Recruitment and Service in the Ranks 163
case by 1812, as we have seen, well-informed foreign observers were stating
flatly that Russian soldiers got no leave at all.^114 It was some time before mat-
ters improved in this respect. Not until 1823 did the tsar, now anxious to
reduce military expenditure, explicitly permit men to go home: for as iong as
five to six months in the year.^115 In his memoirs Ivan Minayev, who had risen
to become an NCO in a guards regiment, states that shortly before this his
colonel, a harsh disciplinarian, suddenly allowed him to go on leave for three
months. His relatives were surprised to see him. Accompanied by his brother,
he went walking in the street to show off his fine uniform: 'at every step people
we knew stopped us for a chat and shook their heads [as if to say] "what a fine
fellow is he!"•^116 Nine years earlier Minayev had been a reluctant recruit; now
he had internalized the military code of values.
Perhaps this soldier's promotion made him something of a special case, for
in general it was difficult to rise even to non-commissioned rank, let alone to
that of officer. There were few vacancies in the regimental establishment,
which set up a promotion block for those who were competent and aspired to
better themselves. In 1766 Catherine prescribed that NCOs of gentry
background should be promoted ahead of those from humbler circumstances,
such as soldiers' children, even if the latter had acquired more seniority.^117 One
can readily imagine the sense of grievance that this overt social discrimination
created. Advancement was entirely the affair of the unit commander concerned,
who sometimes tried to get round the problem by appointing men as 'super-
numerary' (sverkhkomplektnye) NCOs-which simply meant that they did
additional duties without extra pay. One hussar regiment stocked up no less
than 198 such supernumeraries before the practice came to light and was pro-
hibited.118 Some NCOs, mainly gentrymen with private means, got no pay at
all until this was permitted in hardship cases.^119 The promotion block problem
was not, however, tackled, except in the sense that the army was committed to
campaigns which cost many lives, and the ambitious had a chance to step into
dead men's shoes.
Non-commissioned officers, especially those of under-privileged origin, were
in a difficult situation both socially and psychologically. They were set above
the common soldiers yet their rank did not in itself confer any worthwhile
privileges. The men generally despised such NCOs, above all when they saw
that they were humiliated or maltreated by officers.^120 Not until the 1820s was
any serious effort undertaken to improve their educational and professional
qualifications. The average NCO tried to compensate for his shortcomings by
114 Plotho, Entstehung, p. 66; de Raymond, Tableau, p. 535.
11s PSZ xxxviii. 29398 (2 Apr. 1823), §§ 7-8.
116 [Minayev] 'Vosp. I. Men'shago'. p. 58.
111 PSZ xvii. 12543 (14 Jan. 1766), I,§ 2, n. I.
11s PSZ xxiii. 17376 (29 Aug. 1795).
119 PSZ xxv. 18684 (Sept. 1798), xxvi. 20024 (29 Sept. 1801).
120 Shatilov, 'Mysli', p. 368.