhan, 1,308 men; of Orenburg, 19,745 men; of the Ural, 7,313 men; of Siberia, 8,919 men; of Semirechensk, 1,971 men; Transbaikal Cossacks, 9,297 men; and Cossacks of the Amur, 2,115 men. The total Cossack force is reckoned in time of war at 13 battalions of infantry, 805 squadrons of cavalry, and 33 batteries of artillery, with 328 guns.

2. Navy.

The Russian navy consists of two great divisions-the fleet of the Baltic, and that of the Black Sea. Each of these two fleets is again subdivided into sections, of which three are in or near the Baltic, and two in or near the Black Sea. The divisions carry the white, blue, and red flag-an arrangement originating with the Dutch —but without the rank of the admirals being connected with the colour of the flag.

At the end of the year 1884, the strength of the various divisions of

the Russian navy was returned officially as follows:-1, the Baltic Fleet, consisting of 209 vessels, comprising 33 armour-clad and belted ships, 49 unarmoured frigates, corvettes, clippers, and cruisers, 95 torpedo-boats, 15 gun-boats, 10 transports, and various other craft; 2, the Black Sea Fleet, consisting of 98 vessels, including 7 armourclads (3 ships, 2 Popoffkas, and 2 monitors), 91 unarmoured vessels, comprising 2 corvettes, 1 cruiser, 18 steamers, 14 steam schooners, 41 steam launches, 12 torpedo-boats, 2 tenders, and 1 yacht; 3, the Caspian flotilla, consisting of 9 armed and 7 unarmed steamers, and 6 torpedo-boats; 4, the Siberian flotilla, comprising 1 unarmoured clipper, 3 schooners, 4 gun-boats all armed, 6 torpedo-boats, 4 steamers, 2 transports, and 9 steam barges unarmed.

The total comprises 358 vessels, armed with 671 guns, with a tonnage of 196,575 tons, and engines of 191,976 horse-power.

The ironclad fleet of Russia, comprising 40 vessels-33 in the Baltic and 7 in the Black Sea-was made up, at the end of 1884, of the following classes of ships:

1st Class Six vessels

2nd Class: Eleven sea-going cruisers

3rd Class: Twenty vessels for coast defence
4th Class: Two circular monitors

Armour thickness,

Inches

14 to 16

4 to 7

4 to 6

9 and 16

The following table gives the list of the ironclad vessels of the Russian navy. The number of guns is exclusive of pieces of small calibre and mitrailleuses. Those ironclads marked by an asterisk before their names were not completed at the end of 1884 :

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