116 The Warrior Tsar, 1689-1725
dealt with some of the abuses which caused recruits to abscond: the failure of
their proprietors to supply them with money and provisions for their first
months in the 5eivi1;t:, wiiid1 hencefonh were to be supplied from official
sources.^131 An amnesty was also declared, and by October 1720 13,000 men
had come back to the fold-although not all these returned of their own free
will.^132 Another amnesty was offered to mark the peace of Nystad '(1721 ),
which was then extended to all Russian military defectors abroad aild the
deadline for reporting extended.^133 Those amnestied were, however, required
to denounce those who had sheltered them, and severe punishment awaited
those who did not do so.'^34 A reward of 5 roubles was also offered to anyone
who revealed a deserter's whereabouts; if he actually led the authorities to an
estate where such individuals were being given refuge, he could hope to receive
possession of it-even if he were a mere serf.^135 How many profited or suf-
fered as a result of this measure is not known, but it is clear that in the last
years of Peter's reign much of the country was in a state verging on Civil war,
and it was no accident that within a few days of the emperor's death yet
another amnesty was proclaimed, which this time gave deserters almost two
years within which to report.136 '
Resistance to Peter's 'garrison state' sometimes took a more active fotm; as
in the seventeenth century, soldiers were to be found among Cossack rebels in
the borderlands.^137 But this protest movement should be seen in perspective.
The overwhelming majority of men in uniform, whatever their state of mind,
served the tsar loyally. Foreign diplomats (as a group, to be sure, superficial
observers of the military milieu) were impressed by the discipline of the kussian
army. Otto Pl eyer, the Austrian envoy, was the most enthusiastic. 'It is most
amazing to what perfection the soldiers have been brought in their military
exercises; how obediently they fulfil the orders of their superiors and how
bravely they fight; one does not hear a word, still less a cry, so zealous are
they.'^138 He attributed this in large measure to the personal example of the
tsar, who inspired a sense of duty and self-sacrifice among men of all ranks.
Certainly, with his simple ways and unaffected manner Peter did have a rare
gift for establishing a rapport with the common Russian soldicr,--who was
pathetically grateful for the least sign of benevolence on his sovereign's part.
Peter also concerned himself intermittently with the health and welfare of the
troops. A recent student of the matter concludes that 'on balance, the
possibility of getting professional medical attention set the armed forces apart
Ill PSZv. 3425, 3443 (24 Sept., 21Oct.1719).
132 Bobrovsky, Voyennoye pravo, ii. 710.
(^131) PSZ v. 3859, 3924, 3926 (29 Nov. 1721, 2, 4 Apr. 1722).
134 PSZ v. 3996 (8 May 1722).
IJl PSZ v. 2885, 3445, 3477 (14 Feb. 1715, 30 Oct., 24 Dec. 1719); Bobrovsky, Vo~nnoye
pravo, ii. 724.
136 PSZ vi. 4652 (9 Feb. 1725).
in Golikova, 'Iz is1orii', p. 284.
ll8 'Otto Pleyers .. Relation' ( 1710), in Herrmann, Russ/and, p. 121; cf. 'Donescniya
Ptcyera', in Ustryalov, lstoriya, iv (ii). 540, 542.