The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
''Leib'' "body"; cf.
Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal
guards of the
Emperor of Russia
The emperor or empress of all the Russias or All Russia, ''Imperator Vserossiyskiy'', ''Imperatritsa Vserossiyskaya'' (often titled Tsar or Tsarina/Tsaritsa) was the monarch of the Russian Empire.
The title originated in connection with Russia' ...
.
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
founded the first such units following the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n practice in 1683, to replace the politically motivated
Streltsy. The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become an
elite corps of all branches within the Imperial Army rather than Household troops in direct attendance on the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the Imperial family and the bulk of the regiments of the Imperial Guard were stationed in and around Saint Petersburg in peacetime. The Imperial Guard was disbanded in 1917 following the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
.
History
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
first established the two senior units of the eventual Imperial Guard, the
Preobrazhensky and
Semyonovsky infantry regiments. Peter formed these two regiments as part of his professionalization of the Russian army after its disastrous defeat by the
Swedes at the
Battle of Narva, during the early phases of
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...
. He was influenced, too, by his distrust of the
Streltsy, who had risen against him repeatedly, both
during his childhood (which traumatised him) and
during his reign.
Later,
Empress Anna
Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...
formed the
Izmailovsky Regiment, recruited from her native
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...
, out of distrust of the other guard regiments (especially the Preobrazhensky) as a result of her paranoia of losing power. The Izmaylovsky Regiment became the official palace guards during Anna's reign.
But the term "leib" was not used until the reign of
Empress Elizabeth
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russia ...
during her formation of the Leib Company made up of the grenadiers (especially the Preobrazhensky) who helped put her on the throne.
Revolution of 1905
The Imperial Guard played a key role in suppressing the 1905 Revolution, most particularly at Saint Petersburg on Sunday, 22 (O.S. 9) January 1905 (
Bloody Sunday). The Semyonovsky Regiment subsequently repressed
widespread disturbances in Moscow. However, a full battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment mutinied in June 1906.
Russian Revolution of 1917
During the
February Revolution of 1917, the garrison of Saint Petersburg included 99,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard. These were reserve battalions, made up of a mixture of new recruits and veterans from the regiments of the Imperial Guard serving at the front. While generally still recruited from rural districts, the rank and file of the Guards were no longer the reliable instruments of Tsarist autocracy that their predecessors had been during the
abortive revolution of 1905. About 90 percent of the officers of these reserve units were wartime commissioned, often militarily inexperienced and sometimes sympathetic towards the need for political reform. The overall morale and leadership of the Saint Petersburg troops was poor, although they still enjoyed the status of the historic regiments they represented.
During the early days of rioting in Saint Petersburg, the Semyonovsky,
Pavlovsky, and
Volinsky Regiments obeyed their officers and fired on the crowds of demonstrators. But on 27 February, first the Volhynsky, then the Semyonovsky, Moskovsky, and Izmailovsky Regiments defected in large numbers to what had now become a revolution. Some officers were killed. An estimated 66,700 guardsmen in the capital had deserted or defected within about two days. This mass defection from units of the Imperial Guard marked the end of the Tsarist regime.
During the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
, the Pavlovsky Regiment, though celebrated for its actions during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, was one of the first regiments to mutiny and join the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
; it then participated in
the storming of the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
. Much of the former Imperial Guard was still extant in October 1917, retaining their historic titles, though now their role was that of politicised republican soldiers. In addition to the Pavlovsky, the Semenovsky and Ismailovsky Regiments rallied to the Bolsheviks at a crucial stage in the revolution.
In December 1917, as the Bolsheviks consolidated their power, the remnants of the Imperial Guard were disbanded and integrated into the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. As such they saw combat in the
Polish-Soviet War in 1920.
Organization
The final composition of the Russian Imperial Guard at the beginning of 1914 was:

Guards Corps St. Petersburg District.
Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Millionaya. (Guards units not part of the Guards Corps were the Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment and Guards Field Gendarme Squadron.)
*
1st Guards Infantry Division. Headquarters, St. Petersburg,
Fontanka
The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River ...
** 1st Brigade:
Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment,
Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment
The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (, ) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its name ...
** 2nd Brigade:
Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment
The Izmaylovsky Regiment (russian: Изма́йловский лейб-гва́рдии полк, Izmáylovskiy leyb-gvárdii polk) was one of the oldest regiments of the Imperial Russian Army, a subdivision of the 1st Guards Infantry Division o ...
,
Egersky Life Guards Regiment
** 1st Life-Guards Artillery Brigade
*
2nd Guards Infantry Division. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Fontanka
** 1st Brigade:
Moscow Life Guards Regiment
Moskovsky Guards Regiment (russian: Московский лейб-гвардии полк) was a Russian Imperial Guard infantry regiment. Established in October 1817 it continued in existence until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
History Foun ...
, Grenadier Life Guards Regiment
** 2nd Brigade:
Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment,
Finliandsky Life Guards Regiment
** 2nd Life-Guards Artillery Brigade
*
3rd Guards Infantry Division. Headquarters, Warsaw.
** 1st Brigade: Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment, Emperor of Austria's Life-Guards Kexgolmsky Regiment
** 2nd Brigade: King Frederick-William III's Life-Guards St.-Petersburg/Petrograd Regiment,
Volinsky Life Guards Regiment
** 3rd Life-Guards Artillery Brigade
* 2nd Infantry Division
* Separate Guards Cavalry Brigade: His Majesty's Lancers, Grodno Hussars
* 3rd Battery of Life-Guards Horse Artillery
* 23rd Howitzer Artillery Battalion
* 9th Sapper Battalion

*
1st Guards Cavalry Division
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Fontanka
** 1st Brigade:
Her Sovereign Majesty Empress Maria Theodorovna's Chevalier Guard Regiment,
Life Guard Horse Regiment
** 2nd Brigade: His Majesty's Life-Guards Cuirassier Regiment, Her Majesty Empress Maria Theodorovna's Life-Guards Cuirassier Regiment
** 3rd Brigade: His Majesty's Life-Guards Cossack Regiment, His Imperial Highness the Sovereign Heir and Tsesarevich's Life-Guards Ataman Regiment, Life-Guards Combined Cossack Regiment, 1st His Majesty's Ural Sotnia, 2nd Orenburg Sotnia, 3rd Combined Sotnia, 4th Amur Sotnia
** 1st Division of Life-Guards Horse-Artillery Brigade
*
2nd Guards Cavalry Division
The 2nd Guards Cavalry Division was a Guards light cavalry division of the Imperial Russian Army.
Organisation
1857–1918:
*1st Cavalry Brigade
**Horse Grenadier Life-Guards Regiment
**Her Majesty's Lancer Guards Regiment
*2nd Cavalry Brigade
* ...
. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Fontanka
** 1st Brigade: Life-Guards Horse-Grenadier Regiment, Her Majesty Empress Alexandra Theodorovna's Life-Guards Lancer Regiment
** 2nd Brigade: Life-Guards Dragoon Regiment,
His Majesty's Life-Guards Hussar Regiment,
** 2nd Division of Life-Guards Horse-Artillery Brigade
* Guards Rifle Brigade. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Fontanka
** Life-Guards 1st His Majesty's Rifle Regiment
** Life-Guards 2nd Tsarskoe-Selo Rifle Regiment
** Life-Guards 3rd His Majesty's Rifle Regiment
** Life-Guards 4th The Imperial Family's Rifle Regiment
** Guards Rifle Artillery Battalion
* Life-Guards Horse Artillery
* Guards Howitzer Artillery Battalion
* Life-Guards Sapper Battalion
* Guards Aviation Company
Guard units of direct subordination as of 1917:
* Palace Grenadiers Company
* Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment
* Guards Field Gendarme Squadron
*
His Majesty's Own Cossack Escort
* His Majesty's Railway Regiment
Plus the following were part of the 23rd Army Corps,
Warsaw Military District. Headquarters,
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
.
* 3rd Guards Infantry Division. Headquarters, Warsaw
** Division HQ
** 1st Brigade: Life-Guards Lithuania Regiment, Emperor of Austria's Life-Guards Kexholm Regiment
** 2nd Brigade: King Frederick-William III's Life-Guards St.-Petersburg Regiment, Volynski Life Guards Regiment
** 3rd Life-Guards Artillery Brigade
* Independent Guards Cavalry Brigade
* 3rd Battery of Life-Guards Horse Artillery
Ranks
Every soldier and officer of the Guard had the style ''of the Leib Guard'' (Лейб-гвардии...), for example: ''Colonel of the Leib Guard'' (Лейб-гвардии полковник). It is a misconception that the
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
himself functioned as the commander of the Leib Guard regiments, so only he and some members of the
imperial family could hold a title of
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
(Polkovnik) of the Guards. In fact, there were many guards officers in the rank of colonel.
Commissioned officers enjoyed a two-grade elevation in the
Table of Ranks
The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...
over
regular army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:
* a standi ...
officers; this later changed to a one-grade elevation—first for the ''New Guards'' then for the rest of the Leib Guard. Following the abolition of the rank of
Major in 1884, most grades below VII shifted one position upwards, effectively returning to those of the ''Old Guards''.
Basis of selection
From the 18th century onwards the rank and file of the Imperial Guard were picked from each annual intake of conscripts. In peacetime most regiments had a selection criteria based on features of physical appearance such as height, hair-colour etc. The purpose of this tradition was to enhance the uniform appearance of each unit when on parade. As an example, the Semyonovsky Regiment conscripts were picked for their height (tallest of the Guard Infantry), light brown hair and being clean-shaven.
[Patrick de Gmeline, pages 36-37 "La Garde Imperiale Russe 1896-1914", publisher Charles-Lavauzelle Paris 1986]
See also
*
Imperial guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
*
Table of Ranks
The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...
*
History of Russian military ranks
*
Toy army of Peter the Great
The toy army of Peter I (russian: Потешные войска, Poteshnye voiska, literally ''amusement forces'' or ''fun forces'') was initially called ''Petrovskiy polk'', Peter's regiment (russian: Петровский полк) and was a colle ...
References
External links
Russian Imperial Guard During the Napoleonic WarsTHE RUSSIAN ARMY, 1914 by Mark Conrad, 2001. Divisions.{Dead link, date=March 2022
17th-century establishments in Russia
Military units and formations disestablished in 1917
Military units and formations established in the 1690s
Military units and formations of the Russian Empire
Royal guards
Russian military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars