~8 Towards a Modem Army, 1825-1874tes.^21 The territorial divisions did not survive the test of war and were later
'andoned.
Under Nicholas I the state authorities assumed a more active role in the
~ruit selection process. This was based, as bdore. on methods which the
asants themselves had devised to share out the burden so that their lives
ould suffer the least dislocation. One may doubt whether increased bureau-
ltic regimentation made their choices more equitable: indeed, the reverse
:iy well have been the case, given the poor quality of local officialdom.^22
1e Recruiting Statute of 1831 ~· was esscnt ici lly a recapitulation of earlier
icts on the subject, but it did specify in greater detail how the ranking lists
-:herednye spiski) of men liable to rnnscription were to be drawn up.^24 These
rangements were needlessly complicated. For conscription purposes each
ovince was divided into sections (uchastki) whose boundaries often over-
'ped those of the regular administrative units. The inhabitants of each sec-
'" elected an elder (starosta), who had the task of ensuring that the levy was
nducted properly. But the government did not ensure that this peasant
minee could stand up to pressure from local police officials or members of
: recruiting board. He was subordinate to other functionaries and it was
:y, not he, who drew up the actual list.
This ranged all families in a section in order of size, with the largest at the
:id, so that those best able to spare men or working age should be called on
st; households with a single male, or for whil.:h the loss of an able-bodied
•rker would spell economic disaster, were exempted. The lists were to be
rised every three years to en~ure that all changes in family size were
~istered; allowance was made for differences in age structure and where
o families were similarly composed they were to cast lots to establish their
ative standing in the list. Within each family single men were to precede
)SC who were married and older bachelors younger ones; where all were mar-
d, the choice fell first upon the childless, and if all were fathers the matter
s decided by the grandparents, hy mutual consent or by casting lots. The
v-makers left nothing to chance, and took steps to prevent the dissolution of
ended families as a device to evade conscription.^25
Unfortunately, social reality took little account of these precise and logical
1emes. Senators on inspection tours and provincial governors reported
tt communities failed to keep ranking lists or that recruits were simply
minated by local officials, who enriched themselves handsomely in the
I Petrov, Russkayu 1•oye1111uyu sila, ii. 425; Haillnt. Swrn1iq11e 1111/t1a1re, p. 316; Be,krovnyy,
1e111sial, p. 78.
2 Bolotenko, 'Ad111i111\trat ion·, pp .. n.~-4.l<J. The folio" ing paragraph' owe a great deal to this
dy.
(^1) II PSZ vi(i). 4677 (28 June 1831 ).
• This procedure had been defined in an earlier wdt· of 1810 (lk'k rnvnyy, Pote1111wl, p. (^71) ),
does not seem to have been implemented.
< Bolotenko, · Admi11i,tratiun', pp. ]82-.l; 11 PS/ vr(il. 4677, 111, ~~ 90-D6, <:'P· §§ 99, 101-3,
:, 115, 130.