Peter's Soldiers 113
taken against those who did so. Foodstuffs often served as a substitute for
pay. Referring to some soldiers in Riga in 1710, Peter ordered Sheremetev 'not
to give them any money for the momem but have them issued with provisions
instead'; in the event all they got was some salt.^104 Another detachment in Ger-
many, which was to be treated similarly, received nothing at all owing to lack
of shipping.^105 On the other hand, there is evidence from calmer times of
troops getting provisions and a small cash allowance (2 den· gi per day).^106
Attempts to introduce a more orderly system began by establishing an
official ration. Soldiers in the field were to receive each month ~ chetvert'
(2 puds or 32.8 kg.) of rye flour and^1 / 8 chetvert ·of groats (krupa)-the latter
being the basis of the staple item in the soldier's diet, a form of gruel known as
kasha.^101 According to the English ambassador, in December 1707 the govern-
ment decided in principle to introduce a system like that in the Habsburg
empire, whereby officers and men were allocated a fixed number of rations,
varying with their rank. '°^8 Several years passed, however, before these scales
were laid down. In Russia the provisions designed for human consumption
were confusingly known as 'portions' (portsi1), as distinct from ratsii which
were for horses and other draught animals. In the infantry privates drew one,
corporals two, and sergeants three portions, the assumption being that
NCOs-and still more officers-had families and servants to support. In war-
time each portion was made up as follows: a daily allowance of 2 funty (800
grams) of bread, I funt of meat, 2 charki (~ litre) of wine, and I garnets of
beer, and a monthly allowance of 2/unty of salt and I Vz garntsy of groats.^1119
In the cavalry senior NCOs received the same as their infantry equivalents (as
well as rations for their mounts), but corporals and privates received neither.
Peacetime rations were calculated on an annual rather than a daily or monthly
basis and were less generous.-^110 In 1719 the value of the annual portion was put
at 5.375 roubles^111 -almost exactly half an infantryman's pay. One is left
wondering whether the men actually received these comparatively lavish
allocations or whether this was merely a book-keeping operation. Much
depended on the administration's ability to raise enough in taxes to buy
foodstuffs and to find suppliers with whom to conclude contracts. This was a
problem with wide ramifications for Russian society which we shall examine in
ch. 6.
104 PiB x. 3783 (21 Aug. 1710), pp. 172, 609.
10! PiB x. 3944 (pp. 299, 706); cf. ix. 3541 (Dec. 1709).
106 PSZ iv. 2533 (26 May 1712); DiP iv (ii). 1029 (3 Sept. 1714).(^107) PSZ iv. 2034 ( 18 Feb. 1705). In garrison units the rates were lower: 5 and 3 chetverti of flour
per annum for married and single men respectively, plus I V2 or I chetvert' of groats.
10s Whitworth, 'Doneseniya', S/RIO xxxix. 444-5; cf. PSZ iv. 2181 (9 Dec. 1707).
109 PSZ iv. 3003, ch. !xviii; cf. iv. 2456, 2612 (10 Dec. 1711, 15 Dec. 1712); Stein, Geschichte,
p. 75; Bobrovsky, Voyennoye pravo, ii. 412-13. Also included was the so-called 'service' (servii)
which soldiers in civilian billets received from their hosts: vinegar, firewood, bedding, and 'other
usual foodstuffs as available'.
110 Anisimov and Zinevich, lstoriya, p. 23; Petrov, Russkaya voyennaya si/a, ii. 59.
111 Bobrovsky, Voyennoye pravo, ii. 413 n.