368 Towards a Modern Army, 1825-1874
meant not only barracks and bases but also the large areas of the empire under
'enhanced protection', where the military were thus given a fairly free hand
with the local civilian pnpnl:uion A decrei:-issued during the Polish revolt laid
down that even in peacetime persons accused of major disciplinary Of security
offences could be tried by field court-martial, which was to pass sentence as if
the country were at war.^86 The 1869 statute was still more specific. In an ~erg
ency serving officers could be substituted for court presidents or procurarors;
procedural safeguards were to be applied only 'so far as possible'; and civili'ans
could be judged 'for crimes detailed either in an Imperial decree or in procla-
mations' by the Commander-in-Chief'^87 -who thus acquire~ quasi-dictatorial
powers.
That miscarriages of justice could occur under such a system goeS without
saying. One particularly tragic episode has recently attracted attention. In 1866
Private Vasiliy Shabunin, of the 65th Moscow infantry regiment, a chronic
alcoholic, was charged with striking his company commander, a Polish cap-
tain named Jasiewicz; he confessed his guilt and was duly sentenced to death
under an article of the old statute. The unit was stationed near Leo Tolstoy's
estate, and the writer agreed to take up the man's defence. His plea for mercy
failed to convince the court, and an attempt to intercede with the emperor also
went awry-circumstances which weighed heavily on Tolstoy's conscience for
the remainder of his days.^88 It is clear from the file on this case, which Kerr
summarizes, that Milyutin had the case tried by field court-martial because he
wanted to secure a conviction, and that the testimony was doctored to make it
seem that Shabunin had committed his offence withouf any provocation. This
occurred shortly after an attempt on the tsar's life. Alexander II and several of
his ministers panicked. In 1866 military courts sentenced 18 men (including
four civilians) to death, as against seven in 1865, and three in 1867.^19
Although overall statistics on military offences in the reform era are
available, there has been no systematic examination of law enforcement in this
(or any other) period, and the individual cases that are known may not be
.. typical. It appears that even in combat zones formal complaints (pretem;,ii)
were handled better than before. Under Nicholas I officers accused o(miscon-
duct by their men and found guilty were at the most transferred, whereas the
complainant was invariably punished! But in 1858 Captain Gedrymowicz of
the Apsheron infantry regiment, stationed in the Caucasus, severely beat
several subordinates; after complaints were filed he was tried and given two
months' detention, no action being taken against the men.^90 There was a trend
towards a more even-handed approach and milder penalties. In 1863 12 NCOs
86 Ibid., p. 457; 11 PSZ xxxviii. 39506 (17 Apr. 1863), § 7.
87 Ibid., pp. 487-8.
88 Kerr, Shabunin Affair(but cf. H. McLean in RR 42 (1983), p. 194); P.A. Sergeyenko, 'Delo
Shibunina [sic]', Zvn.da, Moscow, 1978, 11, pp. 158-63.
89 VOVM 1867, app. ix, p. 18; for other figures: Bogdanovich, lst. ocherk, iv. app. 78.
90 D"yakov, 'Soldatskoye dvizheniye', p. 79.