Salary of officers in the tsarist army. Nikita Barinov

Prices and salaries in Tsarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, based only on real documents: orders and decrees of the government and ministries Russian Empire, price lists, price tags, reports, extracts from books of income and expenses, menus and accounts of that time, starting from 1900.

Starting with the main product of those times - vodka.
Vodka in Tsarist Russia was sold only in special state-owned wine shops. Above the entrance to a liquor store, as at the entrance to any government agency, the state emblem flaunted: a double-headed eagle. The state maintained a monopoly on the production and sale of vodka. Two types of vodka were always sold here without any queue. Krasnogolovka (red cap), vodka, popularly called “kazenka”. The price for a bottle of this vodka (0.61 liters) at the beginning of the 20th century was 40 kopecks. And the second type of vodka is “Belogolovka” (white cap), this is double purified vodka.

A bottle of this vodka in pre-revolutionary Russia cost 60 kopecks. Bottles with a capacity of a quarter (1/4 bucket) were sold in wicker baskets, which amounted to 3 liters. And the smallest bottles of vodka were 1/10 of a regular bottle, which people even then called “bastard” 0.061 liters. For such a bottle you had to pay only 6 kopecks in a state-owned wine store. At the same time, draft beer of cheap varieties “Svetloe”, “Venskoe”, “Starogradskoe”, “Munichskoe” at the beginning of the 20th century cost from 6 to 10 kopecks per liter. Bottled beer was more expensive due to the cost of glass, about 20 kopecks per bottle. Wine of expensive and prestigious brands reached 5-9 rubles per bottle. The capacity of a wine bottle in pre-revolutionary years was 0.75 liters. At the same time, for cheap bottled wine in different provinces of Russia you had to pay only 5-20 kopecks per liter. Cognacs cost from 3 rubles and ended with prices up to 100 rubles per bottle.

Well, these are all store prices, but how much did you have to pay for a shot of vodka (1/6 bottle = 100 grams) in a tavern, which in those days of pre-revolutionary Russia were already called taverns. In general, the difference between the tavern and its more ancient predecessor, the “tavern,” is that in the tavern you could only buy alcohol, and in the tavern, in addition to alcohol, you could also dine. So, in a cheap tavern on the outskirts provincial town, having paid 5 kopecks, you could drink half a shot, i.e. 50-60 grams of cheap and most likely highly diluted vodka. For a quick snack, the most popular snack for vodka of all times was offered - that’s right, pickle for just 1 kopeck. And you could eat to your heart’s content in these cheap taverns for only 10 kopecks. By the way, at the market for two kopecks you could easily choose a dozen selected pickled cucumbers (12 pieces).

It’s a completely different matter; these are decent taverns, or, in our opinion, cafes and restaurants. It cost 30-50 kopecks to dine here in the 1900s in Russia. But judging by the memoirs of contemporaries, this justified it. A glass of vodka in such a cultural establishment cost 10 kopecks, but it was definitely official vodka! Not spoiled. For a glass of beer (0.61 liters) you had to pay up to 10 kopecks. Tea with two lumps of sugar cost only 5 kopecks. Naturally, it was more expensive to eat in good, well-known restaurants. On average, for lunch in a decent restaurant of the 20th century in Imperial Russia you had to pay 1.5 - 2 rubles. This is the price for a regular lunch: first course, second course, salad, a couple of glasses of vodka, dessert, no frills. After lunch, the well-fed and respectable Russian citizens, at the exit from the restaurant, were vying with each other to persuade the cab drivers to take a cab ride. In large cities in those years, the only public transport was the tram; as a rule, the price was 5 kopecks without a transfer, and 7 kopecks with a transfer. But, of course, the main mode of transport was cabs driven by dashing cab drivers. Typically, cab drivers charged 20 kopecks for a trip in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century within the city. But the price was always negotiable and varied depending on the degree of supply/demand ratio. Although, even in those pre-revolutionary times, station cabs were the most expensive, who shamelessly charged 50 kopecks for an often not very long trip from the station to the nearest hotel. Regarding stations and travel. Naturally, in those years people mostly traveled by railway. A first-class ticket to St. Petersburg from Moscow cost 16 rubles, and you could travel in a seated carriage for 6 rubles 40 kopecks. You could get to Tver from Moscow in first class for 7 rubles 25 kopecks, and in third class you could get there for 3 rubles 10 kopecks. The porters happily offered the service of carrying suitcases for 5 kopecks. Large luggage, occupying the entire cart, was taken to the train or back for a maximum fee of 10 kopecks. Let's return to hotels... In hotels for very wealthy gentlemen in luxurious rooms with all amenities, telephone, restaurant, etc. The cost of the room per day was 5-8 rubles. A hotel room without frills, but quite decent, cost 0.7-2 rubles per day. Furnished rooms cost 15-60 kopecks per day. In general, in pre-revolutionary Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, rented housing cost an average of 20 kopecks per month per square meter.

List of prices of that time for products, although then everything was measured in pounds, the cost is indicated per kilogram for ease of perception:
A loaf of black stale bread weighing 400 grams - 3 kopecks,
A loaf of fresh rye bread weighing 400 grams - 4 kopecks,
A loaf of white butter bread weighing 300 grams - 7 kopecks,
Potato fresh harvest 1 kilogram - 15 kopecks,
Old harvest potatoes 1 kilogram - 5 kopecks,
Rye flour 1 kilogram - 6 kopecks,
Oat flour 1 kilogram - 10 kopecks,
Premium wheat flour 1 kilogram - 24 kopecks,
Potato flour 1 kilogram - 30 kopecks,
Plain pasta 1 kilogram - 20 kopecks,
Vermicelli made from premium flour 1 kilogram - 32 kopecks,
Second grade granulated sugar 1 kilogram – 25 kopecks,
Selected lump refined sugar 1 kilogram - 60 kopecks,
Tula gingerbread with jam 1 kilogram - 80 kopecks,
Chocolate candies 1 kilogram – 3 rubles,
Coffee beans 1 kilogram – 2 rubles,
Leaf tea 1 kilogram – 3 rubles,
Table salt 1 kilogram - 3 kopecks,
Fresh milk 1 liter – 14 kopecks,
Heavy cream 1 liter – 60 kopecks,
Sour cream 1 liter – 80 kopecks,
Cottage cheese 1 kilogram - 25 kopecks,
Cheese "Russian" 1 kilogram - 70 kopecks,
Cheese using foreign technology “Swiss” 1 kilogram - 1 ruble 40 kopecks
Butter 1 kilogram – 1 ruble 20 kopecks,
Sunflower oil 1 liter – 40 kopecks,
Steamed chicken 1 kilogram – 80 kopecks,
A dozen choice eggs - 25 kopecks,
Veal meat, steamed tenderloin, 1 kilogram – 70 kopecks,
Beef shoulder blade 1 kilogram – 45 kopecks,
Pork neck meat 1 kilogram - 30 kopecks,
Fresh river perch fish 1 kilogram - 28 kopecks,
Fresh river pike perch fish 1 kilogram – 50 kopecks,
Fresh fish catfish 1 kilogram – 20 kopecks,
Fresh fish bream 1 kilogram – 24 kopecks,
Frozen pink salmon fish 1 kilogram – 60 kopecks,
Frozen fish salmon 1 kilogram – 80 kopecks,
Frozen fish sturgeon 1 kilogram – 90 kopecks,
Black granular caviar 1 kilogram – 3 rubles 20 kopecks,
Pressed black caviar, 1st grade, 1 kilogram – 1 ruble 80 kopecks,
Pressed black caviar, 2 grades, 1 kilogram – 1 ruble 20 kopecks,
Pressed black caviar 3 grades 1 kilogram – 80 kopecks,
Salted red caviar 1 kilogram – 2 rubles 50 kopecks,
Vegetables fresh cabbage 1 kilogram - 10 kopecks,
Vegetables, pickled cabbage 1 kilogram - 20 kopecks,
Vegetables onions 1 kilogram - 5 kopecks,
Vegetables carrots 1 kilogram - 8 kopecks,
Vegetables, tomatoes, selected 1 kilogram - 45 kopecks.
A little about the cost of things at the beginning of the 20th century in Tsarist Russia:
Uniforms and military uniforms, which Russian officers were forced to purchase with their own money, and taking into account the low officer salary (which will be given at the end of the article), clearly cost them a lot.
Officer's dress boots - 20 rubles,
Dress officer's uniform - 70 rubles,
Chief officer's cap - 3 rubles,
Uhlan hat – 20 rubles,
Hussar staff cap – 12 rubles,
Gilded staff officers' epaulettes – 13 rubles,
Spurs – 14 rubles,
Dragoon and Cossack sabers – 15 rubles,
Officer's backpack - 4 rubles.
Clothing for civilians was much cheaper:
Weekend shirt – 3 rubles,
Business suit for clerks - 8 rubles,
Long coat – 15 rubles,
Cow boots – 5 rubles,
Summer boots - 2 rubles,
Garmon - 7 rubles 50 kopecks,
Gramophone - 40 rubles,
Grand piano of a famous brand - 200 rubles,
Car without additional equipment – ​​2,000 rubles,
The alternative and main means of transportation in those days, naturally, was the horse, which cost
Horse for a cart - 100 rubles,
Draft horse, working horse - 70 rubles,
Old nag for sausage - 20 rubles,
A good horse, on which it was not a shame to appear in front of people - from 150 rubles,
A good cash cow - from 60 rubles.

The average salary in the Russian Empire for factory workers and junior employees from 1880 to 1913 increased from 16 to 24 rubles per month.
The low-paid part of hired workers in Russia was the servant, who received per month: from 3 to 5 rubles for women and from 5 to 10 rubles for men.
Mostly workers at metallurgical plants in Moscow and St. Petersburg earned more. The salary of these workers at the beginning of the 20th century in Tsarist Russia ranged from 25 to 35 rubles. And representatives of the so-called labor aristocracy, i.e. professional turners, mechanics, foremen, and foremen received from 50 to 80 rubles per month.
The smallest salaries at the beginning of the 20th century were for junior ranks of civil servants in the amount of 20 rubles per month.

The same amount was received by ordinary postal employees, zemstvo elementary school teachers, pharmacists' assistants, orderlies, librarians, etc. Doctors received much more, for example, in zemstvo hospitals they had a salary of 80 rubles, paramedics 35 rubles, and the head of the hospital received 125 rubles a month. In small rural hospitals, where there was only one paramedic on staff, he received a salary of 55 rubles. High school teachers in women's and men's gymnasiums received from 80 to 100 rubles per month. The heads of postal, railway, and steamship stations in large cities had monthly salaries from 150 to 300 rubles. Deputies of the State Duma received a salary of 350 rubles, governors had salaries of about one thousand rubles, and ministers and senior officials, members of the State Council - 1,500 rubles per month.

In the army, officer salaries at the beginning of the 20th century in the Russian Empire, after an increase in 1909, were as follows. The second lieutenant had a salary of 70 rubles per month, plus 30 kopecks per day for guard duty and an additional 7 rubles for renting housing, for a total of 80 rubles. The lieutenant received a salary of 80 rubles, plus the same apartment and guard duty another 10 rubles, for a total of 90 rubles . A staff captain received a salary from 93 to 123 rubles, a captain from 135 to 145 rubles, and a lieutenant colonel from 185 to 200 rubles per month. A colonel in the Tsarist Army received a salary of 320 rubles per month from the Sovereign, a general in the position of division commander had a salary of 500 rubles, and a general in the position of corps commander had a salary of 725 rubles per month.

In Russia in the XVI -XVII centuries silver money was highly valued. In the middle of the 16th century in 1550, Ivan the Terrible established the first musketeer branch of the army in Russia - the Streletsky regiments. It was very difficult to get there, because in addition to good physical strength and endurance, you had to be able to use a musket, which at that time was a complex technical product. Due to improper use of a musket, a soldier could injure not only himself, but also his comrades. The Tsar's archers of the Moscow regiment were given a high salary - 4 rubles a year (in the middle of the 16th century, approximately 45 kopecks were minted from a thaler). The same amount of 4 rubles a year was the minimum noble salary. Streltsy in other cities received only two rubles per year, and gunners received a ruble. The only thing, in addition to the monetary salary, they were also given grain allowances. In peacetime, in addition to performing guard duty, the archers could engage in small trade and crafts.

The civilian population's salaries were also low. A craftsman, a clerk, a clerk in an order received 40 kopecks a month; carpenter, mason about 15 kopecks. But the prices were low compared to Europe - a pound of rye (16 kg) cost 8 kopecks, a chicken - 1-2 kopecks, a cow - 80 kopecks, a gelding - 1 ruble, a good horse - 5 rubles.

Since the end of the Time of Troubles (1613), a thaler has already cost 64 kopecks. Since the 17th century, the salary of archers was increased: Moscow archers - 5 rubles per year, in other cities - 3.50 rubles. But prices during the Time of Troubles increased five to six times. Later, by 1620-1630, prices dropped slightly. But a cow already cost 2 rubles, a chicken 3 kopecks, bread - 3/4 kopecks per kg.

During the time of Alexei Mikhailovich (the beginning of the second half of the 17th century) in the elite regiments of the new system (they were called elective regiments of the soldier system), the salary was: To an ordinary person not from a noble family - 90 kopecks per month, from noble family or foreigners - 1.05 rubles, corporal - 1.20 rubles, sergeant - 1.35 rubles, warrant officer - 1.50 rubles, married people were paid an additional 15 kopecks per month. Widows were paid 22 kopecks a month. Boys, drummers, and cooks were paid 30 kopecks. This salary was paid only for six months (late spring - early autumn), i.e. when military companies were marching. In winter, they didn’t pay anything - they sent them home, or they paid half their salary for guard duty. The officer's salary was: colonel -45 rubles. per month, lieutenant colonel - 15 rubles, major - 14 rubles, captain - 7 rubles, lieutenant - 5 rubles.

A simple Russian soldier not in an elite unit received only 50 kopecks a month and one dress for a year. After the monetary reform of Peter I, he reduced the silver content in the ruble to the weight of one taler (1 taler = 1 ruble = 100 kopecks) and due to the increase in taxes for the Northern War with Sweden, prices soon doubled. Nowhere in the West in the 16th - 18th centuries did the price of money fall as quickly as in Russia. But Peter’s monetary reform was the very first decimal monetary system in the world.

Call once a year - from September 15 or October 1 to November 1 or 15 - depending on the timing of the harvest.

Duration of service in the ground forces: 3 years in infantry and artillery (except cavalry); 4 years in other branches of the military.

After that, they were enlisted in the reserves, which were called up only in case of war. The reserve period is 13-15 years.

In the navy, conscript service is 5 years and 5 years in reserve.

The following were not subject to conscription for military service:

Residents of remote places: Kamchatka, Sakhalin, some areas Yakut region, Yenisei province, Tomsk, Tobolsk provinces, as well as Finland. Foreigners of Siberia (except for Koreans and Bukhtarminians), Astrakhan, Arkhangelsk provinces, Steppe Territory, Transcaspian region and the population of Turkestan. Pay cash tax instead conscription: some foreigners of the Caucasus region and Stavropol province (Kurds, Abkhazians, Kalmyks, Nogais, etc.); Finland deducts 12 million marks from the treasury annually. Persons of Jewish nationality are not allowed into the fleet.

Benefits according to marital status:

Not subject to conscription:

1. The only son in the family.

2. The only son capable of working with an incapacitated father or widowed mother.

3. The only brother for orphans under 16 years of age.

4. The only grandson of an incapacitated grandmother and grandfather without adult sons.

5. Illegitimate son with his mother (in his care).

6. Lonely widower with children.

Subject to conscription in the event of a shortage of suitable conscripts:

1. The only son capable of working, with an elderly father (50 years old).

2. Following a brother who died or went missing in service.

3. Following his brother, still serving in the army.

Deferments and benefits for education:

Receive a deferment from conscription:

up to 30 years of age, government scholarship holders preparing to take up scientific and educational positions, after which they are completely released;

up to 28 years of age, students of higher educational institutions with a 5-year course;

up to 27 years of age in higher education institutions with a 4-year course;

up to 24 years of age, students of secondary educational institutions;

students of all schools, upon request and agreement of ministers;

for 5 years - candidates for preaching of Evangelical Lutherans.

(In wartime, persons who have the above benefits are taken into service until the end of the course according to the Highest permission).

Reduction of active service periods:

Persons with higher, secondary (1st rank) and lower (2nd rank) education serve in the military for 3 years;

Persons who have passed the reserve warrant officer exam serve for 2 years;

doctors and pharmacists serve in the ranks for 4 months, and then serve in their specialty for 1 year 8 months

in the navy, persons with an 11th grade education (lower educational institutions) serve for 2 years and are in the reserve for 7 years.

Benefits based on professional affiliation

The following are exempt from military service:

• Christian and Muslim clergy (muezzins are at least 22 years old).


• Scientists (academicians, adjuncts, professors, lecturers with assistants, lecturers of oriental languages, associate professors and private assistant professors).


• Artists of the Academy of Arts sent abroad for improvement.


• Some academic and educational officials.

Privileges:

• Teachers and academic and educational officials serve for 2 years, and under the temporary 5-year position from December 1, 1912 - 1 year.


• Paramedics who have graduated from special naval and military schools serve for 1.5 years.


• Graduates of the schools for soldiers' children of the Guard troops serve for 5 years, starting from the age of 18-20.


• Technicians and pyrotechnicians of the artillery department serve after graduation educational institution 4 years.


• Civilian seamen are given a deferment until the end of the contract (no more than a year).


• Persons with higher and secondary education are accepted into service voluntarily from the age of 17. Service life - 2 years.

Those who pass the exam for the rank of reserve officer serve for 1.5 years.

Those volunteering for the navy - only with higher education— service life 2 years.

Persons who do not have the above education can voluntarily enter the service without drawing lots, the so-called. hunters. They serve on a general basis.

Cossack conscription

(The Don Army is taken as a model; other Cossack troops serve in accordance with their traditions).

All men are obliged to serve without ransom or replacement on their own horses with their own equipment.

The entire army provides servicemen and militias. Servicemen are divided into 3 categories: 1 preparatory (20-21 years old) undergoes military training. II combatant (21-33 years old) is directly serving. III reserve (33-38 years old) deploys troops for war and replenishes losses. During the war, everyone serves without regard to rank.

Militia - all those capable of service, but not included in the service, form special units.

Cossacks have benefits: according to marital status (1 employee in the family, 2 or more family members are already serving); by property (fire victims who became impoverished for no reason of their own); by education (depending on education, they serve from 1 to 3 years in service).

2. Composition of the ground army

All ground forces are divided into regular, Cossack, police and militia. — the police are formed from volunteers (mostly foreigners) as needed in peacetime and wartime.

By branch, the troops consist of:

• infantry


• cavalry


• artillery


• technical troops (engineering, railway, aeronautical);


• in addition - auxiliary units (border guards, transport units, disciplinary units, etc.).



The infantry is divided into guards, grenadier and army. The division consists of 2 brigades, in the brigade there are 2 regiments. The infantry regiment consists of 4 battalions (some of 2). The battalion consists of 4 companies.

In addition, the regiments have machine gun teams, communications teams, mounted orderlies and scouts.

The total strength of the regiment in peacetime is about 1,900 people.

Guards regular regiments - 10

In addition, 3 Guards Cossack regiments.



• b) cavalry is divided into guards and army.


• 
  
  • 4 - cuirassiers
  
  
  • 1 - dragoon
  
  
  • 1 - horse grenadier
  
  
  • 2 - Uhlan
  
  
  • 2 - hussars
  
  





• The Army Cavalry Division consists of; from 1 dragoon, 1 uhlan, 1 hussar, 1 Cossack regiment.

  Guards cuirassier regiments consist of 4 squadrons, the remaining army and guards regiments consist of 6 squadrons, each of which has 4 platoons. Composition of the cavalry regiment: 1000 lower ranks with 900 horses, not counting officers. In addition to the Cossack regiments included in the regular divisions, special Cossack divisions and brigades are also formed.

  
  

  3. Fleet composition

  All ships are divided into 15 classes:

  1. Battleships.

  2. Armored cruisers.

  3. Cruisers.

  4. Destroyers.

  5. Destroyers.

  6. Minor boats.

  7. Barriers.

  8. Submarines.

  9. Gunboats.

  10. River gunboats.

  11. Transports.

  12. Messenger ships.

  14. Training ships.

  15. Port ships.

  
  

Source: Russian Suvorin calendar for 1914. St. Petersburg, 1914. P.331.

Composition of the Russian Army as of April 1912 by branch of service and departmental services (by staff/lists)

Source:Military statistical yearbook of the army for 1912. St. Petersburg, 1914. P. 26, 27, 54, 55.

Composition of army officers by education, marital status, class, age, as of April 1912

Source: Military Statistical Yearbook of the Army for 1912. St. Petersburg, 1914. P.228-230.

Composition of the lower ranks of the army by education, marital status, class, nationality and occupation before entering military service

Source:Military statistical yearbook for 1912. St. Petersburg, 1914. P.372-375.

Salary of officers and military clergy (rub. per year)

(1) - Increased salaries were assigned in remote districts, in academies, officer schools, and in the aeronautical troops.

(2)- No deductions were made from the additional money.

(3) - Additional money was given to staff officers in such a way that the total amount of salary, canteens and additional money did not exceed 2520 rubles for colonels, 2400 rubles for lieutenant colonels. in year.

(4) - In the guard, captains, staff captains, and lieutenants received a salary 1 step higher.

(5) - The military clergy received a salary increase of 1/4 of their salary for 10 and 20 years of service.

Officers were issued upon transfer to a new duty station and on business trips the so-called. passing money for hiring horses.

While in various types For business trips outside the unit limits, daily allowances and portions are issued.

Table money, in contrast to salaries and additional money, was assigned to officers not by rank, but depending on their position:

• corps commanders - 5,700 rubles.


• heads of infantry and cavalry divisions - 4200 rubles.


• heads of individual teams - 3,300 rubles.


• commanders of non-individual brigades and regiments - 2,700 rubles.


• commanders of individual battalions and artillery divisions - 1056 rubles.


• commanders of field gendarmerie squadrons - 1020 rubles.


• battery commanders - 900 rubles.


• commanders of non-individual battalions, heads of economic units in the troops, assistants of cavalry regiments - 660 rubles.


• junior staff officers of the artillery brigade department, company commanders of fortress and siege artillery - 600 rubles.


• commanders of individual sapper companies and commanders of individual hundreds - 480 rubles.


• company, squadron and hundred commanders, heads of training teams - 360 rubles.


• senior officers (one at a time) in batteries - 300 rubles.


• senior officers (except one) in artillery batteries in companies, heads of machine gun teams - 180 rubles.


• official officers in the troops - 96 rubles.

Deductions were made from salaries and table money:

• 1% per hospital

• 1.5% on medicines (regimental pharmacy)

• 1% from canteens

• 1% of salary

to pension capital

• 6% - to the emeritus fund (for increases and pensions)

• 1% of canteen money in disabled capital.

When awarding orders, an amount is paid in the amount of:

• St. Stanislaus 3 art. — 15 rub., 2 tbsp. — 30 ​​rub.; 1 tbsp. - 120.


• St. Anne 3 Art. — 20 rub.; 2 tbsp. — 35 rub.; 1 tbsp. — 150 rub.


• St. Vladimir 4 tbsp. — 40 rub.; 3 tbsp. — 45 rub.; 2 tbsp. — 225 rub.; 1 tbsp. — 450 rub.


• White eagle - 300 rub.


• St. Alexander Nevsky - 400 rubles.


• St. Andrew the First-Called - 500 rubles.

No deductions are made for other orders.

The money went into the order capital of each order and was used to help the gentlemen of this order.

Officers were given apartment money, money for the maintenance of stables, as well as money for heating and lighting apartments, depending on the location of the military unit.

The settlements of European Russia and Siberia (1) are divided into 9 categories depending on the cost of housing and fuel. The difference in payment for apartments and fuel prices between settlements of the 1st category (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Odessa, etc.) and 9th category (small settlements) was 200% (4 times).

Military personnel taken prisoner and who were not in the enemy's service, upon returning from captivity, receive a salary for the entire time spent in captivity, except for table money. The family of a captive has the right to receive half of his salary, and is also provided with housing money, and, if anyone is entitled, an allowance for hiring servants.

Officers serving in remote areas have the right to a salary increase depending on the length of service in these areas for every 5 years of 20-25% (depending on the location), and for every 10 years a lump sum allowance.

The main type of officer's allowance in the Russian army was the salary, which consisted of the officer's regular salary, canteens and additional money. Staff salaries were assigned, as a rule, depending on rank, and only in some institutions were salaries assigned to officers and generals holding administrative positions depending on the position held. Doctors (including veterinarians) were paid salaries, canteens and additional money depending on their position, rank assigned to them and length of service, and military officials - depending on their position and length of service.

In remote areas (Turkestan Military District, Omsk, Irkutsk, Arkhangelsk provinces, Primorsky Territory, Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Yakutia), officers, officials and military doctors were assigned increased salaries. The same salaries were received by doctors working in clinics for the nervous and mentally ill, students of military academies and officer schools, the permanent staff of officer schools, as well as military personnel of aeronautical and aviation units.

Since 1909, combatant officers began to be paid so-called additional money depending on their rank. Thus, chief officers received additional money for length of service for 4 years of service in the ranks, and staff officers - for 5. At the same time, lieutenant colonels received it if the total amount of salary, canteen and additional money received did not exceed 2,400 rubles, and colonels - 2520 rubles.

Table money, in contrast to salaries and additional money, was assigned depending not on rank, but on the position held. Guards officers received a salary one step higher than their existing rank (i.e., a guard captain received the same salary as an army colonel). In addition, they received an annual increase in the amount of half the salary according to the 1859 report card. Deductions from salaries and table money were fictitious and were paid from the so-called special allowances for salaries and table money. They were:
- from the salary: 6% - to the emeritus fund, 1.5% - for medicines and 1% - for the hospital,
- from table money: 6% - to the emeritus fund and 2% - to disabled capital.

Since July 1912, additional pay was established for pilots and army aviation personnel. Thus, pilot officers received an additional 200 rubles per month, and ensigns and non-commissioned officers - 75 rubles per month.

The following additional payments were issued in aeronautical units:
- airship commander - 150 rubles,
- assistant commander and senior engineer - 90 rubles,
- junior mechanic – 60 rubles,
- motor mechanics from the lower ranks - 30 rubles.

The rest of the lower ranks were paid one ruble for each day of flight. The accrual of the specified additional money began from the day of the first flight and was carried out 6 months a year, provided that the flight time was at least 10 hours per month.

There were also various additional payments, for example, in some remote areas, officers received additional special daily money. In addition, daily allowances were provided in peacetime during a campaign lasting more than 3 days as part of a unit, during business trips, camp training, etc. In wartime, instead of daily allowances, ration money was paid, which was divided into field rations (directly at the theater of military operations) and camp rations and depended on the position held.

In addition to permanent payments, in some cases officers received one-time payments cash payments- for tailoring uniforms, purchasing a horse and saddle, purchasing edged weapons and equipment, for completing an academy course in the 1st category, when an officer departs for further service in remote areas, when mobilization is announced, etc.

All generals and officers had the right to receive a government apartment, and if it was impossible to provide it, rent money for renting an apartment. In addition, money was allocated for heating, lighting the apartment and maintaining the stables. The size of payments depended on the category of locality. All areas of the Russian Empire were divided into 9 categories. The 1st included the most expensive cities - St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Odessa, Vladivostok, and the 9th - small ones county towns and towns.

Money for hiring a stable, as well as fodder, was paid to generals and officers if they were entitled to a horse for their service. Officers purchased uniforms at their own expense, which seriously affected the officer’s budget due to its high cost. The peacetime uniform was divided into ceremonial, ordinary, service and everyday, and in the guard - additionally ball ceremonial and everyday. The peacetime uniform of each branch and type of troops, and sometimes for each unit and institution, had its own distinctive characteristics. The wartime uniform was basically unified and was worn both in the theater of war and in units prepared to be sent to the front, and in peacetime - during exercises, maneuvers and camp training.

The standard wartime uniform included:
- a camp jacket (in summer) or a khaki uniform,
- shortened trousers of a protective color (in the cavalry and among the Cossacks - dark blue),
- high boots, those who are supposed to have them - with spurs,
- a khaki cloth cap or a gray merlushka hat,
- coat, hood, headphones and gloves.

With this form, it was necessary to have a saber on the waist or shoulder (in cavalry) belt, a revolver in a leather holster (or a pistol of an approved brand), binoculars and an officer's bag.

Gabriel Tsobekhia

After the collapse of the USSR, the concepts of “officer” and “low salary” became inseparable companions. Owned in the last decades of existence Soviet Union to one of the most affluent categories of society, officers quickly lost this status. And more and more often in conversations with them one hears complaints about the current situation, especially in comparison with life in the pre-revolutionary Russian army. They say how much better life was for the lieutenant than for the comrade senior lieutenant. Another great myth...

Since the beginning of this century, the financial situation of officers has, of course, noticeably improved. However, this problem cannot be considered completely solved.

Not as a consolation for today’s father-commanders and military retirees, but simply to restore historical justice, let us note that from the by no means wonderful present, everything long past usually seems much better. Thus, even ordinary things, covered with the patina of time, begin to be valued as rare antiques.

A sitter in a tavern gets more than an officer

So, how did gentlemen Russian officers actually live in the last decades before the revolution? Historical documents can best answer this question.

“The continuous and extremely hard work of officers is not rewarded in any satisfactory way, not only in comparison with all other professions, but even in relation to the most limited daily needs of an officer’s life. The severity of the economic situation of officers has become especially pronounced in recent years due to the exorbitantly increased cost of living,” Minister of War Vannovsky wrote in his most loyal report to Emperor Alexander III.

General Kuropatkin, who replaced Vannovsky as minister, faced the same problem. In his diary he wrote: “Vannovsky told the sovereign that the main need of the army was to increase the salary of officers.

A steward in a tavern earns more than an officer. I told the Emperor about the same thing, and said that in Moscow officers shoot themselves because of embezzlement of 150 rubles.”

The last protopresbyter of the Russian army and navy, Shavelsky, wrote in his memoirs: “The officer was an outcast from the royal treasury... The officer received a meager salary that did not cover all his urgent expenses. And if he did not have his own means, then he - especially if he was a family member - eked out a miserable existence, malnourished, entangled in debt, denying himself the most necessary things.”

We all knew very well that we would never see the salary

How so?! The textbook image of a hussar, to which we are accustomed, does not fit into such a miserable life. And where are the grandiose revelries with buckets of champagne and gypsy choirs, luxurious bouquets for theatrical prima donnas and other common surroundings? This happened too. But only a relatively small part of Russian officers who had their own, fairly large fortune. These, as a rule, served in the guard.

In the guards units, especially in the cavalry, there could be no question of subsisting solely on accrued salaries. Former officer of the Guards Cavalry Regiment Alexey Ignatiev recalled:

“When we joined the regiment, we all knew perfectly well that we would never see our salary: it would go entirely to bouquets for the Empress and to the regimental ladies, for wreaths for former cavalry officers, for gifts and tokens leaving the regiment, for long-term trumpeters, for the construction of a church, for the anniversary of the regiment and the luxurious regimental publication associated with it, etc. The salary will not be enough even to pay for farewell dinners and receptions of other regiments, where French champagne will not only be drunk, but will also go into the pockets of barmen and regimental suppliers. To pay the bills for the officers' artel, at least one hundred rubles a month were required, and during the camp, when drinking parties were an integral part of any review, even this money could not be enough. There was no money left from the salary for everything else. And the expenses were high. For example, a seat in the first row of the theater cost almost ten rubles. Officers of our regiment were forbidden to sit further than the seventh row.”

Service in the Guards Infantry was not much cheaper. This is what the former guards infantryman Gerua recalled: “Even in the modest guards regiments, to which the Life Guards Jaegersky belonged, it was impossible to serve without having any of your own funds or help from home. In some regiments that led an important and wide lifestyle, the necessary addition to the salary had to exceed the latter by three to four times or more. In the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment one could get by with fifty rubles or even less.” Naturally, the offspring of not just well-born, but also very wealthy families could afford to serve in the guard regiments, and even those often had to stop serving in the guard after three or four years of heavy expenses. True, wealthy guardsmen made up a relatively small percentage of the total number of Russian officers. And the overwhelming majority of the army infantry officers were made up of people for whom a more than modest salary was the only source of subsistence.

Junior officers, who received thirty-nine rubles and seventy-five kopecks a month, were in a particularly difficult situation. The money is more than modest. At the same time, a skilled worker in St. Petersburg received no less than twenty rubles, and often much more. But the proletarian, unlike “his nobility,” was not forced to spend money on maintaining military prestige. Even when visiting the theater, the officer was obliged to avoid buying the cheapest tickets - the gallery was not for him.

Bachelors by order of the command

It was precisely because of their difficult financial situation that officers did not have the right to marry until they were twenty-three years old, and from twenty-three to twenty-eight they had to pay the so-called reverse, giving annually at least two hundred and fifty rubles as interest. Later it was required that the interest be at least three hundred rubles. But even after twenty-eight years, an officer receiving less than one thousand two hundred rubles a year was obliged to pay the same ill-fated reverse. They did this in order to provide the officer’s family with a decent living wage. Thus, it turned out that an adult with a higher military education received two hundred fifty to three hundred rubles a year less than what was required to support himself and his family.

According to the calculations of the famous Russian historian P. Zayonchkovsky, the total monthly deficit of the officer budget was ten rubles and forty-five kopecks. And with the most modest expenses, the officer did not even have the opportunity to eat normally, making do with tea and bread for breakfast and dinner every other day. Moreover, these calculations were made without taking into account the needs for tobacco, strong drinks and entertainment, especially necessary for a single man.

Russian officer was the lowest paid among his colleagues from serious European armies. In 1898, a Russian second lieutenant received six hundred seventy-seven rubles a year, a German one - eight hundred ninety-five (in terms of rubles), an Austro-Hungarian one - nine hundred fifteen and a French one - nine hundred thirty-six. And, say, a lieutenant colonel in Russia - one thousand eight hundred eighty, in Germany - three thousand three hundred eighteen, in Austria-Hungary - two thousand five hundred thirty and in France - two thousand six hundred thirty-five rubles.

Equally difficult was the financial situation of officers who had retired and lived solely on pensions. General Anton Ivanovich Denikin, whose father retired with the rank of major in the border guards, very colorfully described the conditions of “decent poverty” in which their family lived. Once Ivan Denikin, a heavy smoker, went so far as to promise to quit smoking for reasons of economy. And he smoked the cheapest tobacco, which you can’t save much on. True, having seen enough of her husband’s suffering, Mrs. Denikina herself asked him to abandon such a painful means of replenishing the family budget.
Naturally, many could not stand such living conditions. At the end of the past - the beginning present centuries Ministers of War continued to complain that army officers were retiring en masse. They went into private service, into the border guards, who received a substantial income in the form of a percentage of the cost of confiscated contraband, and even into a separate corps of gendarmes.

Only after the defeat in the war with Japan of 1904-1905 did the state finally find the opportunity to decently support its defenders. True, they didn’t have long to rejoice at the improvement in their situation...

Salary of ranks of the Russian Navy in 1914

The pay of admirals, generals, staff and chief officers, as well as class ranks of the military fleet consisted of the following types:
salary, which was paid depending on rank,
table money, which was paid depending on the position held,
sea ​​allowance, which also depended on the position, but was paid only for the duration of the voyage. At the same time, the sea allowance differed for domestic navigation (accrued from the moment the company began and until the end) and for foreign navigation (accrued from the day of leaving the last domestic port or from the moment of leaving the territorial waters of Russia during inter-base transitions). We note here that the amount of canteen money and payments of naval allowances to naval officers generally depended on the rank of the ship and the place of service, for which a division of salaries into 3 categories was introduced.

1st category - in the Baltic and Black Sea fleets;

2nd category - in the Caspian flotilla, as well as ranks of artillery training, mine training detachments, naval corps training detachment, naval rifle training team, officers of the diving school, diving training detachment, students of the Nikolaev Naval Academy and some other categories of positions;

3rd category - in the Siberian Flotilla.