Convoy of His Imperial Majesty. His Imperial Majesty's own convoy. Terts and Kuban
Date: 2016-07-07 21:32
The guards of Nicholas II were faithful to the oath to the end. In the footage of an old newsreel dedicated to the family of the last Russian Tsar, one can see a tall Caucasian Cossack with a black bushy beard, in a high peculiar hat, following immediately after Nicholas II, carefully carrying the sick Tsarevich Alexei in his arms. This is sergeant major Pilipenko, the orderly of the tsar from His Majesty's Own Convoy.
The first information about the Convoy in Russian military history is found in 1775, but as a regular unit it was formed in 1828. Initially, His Majesty's Convoy included only the Life Guards of the Caucasian-Gorsky half-squadron, in which Kabardian princes and Uzdens, representatives of the ancient families of Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush, Kumyks, Nogais, and a number of other Caucasian peoples served.
In 1828, a new unit appeared in the Convoy - the Command of the Caucasian Line Cossacks. Subsequently, structural changes repeatedly occurred in the composition of the unit, depending on the emerging tasks. In March 1917, by the time it was disbanded, the Convoy consisted of two Kuban and two Terek hundreds. The 5th Life Guards Consolidated Hundred was formed from representatives of both Cossack troops.
The Cossacks not only regularly carried out military service. Their famous choir was legendary. He was known not only in the capital - the choir successfully competed with the best professional groups, the repertoire included old Russian and Ukrainian songs, and the dancers performed the Ukrainian hopak and the incendiary Caucasian lezginka with equal skill. Among the officers there were many talented artists and poets.
Duty
With calmness and dignity In the afternoon of July 20, 1914, Nicholas II arrived from Peterhof to the capital. To meet the king, a guard was built from the Convoy. The Cossacks already knew about the declaration of war. Their mood was upbeat. After the announcement of the manifesto declaring hostilities between Russia and Germany and the solemn prayer service, Nicholas II addressed those present: - With calmness and dignity, our great mother Rus' met the news of the declaration of war on us. I am convinced that with the same sense of calm we will bring the war, whatever it may be, to the end.
From the first days of the war, the load on the personnel of the Convoy increased. The number of guards increased, the service of horse posts around the fence of the Alexander Palace was strengthened. Now every day they stepped into the outfit in in full force two hundred at once: one in Tsarskoye Selo and one in the capital. The other two changed them the next day. In addition to constant service at the court, the convoys often had to be with the tsar on various trips: Nicholas II went to Headquarters, in active army, to factories. He was accompanied, in addition to the orderly, by a team of one officer and up to a platoon of Cossacks.
Enhanced Security
A year has passed since the beginning of the war. The failures of the Russian army led to a change in the top military leadership. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, the uncle of the Tsar, was removed and sent as governor to the Caucasus. Nicholas II himself became the head of the army. On September 4, 1915, he left for Mogilev, where the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander was located. In Mogilev, the officers of the Convoy settled in the hotel "Paris", and the Cossacks - in the city barracks. The convoys carried the internal guard of the king's residence. In those days when the guard was posted, 8 equestrian posts were sent out in the vicinity of the city. They were on duty around the clock.
The external guards and the guards of the Headquarters as a whole were carried by the Consolidated Infantry Regiment of His Majesty and the Palace Police. In general, the city and its immediate environs were literally flooded with troops and police. More than 1,500 people took up various positions every day. In addition, 20 miles from the city there was another line of protection.
In their free time, the Cossacks visited the city. Some of them managed to start affairs with local girls. The young ladies with great regret parted with the convoys when the time came for the departure of a hundred to the capital. Unlike the rest of the army brethren, the Kuban and Terts were very gallant cavaliers. When selecting for the Convoy, not only external data were taken into account, but also such qualities as quick wits, literacy, and the ability to get along with others. For the slightest fault, an inevitable punishment followed. The worst of them is expulsion from the Convoy. In addition to shame (a telegram was immediately sent to the headquarters of the army, and not only the native village, but the whole district knew about what had happened), the Cossack was deprived of tangible benefits provided after the end of the service.
To the front
From the very beginning of the war, the Cossacks of the Convoy began to receive disturbing news from home about injuries or, worst of all, deaths at the front of relatives and friends. After each such letter, the commanders of hundreds received regular reports with a request to be sent to the army in the field.
On the morning of November 5, 1915, the commander of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred Yesaul Zhukov arrived, as always, for a report to the commander of the Convoy, Major General Count Grabbe-Nikitin. After listening to the traditional report of his best hundred commander, Alexei Nikolaevich asked: - I feel, Andrey Semyonovich, that you are not finishing something. What's happened? What thoughts are troubling you?
Zhukov, with passion and vehemence characteristic of his nature, literally blurted out without stopping everything that he mentally repeated more than once, preparing to report to the commander: - Your Excellency, I ask you personally and all officers and Cossacks to apply to the sovereign for permission to be sent to the front. We will prove in battle that His Majesty's Convoy is worthy of its master.
Grabbe smiled kindly. - To be honest, I've been waiting for this conversation for a long time. Need to think. You can't send everyone at once. If we send even one hundred, we will not be able to fulfill the tasks assigned to us. And what hundred, in your opinion, should go first to the active army? - Alexander Nikolaevich, well, of course, mine is the 1st, - said Zhukov, - M After all, at the request of officers and Cossacks, lots were drawn. The first number went to us, and the second - to the hundred of Tatonov, the 4th Terskaya ...
The day of dispatch, December 12, 1915, fell on a Saturday. A hundred were seconded to the 1st Khopersky Regiment of Her Imperial Majesty Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of the Kuban Cossack Host. General Grabbe gave Andrei Semenovich Zhukov the image of the Holy Great Martyr Erofei, the patron of the Convoy. In the evening, the echelon left for the Southwestern Front, taking away five officers, one sergeant major, 147 officers and Cossacks. "Don't hit an unarmed enemy..."
Three months have passed. The term of stay in the active army was coming to an end. However, due to the lull established at the front, the convoys never once managed to visit a single serious matter. The commander of the Convoy, knowing about the upcoming offensive of the Russian troops and meeting the insistent requests of Zhukov, allowed the 1st hundred to remain in the Terek Cossack division, to which they were seconded, until the end of June.
On April 11, 1916, in accordance with the directive of the Headquarters, preparations for the offensive began. At dawn on May 22, Russian guns began to speak. The enemy did not succeed in revealing the preparations for an offensive by the troops of the Southwestern Front. A hail of shells took the Austrians by surprise. By the end of the next day, the enemy's first line of defense had been broken through.
The troops of General Brusilov began to pursue the retreating enemy. On May 29, the 1st Life Guards Kuban Hundred distinguished themselves by covering the crossing over the Prut River near the village of Vam. Thanks to the courage of the convoys, an attempt was thwarted by the enemy to enter the flank of the main forces of the Terek Cossack division.
On June 5, while pursuing the enemy, the Kuban and the Kizlyar-Grebensky regiment came across a large convoy. An attack on horseback could lead to heavy losses. The dismounted Terek Cossacks, having started a firefight, forged the cover of the convoy. The convoys entered the forest from the other side. Having fired a volley of rifles, they suddenly went on the attack for the Austrians. Those who threw down their weapons and raised their hands were not touched by the Cossacks. In the charter of the field service of that time, special orders were placed: "... Do not beat an unarmed enemy asking for mercy ... When the battle is over, take pity on the wounded and try to help him as much as you can, without making out whether he is yours or the enemy. The wounded is no longer your enemy ... Treat the prisoner philanthropicly, don't mock his faith..."
The battle ended with a complete victory for the Cossacks. The Kizlyar-Grebenites suffered a heavy loss. During the attack, Colonel Markov, acting commander of the regiment, was killed. Andrey Semenovich Zhukov, who had been promoted to colonel the day before, took command as the senior of the staff officers. He handed over a hundred to the Yesaul Grigory Raspil. At dawn on June 7, the convoys, being the vanguard of the regiment, occupied the small town of Suceava with a fight. After a short rest in the direction of the city of Radautz, a reconnaissance detachment was sent for reconnaissance of the enemy, led by the lieutenant Skvortsov.
Soon, from the side where the scouts had gone, strong rifle and machine-gun fire was heard. An observer who served on the bell tower of the local church reported that Skvortsov's Cossacks rushed to attack the Austrian outpost on the outskirts of the city. As the lieutenant later explained, this was the only way to save people, because retreating under heavy enemy fire meant inevitable death.
During this desperate attack, a heroic feat was performed by constable Vasily Sukhina, a native of the Novodzherelievskaya village of the Taman department. In the heat of battle, he noticed that an Austrian soldier was aiming at Skvortsov. Everything was decided by moments, it was too late to warn of danger. Throwing the horse towards the commander and covering it with his body, the officer took the blow. For saving an officer at the cost of his life, Vasily Ivanovich Sukhina was posthumously awarded the St. George Cross of the 2nd degree ... The act of Colonel Zhukov In Radautz, the convoys parted with Andrei Semenovich Zhukov.
Having handed over the Kizlyar-Grebensky regiment, accompanied only by a messenger, he departed to the rear. No one could have imagined that in two days the beloved commander would be gone. He had long suffered from a hernia that did not respond to surgical treatment. While there was a lull, even the officers did not notice any changes in Andrei Semenovich. Always even and calm, he tried by any means to hide his illness. But when the front went on the offensive, Zhukov, like everyone else, had to stay in the saddle for a long time, go on the attack, make long transitions. The disease worsened, began to cause excruciating suffering. Somehow, when he was tormented by very strong pains, he could not stand it and told the Yesaul Raspil about this. The latter reported on command. The doctor sent by the corps commander, having examined Zhukov, made an unexpected conclusion for him: - Mr. Colonel, you need to urgently go to the hospital. Otherwise, I can't vouch for the consequences. To which Andrei Semenovich replied: - And I can no longer be at the front, and I can’t leave the front either!
Only after a written order from the corps commander did he leave for the rear. Impeccable courage and extremely proud, hereditary military man, fearing that leaving the front line in the midst of fighting could be regarded by his subordinates as a manifestation of cowardice and undermine his reputation as an officer, Zhukov committed suicide. According to the orderly's testimony, his last words were: "Leave me alone, I want to pray." A few minutes later, a shot rang out. On the table lay a note pressed down by the clock of the deceased: "Sick. I'm afraid that the Cossacks and officers will not understand!".
Homecoming
For six months at the front, the convoys became related to the Terek Cossack division. Especially with the officers and Cossacks of the 2nd Kizlyar-Grebensky Regiment, with whom I had to look death in the eye more than once. Fraternal warmth permeated the lines from the regimental order issued by the commander of the Kizlyar-Grebenites, Colonel Khetagurov, in the last days of the stay of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred at the front: "Convoys! In all conscience, I must bow before your valor, courage and courage. I observed and was surprised at that calmness, that endurance, selflessness and unshakable confidence with which you went on the attack, indifferently - on horseback or on foot ..." On June 22, the Kuban arrived in Mogilev. On the same day, Nicholas II met with them. The tsar arrived with his son, Tsarevich Alexei, and a small retinue.
The commander of the hundred gave the command: - Hundred, humble, listen to the kra-ul! Not reaching, as it should be according to the charter, two steps, he stopped, famously saluting with his saber in the way that only he could do: - Your Imperial Majesty, the 1st Life Guards Kuban Hundred of Your Majesty's Convoy arrived from the active army. There are two officers, 106 officers and Cossacks in the ranks. Commander of a hundred Yesaul Rasp!
After the report, he took a step to the side, letting the king pass. Approaching the ranks, the sovereign stopped. The Cossacks stood motionless. Weathered, mature and so familiar faces. But Zhukov is not among them, there is not one of the first tenors of the choir, the Cossack Kamkov, whom everyone, including the wife and children of Nicholas II, affectionately called "Savushka" for his wonderful voice. Sighing heavily, Nicholas II greeted the Cossacks. Then he went around the line, asking everyone what the awards were for. - Are all the convoys for heroic deeds awarded according to merit? “That’s right, Your Imperial Majesty. They have not been awarded so far only for the last fights, but the submissions have been submitted.
The tsar turned to Fredericks and the commander of the Convoy accompanying him and asked: - What do you think, gentlemen, if we do not wait for the official completion of the consideration of submissions and present the awards right now?
The adjutant wing on duty was called, who, during such trips of the king, has a suitcase with the corresponding awards. Serbatov and Voloshin were the first to be awarded. In total, 30 people became holders of St. George's crosses of various degrees, and 23 Cossacks - St. George's medals. On June 25, the 1st Life Guards Kuban Hundred arrived in Tsarskoye Selo. On the same day, in the Tsar's Feodorovsky Cathedral, Father Vasiliev, confessor of Their Majesties, served a memorial service for the Cossacks who had not returned from the front.
Gift of the Empress
The Cossacks of the 4th Life Guards of the Terek Hundred also fought bravely. Before leaving for the active army, the empress invited the officers to her place. She warmly said goodbye to them, wishing everyone good luck and an indispensable return alive and healthy. Blessing the officers, Alexandra Fedorovna handed each of them a holy icon and gave the commander of the hundred Yesaul Tatonov the same icons for all the Cossacks. The Grand Duchesses made modest gifts to the officers. Podesaul Fedyushkin managed to keep the gift until his death (he died on August 31, 1958 in New York).
Remembering his distant homeland, his youth in a foreign land, he more than once took out a silk shirt donated by the second daughter of the tsar, Tatyana, and a note: "May the Lord bless and keep you, dear Yuzik! Tatiana".
The military service of the Tertsy took place mainly in the Carpathian mountains. This was one of the periods of particularly tense, exhausting and difficult service of the Cossack units, when they had to operate mostly on foot, like ordinary infantry regiments. 42 officers and Cossacks returned from the front, awarded with St. George's crosses. Several people became full St. George Knights.
Other hundreds of the Convoy failed to visit the front in full force. For Russia, a vague and difficult time was coming ...
"Order them to be killed!"
The tsar spent January and almost the whole of February 1917 in Tsarskoye Selo. On February 22, he left for Headquarters, and on February 23, workers took to the streets in Petrograd. On February 27, the creation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma was announced. The Tsar decided to go to Tsarskoye Selo. For its direct protection, the commander of the Convoy assigned to the letter train "A" the centurion Shvedov, one officer and two Cossacks from the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred and to the train "B" - a team of 14 Cossacks of the 4th Life Guards of the Terek Hundred under team cornet Lavrov.
On March 2, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “In the morning, Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the apparatus with Rodzianko. According to him, in Petrograd it is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems to be powerless to do anything, because the social [ial]-dem [ocratic] party in the person of the workers' committee My resignation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to Headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders-in-chief. By 2 o'clock the answers came from everyone. The bottom line is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to decide on this step. I agreed ... Around treason, cowardice and deceit!
Last words did not concern only a few, including officers and Cossacks of the Convoy. They remained faithful to the once given oath to the end. When the joyful Guchkov and Shulgin departed, taking away the Manifesto on the abdication of the tsar, Nicholas II turned to the Cossacks of the Convoy who were present at that moment: “Now you must rip off my monograms. To which the Cossacks, standing at attention, replied: - Your Imperial Majesty, order them to be killed! The king did not expect that someone in this situation could still remain faithful to him.
None of the officers and Cossacks of the Convoy, who were at Headquarters on March 3, knew why the tsar was not in Tsarskoye Selo, but in Pskov. Around noon, like a bolt from the blue, the news came: "Nicholas II abdicated the throne!".
Colonel Kireev arrived at the location of the convoys. He appealed to his subordinates with an appeal to firmly remember the oath. At 15 o'clock, having learned about the arrival of the tsar in Mogilev in the evening, the assistant to the commander of the Convoy Fyodor Mikhailovich Kireev called hundreds to the city and ordered to put up a reinforced guard in the house of Nicholas II. By 19 o'clock, the grand dukes and officers of the Headquarters, who were at Headquarters, began to arrive at the military platform of the station.
A guard lined up from the convoy to meet, led by the cornet Galushkin. At 20.20, the tsar's letter train slowly approached the platform. The murmur of voices ceased at once, and there was a painful silence. No one came out for five minutes. At last the carriage door opened and General Grabbe appeared. After greeting only the Cossacks, the commander of the Convoy asked Galushkin: - Is it known about the abdication of the sovereign emperor? - Your Excellency, no one believes this! "Unfortunately, it is," Grabbe said softly and entered the car again.
Sergeant Pilipenko, the tsar's orderly, appeared and signaled him to leave. The guard of the Convoy, as always, clearly greeted the king. Nicholas II shook hands with Galushkin, then with the Cossacks. They unanimously replied: We wish you good health, Your Imperial Majesty!
Putting his hand on the hat (the king was dressed in the uniform of the Kuban scouts), he said: - Thank you for your service, Cossacks! After greeting General Alekseev and accepting a report from him, Nicholas II went to the Grand Dukes. Hugs and kisses everyone. Then he walked around the line of officers. An oppressive silence still reigned on the platform. It was felt that those who met were in a depressed state of mind.
Colonel Kireev was waiting at the main entrance to the provincial house of the tsar. The old campaigner, always calm and reasonable, was hard to recognize. He somehow gave up in an instant and looked like an unhappy, deep old man. Having reported to Nicholas II about the state of the convoy, Fyodor Mikhailovich said in a broken voice: - Your Imperial Majesty, all officers and Cossacks are ready to fulfill their military duty to the end. We will not break the oath given to Your Majesty! ..
On March 4, terrible news for many came to Tsarskoe Selo - about the abdication of the king. None of the convoys wanted to believe it. In the afternoon, from somewhere, manifestos about the abdication of Nicholas II and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich came to the Alexander Palace. In the afternoon, the Empress invited the centurion Zborovsky to her place. She said that there was a connection with the sovereign. He asked to convey gratitude to the convoys for their loyalty to his family.
Before the centurion left, Alexandra Fedorovna told him: - Viktor Erastovich, let all officers and Cossacks remove the monogram of His Majesty from shoulder straps. News has reached me that officers are being killed in Petrograd because of them. Please do this for me and my children. We don't want anyone to get hurt because of us.
When this request of the empress was brought to the attention of the Cossacks, the majority, especially the long-term conscripts, refused to do so. By evening, soldiers of the reserve battalions began to appear in the area of the Convoy barracks. The convoys tried to avoid conversations with them, and those who tried to organize a rally were asked to leave, citing the lack of time to listen to them. However, there were no particularly zealous agitators. Perhaps they were affected by the harsh discipline that prevailed in the Convoy.
Soldiers and intelligent-looking civilians in pince-nez and with goatee beards tried to talk to the Cossacks who were serving to guard the Alexander Palace. Met with a gloomy silence or a short - "Retreat!", They stepped aside. Surrender of posts The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant General Alekseev, issued Order No. 344, the first paragraph of which read: "Incorporate His Majesty's Own Convoy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Commander of the Imperial Headquarters, into the headquarters of the Supreme Commander and rename it the Convoy of the Supreme Commander."
For the convoys, this news came as a complete surprise. Someone found out that the commander of the Convoy, General Grabbe, allegedly initiated the order. At the request of the officers, Colonel Kireev turned to him for clarification whether this was true. Arriving personally to the officers, Grabbe tried to convince them that after the abdication of Nicholas II and his brother Mikhail, the only representative of the Romanov dynasty was Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, who was expected at Headquarters. Therefore, the Convoy, being with him, will retain continuity.
With all due respect to the commander, the officers unanimously condemned his hasty personal decision. Grabbe, realizing that he had made a mistake and involuntarily offended his subordinates, asked their forgiveness.
On March 7, Yesaul Svidin and the commander of the Consolidated Infantry Regiment were summoned to the city hall and announced that, by order of the Provisional Government, on March 8 it was necessary to surrender posts in the Alexander Palace to parts of the Tsarskoye Selo garrison.
After a sleepless night, all the officers of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban and 3rd Life Guards of the Terek Hundreds gathered in the Officers' Assembly. Everyone looked painful and tragic. They still could not fully believe in everything that was happening. Before last day there was hope that the situation would somehow change for the better. But the order to leave the Palace killed this last hope.
In the afternoon, the commander of the troops of the Petrograd garrison, General Kornilov, arrived. He announced to the Empress the decision of the Provisional Government to arrest the family of Nicholas II. After the departure of Kornilov, Alexandra Fedorovna, having learned that the Convoy was ready to fight to the last for the life of the royal family, invited the centurion Zborovsky. - Viktor Erastovich, I ask you all to refrain from any independent actions that could delay the arrival of His Majesty and affect the fate of the children. Starting with me, everyone must submit to fate! ..
The surrender of posts and the withdrawal of the Convoy and the Consolidated Regiment from the Alexander Palace was scheduled for 16 hours. The officers again asked Zborovsky to go to the Empress and report that the Convoy was ready to fulfill any of her orders. When he conveyed these words, Alexandra Feodorovna burst into tears. Suppressing her excitement, she asked to express gratitude to all the officers and Cossacks for their loyalty.
Handing over small images as a keepsake, she led the centurion into the nursery to say goodbye to Olga and Tatyana, who were recovering from measles. There was a change at 4pm. Farewell On the last day of his stay in Mogilev, the tsar said goodbye in the control room of the general on duty with all the ranks of the headquarters. The officers of the Convoy lined up on the left flank, and the sergeants and sergeants, along with representatives of the Combined Infantry Regiment, were on the stairs leading to the headquarters.
At exactly the appointed time, the sovereign entered. He was dressed in a gray Kuban Circassian coat, with a sword over his shoulder. On the chest hung only one St. George's cross, brightly white against the dark background of the Circassian coat. General Alekseev gave the command: - Gentlemen officers!
Nicholas II cast a sad glance at those present. He held checkers on the hilt with his left hand with a hat clamped in it. The right one was lowered and trembled violently. The face was even more haggard and yellowed. - Lord! Today I see you for the last time- The voice of the king trembled, and he fell silent.
There was an oppressive silence in the room where several hundred people were gathered. No one even coughed, everyone looked at the king. Excited, he began to bypass the line of officers. However, after saying goodbye to the first three, the sovereign could not stand it and headed for the exit. At the last moment I saw the guards standing in scarlet ceremonial Circassians. Went up to them. I hugged Colonel Kireev and kissed him. At that moment, the cornet Lavrov, a giant of two meters in height, unable to withstand the stress, fell right at the feet of the king ...
Before leaving, Nicholas II decided to once again see the officers of the Convoy and the Consolidated Regiment. Entering the hall, the king silently bowed to them. Then he retired to his study and brought back a porcelain figurine of an escort. Passing his parting gift to Kireev, he said: - I have two of these. I will keep one as a keepsake. Thank you all again. Serve the Motherland as true as before.
Going down the stairs, I saw sergeants, officers and trumpeters. They were on their knees, most of them had stingy male tears in their eyes. The king turned very pale. He went up to them, hugged each of them and, according to Russian custom, kissed each of them three times. He asked the sergeant major of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred, cadet Novoseltsev, to convey to all the Cossacks his farewell greetings and gratitude for their faithful service.
Then, turning to the officers, he said: Please stay here, don't follow me! Of the personnel of the convoy with the tsar, only one of his orderlies, sergeant-major Pilipenko, left for the capital. The new authorities did not allow anyone else ...
On March 9, at about 11 o'clock, Nicholas II arrived at Tsarskoe Selo. The Cossacks of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban and 3rd Terek hundreds, having learned about this, lined up at their barracks without any command. On the way to the Alexander Palace, the tsar had to pass them by all means. After about an hour of waiting, the royal car appeared. Seeing the line of convoys, the driver slowed down without a command. Nicholas II got up and greeted the Cossacks. The answer was loud: "We wish you good health, Your Imperial Majesty!"
This was the last meeting of the tsar, who had already been deprived of his liberty by a decree of the Provisional Government, with his convoy.
In Tsarskoye Selo, hundreds of convoys after March 8 did not carry out any garrison service. Only occasionally they were engaged in drill exercises and every other day they were taken out in horseback ranks for rides. Officers and Cossacks in these troubled days rallied as one.
In Mogilev, with the departure of Nicholas II, Colonel Kireev ordered to return to the country camp again. They also no longer went to the garrison outfits.
Uncertainty
On March 11, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich arrived at Headquarters from the Caucasus. However, on the same day, a representative of the Provisional Government announced to him that he had been removed from the post of Supreme Commander. Convoy's position became even more uncertain. In addition to everything, disturbing rumors appeared about the alleged decision of the Provisional Government to disband the Convoy and send personnel to different units.
The officers and Cossacks unanimously decided that all measures must be taken to preserve the Convoy, to unite all the hundreds in one place and send them to the front as a separate military unit. At this time, the Military Council allowed all interested persons of His Majesty's retinue to resign with the right to a pension and the preservation of all benefits. General Grabbe secured this right for all officers of the Convoy. However, they refused for the sake of preserving the unit and then sending it to the front. At the end of March, permission finally arrived for the departure of the convoy to the North Caucasus.
Hundreds who were at Headquarters were not allowed by the Provisional Government to come to Tsarskoye Selo to pick up their families and property. The new rulers of Russia were frightened by such decisiveness, steadfastness and fidelity of the convoys to the once given oath. The ministers were afraid that this small part, after the story with the banners, could do big things. Therefore, Guchkov ordered Colonel Kireev to send hundreds of Yesauls Raspil and Tatonov immediately to Yekaterinodar.
In Tsarskoe Selo it took more time to get ready. It was necessary to pack the documents of the office of the Convoy, collect the belongings of comrades who were not allowed into Tsarskoe Selo, and help the families of officers and conscripts who were leaving home for the Kuban and Terek.
On May 29, in the evening, officers of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban, 3rd Life Guards of the Terek and the team of the 5th Life Guards of the Consolidated Hundreds met for the last time in their Meeting. Before each stood a small silver goblet engraved with the autographs of Convoy officers. These glasses were made according to the general desire especially for this day. No speeches were made. Fyodor Mikhailovich Kireev, who had arrived from Mogilev, stood up and silently raised his glass. It was the first and last toast...
Epilogue
With the exception of a few Cossacks of a non-combatant team, the entire personnel did not violate the military oath. The convoys did not accept either the February coup or the October coup. During the years of the civil war, they did not join any of the warring parties for a long time. However, driven into a corner by the policy of decossackization, having lost one father, one brother during the mass executions, many were forced to join the Volunteer Army.
In the fire of the fratricidal war, 24 officers, more than 200 conscripts and Cossacks were killed. According to archival documents, among those who died or died from wounds and diseases during the Civil War, it was possible to find the names of Colonel Kireev, all four commanders of the hundreds: the 1st Life Guards Kuban - Yesaul Georgy Raspil, the 2nd Life Guards Kuban - Yesaul Mikhail Svidin , 3rd Life Guards Terek - Yesaul Mikhail Pankratov, 4th Life Guards Terek - Grigory Tatonov.
The centurion Shvedov and Yesaul Lavrov died in the prisons of the Cheka. In 1920, the survivors, together with their families, left their homeland as part of the army of General Wrangel.
P.S. In conclusion of this topic, I would like to add that in exile His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy existed as a combat unit until 1941. In 1941, the remnants of S.E.I.V. The convoy arrived from Bulgaria to form the Russian Security Corps in Belgrade.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Plotnikov - colonel, candidate of military sciences
His Imperial Majesty's own convoy
Throughout the 19th century the backbone of the protection of Russian monarchs were the Cossacks. The beginning of the creation of the Own Convoy dates back to the time of Catherine II, who in 1775 ordered the formation of a military team for her personal protection. In 1796, this team was transformed into a hussar-Cossack regiment, consisting of three Don squadrons. But in fact, the history of the Own Convoy begins on May 18, 1811 245 , when the Life Guards Black Sea Cossack Hundred of Kuban Cossacks 246 was formed. This formation 247 was the personal guard of Emperor Alexander I during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813–1814. 248 Of fundamental importance is the fact that the Convoy was the first special military unit designed to protect the emperor and members of his family.
Under Nicholas I in 1828, the Life Guards of the Caucasus Mountains semi-squadron was formed as part of the Convoy. They were commanded by the captain Sultan-Azamat-Girey, a descendant of the Crimean khans. Characteristically, the mountain cavalry was under the command of the Chief of the Gendarmes and the Commander of the Main Imperial Apartment A.Kh. Benckendorff. For responsible service in the Convoy, the highlanders were previously trained in the Noble Regiment, since they all came from noble Caucasian families. Due to the fact that the highlanders were Muslims, the rules for their education were personally drawn up by A.Kh. Benkendorf. These rules took into account the peculiarities of the mentality and religion of the highlanders. For example, it was prescribed “not to give pork and ham. Strictly prohibit the ridicule of the nobles and try to make friends with the mountaineers. Do not teach guns and marching, trying to get the mountaineers to do this in their free time”; “Do not forbid washing, according to custom, several times a day. Allow Effendius to visit the Highlanders whenever he wishes, even in classes. Observe that during the prayer of the mountaineers the nobles do not interfere with them. Do not interfere with a meeting with fellow tribesmen”; “See that not only teachers, but also the nobles, do not say anything bad about the faith of the highlanders and do not advise changing it.”
Ceremonial uniform of the ranks of His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy. 1910
According to the states of 1830, a half-squadron was supposed to have 5 officers, 9 junkers and 40 squires. At the same time, mountain horsemen played a dual role. On the one hand, they were entrusted with an honorable service in the personal guard of the emperor. During visits to Russia by sovereigns from European countries, the highlanders with their medieval weapons were perceived as an element of “Russian exoticism”. On the other hand, they played the role of a kind of hostage in the ongoing war in the Caucasus. Therefore, they tried to keep the highlanders at some distance from the king. When recruiting highlanders in the Convoy, attention was paid to the degree of influence and wealth of the clan. Preference was given to the Kumyks, Kabardians, Ossetians, Nogais and Lezgins. They tried not to take Chechens into the Convoy.
In the 1830s The convoy was deployed to three hundred: linear Terek Cossacks (from October 12, 1832), Lezgins (from 1836) and Azerbaijanis (from 1839). In 1857 a team of Georgians appeared in the Convoy. It was the linear Terek Cossacks who were entrusted with the responsible task of the constant personal protection of Nicholas I. According to the state, a hundred were supposed to be: two officers, four officers and 24 Cossacks, the uniform and weapons for the Cossacks were established the same as the Life Guards of the Caucasian-Gorsky half-squadron. In March 1833 The composition of the team was doubled and divided into two shifts: one was in the service in St. Petersburg for 3 years, and the second was “on benefits”, that is, in its villages.
Stone-cut figurine of the chamber-Cossack Alexei Alekseevich Kudinov. The company "K. Faberge»
The Cossacks accompanied the king on trips, they were used for guard duty. One of the favorite residences of Nicholas I was Peterhof, in which a Cottage was built for the imperial family, and the park laid out around it was named after the wife of the Tsar "Alexandria". In 1832, a team of line Cossacks of the Convoy patrolled the Peterhof parks, where the imperial summer residence was located. By 1833, a certain order of service had already developed, clearly fixed posts appeared. So, during the protection of Peterhof Park, one post was located "at the house" on the shore of the Gulf of Finland on the way to Alexandria, the other - at Monplaisir, the third - at the Marley pavilion, the fourth carried the daily outfit in Alexandria, "on the news". During the emperor's walks, the Cossacks were placed along the route in advance in order to protect him.
In the mid 1830s. a new tradition was formed, which was preserved until 1917. From the composition of the Terek Cossack hundred of the Convoy, they began to recruit personal bodyguards of the tsar.
In 1836, the constable Podsvirov was taken for the first time to serve at the Court as a room "Cossack cell". It was he who laid the foundation for the tradition of the existence of "personalists" - bodyguards in the person of the king.
Nicholas I in the uniform of the team of guards line Cossacks of the Own E.I.V. convoy
In addition to the Cossacks, the residences of Nicholas I were guarded by guard posts. To protect the imperial residence in Peterhof, two guards regiments were permanently quartered. When the tsar rested outside Peterhof, the protection of Alexandria Park was provided by seven permanent posts, two privates for each post 249 . During the rest of the king in the Cottage, the army guard of the park was reinforced by the ranks of the gendarmerie. According to the memoirs of a contemporary, “not a single mortal was allowed to pass through the gates of the Alexandria Park unless this mortal was sitting in a court carriage” 250 .
By the mid 1840s. the first stage of the formation of the imperial guard ended. Until 1845, the order of service of the Convoy was determined by brief job descriptions. In May 1845, the tsar was presented with additions to the brief rules for military service for an irregular army in the part relating to His Majesty's Own Convoy. Nicholas I personally amended these documents. The rules determined the composition of the Convoy, the staff of each of its divisions, the procedure for organizing and serving during events with the participation of the king. In 1845 barracks were built for the Convoy in Tsarskoye Selo.
IN last years During the life of Nicholas I, the “highest command” established the medal “For Service in Own Convoy”. The order to establish it was issued in December 1850. However, only on January 19, 1855, a month before the death of Nicholas I, the Minister of War
V.A. Dolgoruky informed the Minister of the Imperial Court V.F. Adlerberg. This medal was supposed to be awarded to highlanders, Lezgins and Muslims who served in the Convoy, when they were promoted for long service to the first officer rank - to cornets. Samples of medals were approved by Alexander II a few days after the death of Nicholas I (02/18/1855) - February 24, 1855. 100 copies of gold and 100 silver medals were made at the St. Petersburg Mint. These medals were worn around the neck on the ribbon of the Order of St. Anne. However, very few such medals were issued - 3 gold and 45 silver 251 .
Convoy Service Medal. 1850s
The Cossacks of the Convoy served in a completely different way during the reign of Alexander II (February 19, 1855 - March 1, 1881). On February 19, 1861, Alexander II signed the Manifesto, fateful for Russia, on the emancipation of the serfs. At the same time, he well remembered the fate of Paul I, so it was in February 1861 that the first steps were taken to strengthen the immediate protection of Alexander II.
In early February 1861, the Life Guards Black Sea Cossack Division was merged with the Life Guards Cossack Line Squadron of the Own Convoy. As a result, the number of Own Convoy reached 500 people. They included Kuban (2/3) and Terek (1/3) Cossacks. Along with other military formations, the Cossacks were on guard duty in the Winter Palace. At this alarming time, the guard of the Cossacks of the Convoy, as part of one platoon, was in the Field Marshal's Hall, in addition, a post was posted at the tsar's office (an officer, a non-commissioned officer and two Cossacks) and two Cossacks occupied a post for the night at the tsar's bedroom. During court balls, seven Cossacks were assigned to the tsar's entrance "to take off his coat".
An important feature of the current situation was that Alexander II personally and very anxiously began to deal with issues of his own security. Yes, according to his
from December 20, 1861 “in the hall with a portrait of Prince. Volkonsky" housed 23 Cossacks of the Convoy for the period from 12 o'clock at night until 9 o'clock in the morning. In total, in the Winter Palace in the 1860s. the Cossacks, alternating with the guards, occupied five posts. The Cossacks began to periodically accompany the tsar during his trips to St. Petersburg and constantly accompanied the tsar during his walks in country residences and in the Crimea.
Alexander II in the form of the Life Guards of the Cossack squadrons of the Convoy. Early 1860s
In May 1863, after the abolition of the Crimean Tatar squadron, the command of the Life Guards of the Crimean Tatars 252 became part of the Convoy. It was in this team that Prince Nikolai Georgievich Tumanov served in officer positions. At the end of the reign of Alexander III, he was one of the persons who determined the order of protection of the emperor.
The practice of hostage-taking was partly preserved in the 1860s. Thus, the son of the captive Shamil served in the mountain division of the Convoy, who for decades fought against the Russian troops in the Caucasus. On August 21, 1860, Shamil wrote to the Minister of the Imperial Court from Kaluga: “When the news reached us that the Great Sovereign Emperor ordered to accept our son Mohammed-Shefi into military service in His Majesty’s Own convoy and even showed him mercy by awarding an officer rank, we are unspeakably rejoiced at this ... I bring you sincere and great gratitude for this, for you were the cause of this and helped the end of this matter, and we know this for sure, because you are in honor and respect with the Sovereign, he accepts your words and approves your actions. May God restore your health, this is our constant prayer for you. The mortal servant of God Shamil.
Since October 1867, the Cossack squadrons of the Convoy began to be completed independently. Gradually, a tradition of selecting replenishment of the Own convoy developed, which continued until 1914.
Grand Dukes Sergei and Pavel Alexandrovich (the younger sons of Alexander II) in the form of junker belts and private squadrons of the Own E.I.V. convoy. Late 1860s Photo by S.L. Levitsky
Getting into Convoy was not easy. To select candidates for their own convoy, seconded officers traveled around the Cossack Terek and Kuban villages. Previously, the officers asked the Cossacks of the Convoy whether they knew worthy candidates from their village. The Cossacks-escorts in letters asked the old guardsmen and fathers about this. The ataman and the old men represented the young Cossacks, ready for active service. The station passed judgment. So, on February 19, 1899, the elected representatives of the Shchedrin village assembly of the Kizlyar department of the Terek region, out of 54 who had the right to vote at a public meeting, approved with 39 votes that the clerk Andrei Taran, who had expressed a desire to enter the service in the Convoy, took the 1889 oath of “behavior, moral qualities does not belong to good or harmful sects.” Then the lists of those selected from all the villages were sent to the Military Headquarters. For "guards growth" it took 2 arshins 8 inches (180 cm). This height was not required for excellent horsemen, dancers and songwriters. The Cossacks passed the combat and medical commissions. The veterinarian examined the horses. For service in the Convoy, the horses had to be tall, serviceable and bay. Commanders and trumpeters sat on light gray horses in the Convoy. The trumpeters followed directly behind the sovereign on fine Arabian horses, which were bought from the horse breeder Kotsev in Kabarda. When changing the Convoy after 4 years, the tsar gave signs "For service in my Convoy."
Since there were many Old Believers among the Cossacks of the Convoy, two priests, an Old Believer and an Orthodox, were present at the oath to Alexander II.
The ranks of the Own E.I.V. convoy and the imperial family. 1915
After the sacred prayer, the adjutant of the Convoy announced to the Cossacks about those exploits for which the St. George Cross complained, but he also reported on the punishments imposed on military ranks for misconduct. Then the priests loudly and slowly read the text of the military oath, established by Peter I. Following the priest, the young Cossacks raised their right hand for the sign of the cross, repeating the text.
Circassian front of Own E.I.V. convoy of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. 1914
When selecting for the Convoy, not only external data were taken into account, but also such qualities as quick wits, literacy, and the ability to get along with others. For the slightest fault, an inevitable punishment followed. The worst of them is expulsion from the Convoy. In addition to shame (a telegram was immediately sent to the headquarters of the army, and not only the native village, but the whole district knew about what had happened), the Cossack was deprived of tangible benefits provided after the end of the service. Therefore, there were very rare cases of dismissal without promotion to the officers and with the deprivation of the guards uniform. The offender could not appear with such disgrace in the village, from which then for several years the Cossacks were not accepted into the Convoy.
In the second half of the 1870s. the Cossacks of the Own Convoy began to constantly accompany Emperor Alexander II. First, in country residences during walks. Since 1879 and during trips around St. Petersburg. The grand dukes in this period still led their usual way of life, and they perceived the thickened ring of protection around the king as the destruction in the eyes of the people of the usual image of the king. Here is one of the characteristic diary entries of the summer of 1877, made by the young Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich: “After breakfast, I went to Tsarskoye. Met the Sovereign and Empress in a carriage; a Cossack on the goats, in front, from the sides and behind the Cossacks on horseback, at some distance ... in a droshky. I confess it is painful to watch how the Tsar must travel as a prisoner - and where is it? In Russia itself" 253 .
In conclusion, we note that until March 1881, it was the Own Escort that carried the main burden not only of protecting the tsar in the imperial residences, but also outside them.
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HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY'S Own Escort
The convoy was under the command of the Commander of the Imperial Headquarters.
Location: Tsarskoye Selo.
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Circassian officer of the Life Guards team of the Caucasian linear Cossack army S.E.I.V. convoy. Russia. 1833 GIM |
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1861 February 2. HIGHLY commanded: the Life Guards Black Sea Division to connect with His Majesty's Own Convoy, forming Life Guards 1st, 2nd and 3rd Caucasian Cossack squadrons , moreover, in each squadron there should be two thirds of the Kuban and one third of the Terts. (At the same time, the Life Guards Caucasian squadron of Georgians, Highlanders, Lezgins and Muslims was in the Convoy). Book. Trubetskoy, Georgy Ivanovich, HIS MAJESTY'S retinues, commander (in 1909) Parts that are part of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Own convoy.Convoy, in 1875 were:a) Life Guards Caucasian squadron and b) two squadrons of the Kuban Cossack and a squadron of the Terek Cossack troops. The state relied on the service, in 1875:
The convoy consisted of a team of invalids, including 5 non-commissioned officers and 60 privates. (Project V. M. 1868 No. 377.) Convoys in different years:
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The guards of Nicholas II were faithful to the oath to the end. In the footage of an old newsreel dedicated to the family of the last Russian Tsar, one can see a tall Caucasian Cossack with a black bushy beard, in a high peculiar hat, following immediately after Nicholas II, carefully carrying the sick Tsarevich Alexei in his arms. This is sergeant major Pilipenko, the orderly of the tsar from His Majesty's Own Convoy. The first information about the Convoy in Russian military history is found in 1775, but as a regular unit it was formed in 1828. Initially, His Majesty's Convoy included only the Life Guards of the Caucasian-Gorsky half-squadron, in which Kabardian princes and Uzdens, representatives of the ancient families of Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush, Kumyks, Nogais, and a number of other Caucasian peoples served. In 1828, a new unit appeared in the Convoy - the Command of the Caucasian Line Cossacks. Subsequently, structural changes repeatedly occurred in the composition of the unit, depending on the emerging tasks. In March 1917, by the time it was disbanded, the Convoy consisted of two Kuban and two Terek hundreds. The 5th Life Guards Consolidated Hundred was formed from representatives of both Cossack troops.
The Cossacks not only regularly carried out military service. Their famous choir was legendary. He was known not only in the capital - the choir successfully competed with the best professional groups, the repertoire included old Russian and Ukrainian songs, and the dancers performed the Ukrainian hopak and the incendiary Caucasian lezginka with equal skill. Among the officers there were many talented artists and poets. Duty With calmness and dignity In the afternoon of July 20, 1914, Nicholas II arrived from Peterhof to the capital. To meet the king, a guard was built from the Convoy. The Cossacks already knew about the declaration of war. Their mood was upbeat. After the announcement of the manifesto on the declaration of hostilities between Russia and Germany and the solemn prayer service, Nicholas II addressed those present: - Our great Mother Rus' met the news of the declaration of war with calm and dignity. I am convinced that with the same sense of calm we will bring the war, whatever it may be, to the end. From the first days of the war, the load on the personnel of the Convoy increased. The number of guards increased, the service of horse posts around the fence of the Alexander Palace was strengthened. Now, every day, two hundred were in full force at once: one in Tsarskoye Selo and one in the capital. The other two changed them the next day. In addition to permanent service at the court, the convoys often had to be with the tsar on various trips: Nicholas II went to Headquarters, to the army in the field, to factories. He was accompanied, in addition to the orderly, by a team of one officer and up to a platoon of Cossacks. Reinforced security A year has passed since the beginning of the war. The failures of the Russian army led to a change in the top military leadership. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, the uncle of the Tsar, was removed and sent as governor to the Caucasus. Nicholas II himself became the head of the army. On September 4, 1915, he left for Mogilev, where the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander was located. In Mogilev, the officers of the Convoy settled in the hotel "Paris", and the Cossacks - in the city barracks. The convoys carried the internal guard of the king's residence. In those days when the guard was posted, 8 equestrian posts were sent out in the vicinity of the city. They were on duty around the clock. The external guards and the guards of the Headquarters as a whole were carried by the Consolidated Infantry Regiment of His Majesty and the Palace Police. In general, the city and its immediate environs were literally flooded with troops and police. More than 1,500 people took up various positions every day. In addition, 20 miles from the city there was another line of protection. In their free time, the Cossacks visited the city. Some of them managed to start affairs with local girls. The young ladies with great regret parted with the convoys when the time came for the departure of a hundred to the capital. Unlike the rest of the army brethren, the Kuban and Terts were very gallant cavaliers. When selecting for the Convoy, not only external data were taken into account, but also such qualities as quick wits, literacy, and the ability to get along with others. For the slightest fault, an inevitable punishment followed. The worst of them is expulsion from the Convoy. In addition to shame (a telegram was immediately sent to the headquarters of the army, and not only the native village, but the whole district knew about what had happened), the Cossack was deprived of tangible benefits provided after the end of the service. To the front From the very beginning of the war, the Cossacks of the Convoy began to receive disturbing news from home about injuries or, worst of all, the death of relatives and friends at the front. After each such letter, the commanders of hundreds received regular reports with a request to be sent to the army in the field. On the morning of November 5, 1915, the commander of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred Yesaul Zhukov arrived, as always, for a report to the commander of the Convoy, Major General Count Grabbe-Nikitin. After listening to the traditional report of his best hundred commander, Alexei Nikolaevich asked: - I feel, Andrey Semenovich, that you are not finishing something. What's happened? What thoughts are troubling you? Zhukov, with passion and vehemence characteristic of his nature, literally blurted out without stopping everything that he mentally repeated more than once, preparing to report to the commander: - Your Excellency, I ask you personally and all officers and Cossacks to apply to the sovereign for permission to send to the front . We will prove in battle that His Majesty's Convoy is worthy of its master. Grabbe smiled kindly. - To be honest, I've been waiting for this conversation for a long time. Need to think. You can't send everyone at once. If we send even one hundred, we will not be able to fulfill the tasks assigned to us. And what hundred, in your opinion, should go first to the active army? - Alexander Nikolaevich, well, of course, mine is the 1st, - said Zhukov, - After all, we already drew lots at the request of the officers and Cossacks. The first number went to us, and the second - to the hundred of Tatonov, 4th Terskaya ... The day of dispatch, December 12, 1915, fell on Saturday. A hundred were seconded to the 1st Khopersky Regiment of Her Imperial Majesty Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of the Kuban Cossack Host. General Grabbe gave Andrei Semenovich Zhukov the image of the Holy Great Martyr Erofei, the patron of the Convoy. In the evening, the echelon left for the Southwestern Front, taking away five officers, one sergeant major, 147 officers and Cossacks. "Don't hit an unarmed enemy..." Three months have passed. The term of stay in the active army was coming to an end. However, due to the lull established at the front, the convoys never once managed to visit a single serious matter. The commander of the Convoy, knowing about the upcoming offensive of the Russian troops and meeting the insistent requests of Zhukov, allowed the 1st hundred to remain in the Terek Cossack division, to which they were seconded, until the end of June. On April 11, 1916, in accordance with the directive of the Headquarters, preparations for the offensive began. At dawn on May 22, Russian guns began to speak. The enemy did not succeed in revealing the preparations for an offensive by the troops of the Southwestern Front. A hail of shells took the Austrians by surprise. By the end of the next day, the enemy's first line of defense had been broken through. The troops of General Brusilov began to pursue the retreating enemy. On May 29, the 1st Life Guards Kuban Hundred distinguished themselves by covering the crossing over the Prut River near the village of Vam. Thanks to the courage of the convoys, an attempt was thwarted by the enemy to enter the flank of the main forces of the Terek Cossack division. On June 5, while pursuing the enemy, the Kuban and the Kizlyar-Grebensky regiment came across a large convoy. An attack on horseback could lead to heavy losses. The dismounted Terek Cossacks, having started a firefight, forged the cover of the convoy. The convoys entered the forest from the other side. Having fired a volley of rifles, they suddenly went on the attack for the Austrians. Those who threw down their weapons and raised their hands were not touched by the Cossacks. Special instructions were placed in the charter of the field service of that time: "... Do not beat an unarmed enemy asking for mercy ... When the battle is over, have pity on the wounded and try to help him as much as you can, without making out whether he is yours or the enemy. The wounded is already not your enemy... Treat the prisoner philanthropicly, do not mock his faith..." The battle ended in a complete victory for the Cossacks. The Kizlyar-Grebenites suffered a heavy loss. During the attack, Colonel Markov, acting commander of the regiment, was killed. Andrey Semenovich Zhukov, who had been promoted to colonel the day before, took command as the senior of the staff officers. He handed over a hundred to the Yesaul Grigory Raspil. At dawn on June 7, the convoys, being the vanguard of the regiment, occupied the small town of Suceava with a fight. After a short rest in the direction of the city of Radautz, a reconnaissance detachment was sent for reconnaissance of the enemy, led by the lieutenant Skvortsov. Soon, from the side where the scouts had gone, strong rifle and machine-gun fire was heard. An observer who served on the bell tower of the local church reported that Skvortsov's Cossacks rushed to attack the Austrian outpost on the outskirts of the city. As the lieutenant later explained, this was the only way to save people, because retreating under heavy enemy fire meant inevitable death. During this desperate attack, a heroic feat was performed by constable Vasily Sukhina, a native of the Novodzherelievskaya village of the Taman department. In the heat of battle, he noticed that an Austrian soldier was aiming at Skvortsov. Everything was decided by moments, it was too late to warn of danger. Throwing the horse towards the commander and covering it with his body, the officer took the blow. For saving an officer at the cost of his life, Vasily Ivanovich Sukhina was posthumously awarded the St. George Cross of the 2nd degree ... The act of Colonel Zhukov In Radautz, the convoys parted with Andrei Semenovich Zhukov. Having handed over the Kizlyar-Grebensky regiment, accompanied only by a messenger, he departed to the rear. No one could have imagined that in two days the beloved commander would be gone. He had long suffered from a hernia that did not respond to surgical treatment. While there was a lull, even the officers did not notice any changes in Andrei Semenovich. Always even and calm, he tried by any means to hide his illness. But when the front went on the offensive, Zhukov, like everyone else, had to stay in the saddle for a long time, go on the attack, make long transitions. The disease worsened, began to cause excruciating suffering. Somehow, when he was tormented by very strong pains, he could not stand it and told the Yesaul Raspil about this. The latter reported on command. The doctor sent by the corps commander, having examined Zhukov, made an unexpected conclusion for him: - Mr. Colonel, you need to urgently go to the hospital. Otherwise, I can't vouch for the consequences. To which Andrei Semenovich replied: - And I can no longer be at the front, and I can’t leave the front either! Only after a written order from the corps commander did he leave for the rear. Impeccable courage and extremely proud, hereditary military man, fearing that leaving the front line in the midst of fighting could be regarded by his subordinates as a manifestation of cowardice and undermine his reputation as an officer, Zhukov committed suicide. According to the orderly's testimony, his last words were: "Leave me alone, I want to pray." A few minutes later, a shot rang out. On the table lay a note pressed down by the hours of the deceased: "Sick. I'm afraid that the Cossacks and officers will not understand!" Returning home During the six months of their stay at the front, the convoys became related to the Terek Cossack division. Especially with the officers and Cossacks of the 2nd Kizlyar-Grebensky Regiment, with whom I had to look death in the eye more than once. Fraternal warmth permeates the lines from the regimental order issued by the commander of the Kizlyar-Grebenites, Colonel Khetagurov, in the last days of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred at the front: "Convoys! In all honesty, I must bow before your valor, courage and bravery. I watched and was surprised that calmness, that endurance, selflessness and unshakable confidence with which you went on the attack, it makes no difference whether on horseback or on foot ... "On June 22, the Kuban arrived in Mogilev. On the same day, Nicholas II met with them. The tsar arrived with his son, Tsarevich Alexei, and a small retinue.
The commander of the hundred gave the command: - Hundred, calmly, listen to the kra-ul! Not reaching, as it should be according to the charter, two steps, he stopped, famously saluting with his saber as only he could do: - Your Imperial Majesty, the 1st Life Guards Your Majesty's Kuban Hundred of Convoy arrived from the active army. There are two officers, 106 officers and Cossacks in the ranks. Commander of a hundred Yesaul Rasp! After the report, he took a step to the side, letting the king pass. Approaching the ranks, the sovereign stopped. The Cossacks stood motionless. Weathered, mature and so familiar faces. But Zhukov is not among them, there is not one of the first tenors of the choir, the Cossack Kamkov, whom everyone, including the wife and children of Nicholas II, affectionately called "Savushka" for his wonderful voice. Sighing heavily, Nicholas II greeted the Cossacks. Then he went around the line, asking everyone what the awards were for. - Are all the convoys for heroic deeds awarded according to merit? “That’s right, Your Imperial Majesty. They have not been awarded so far only for the last fights, but the submissions have been submitted. The king turned to Fredericks and the commander of the Convoy accompanying him and asked: - What do you think, gentlemen, if we do not wait for the official completion of the consideration of submissions and present awards right now? The adjutant wing on duty was called, who, during such trips of the king, has a suitcase with the corresponding awards. Serbatov and Voloshin were the first to be awarded. In total, 30 people became holders of St. George's crosses of various degrees, and 23 Cossacks - St. George's medals. On June 25, the 1st Life Guards Kuban Hundred arrived in Tsarskoye Selo. On the same day, in the Tsar's Feodorovsky Cathedral, Father Vasiliev, confessor of Their Majesties, served a memorial service for the Cossacks who had not returned from the front. A gift from the Empress The Cossacks of the 4th Life Guards of the Terek Hundred fought bravely. Before leaving for the active army, the empress invited the officers to her place. She warmly said goodbye to them, wishing everyone good luck and an indispensable return alive and healthy. Blessing the officers, Alexandra Fedorovna handed each of them a holy icon and gave the commander of the hundred Yesaul Tatonov the same icons for all the Cossacks. The Grand Duchesses made modest gifts to the officers. Podesaul Fedyushkin managed to keep the gift until his death (he died on August 31, 1958 in New York). Remembering his distant homeland in a foreign land, his youth, he repeatedly took out a silk shirt donated by the second daughter of the tsar - Tatiana, and a note: "May the Lord bless and keep you, dear Yuzik! Tatiana" ... The combat service of the Tertsy took place mainly in the Carpathian mountains . This was one of the periods of particularly tense, exhausting and difficult service of the Cossack units, when they had to operate mostly on foot, like ordinary infantry regiments. 42 officers and Cossacks returned from the front, awarded with St. George's crosses. Several people became full St. George Knights. Other hundreds of the Convoy failed to visit the front in full force. For Russia, a vague and difficult time was coming ... "Order them to be killed!" The tsar spent January and almost the whole of February 1917 in Tsarskoye Selo. On February 22, he left for Headquarters, and on February 23, workers took to the streets in Petrograd. On February 27, the creation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma was announced. The Tsar decided to go to Tsarskoye Selo. For its direct protection, the commander of the Convoy assigned to the letter train "A" the centurion Shvedov, one officer and two Cossacks from the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred and to the train "B" - a team of 14 Cossacks of the 4th Life Guards of the Terek Hundred under team cornet Lavrov. On March 2, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “Ruzsky came in the morning and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. social[ial]-dem[ocratic] party in the person of the working committee. My abdication is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to the Headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders in chief. By 2 o’clock answers came from everyone. The essence is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front must calmly decide to take this step. I agreed ... There is treason, cowardice and deceit all around!" The last words did not concern only a few, including the officers and Cossacks of the Convoy. They remained faithful to the once given oath to the end. When the joyful Guchkov and Shulgin departed, taking away the Manifesto on the abdication of the tsar, Nicholas II turned to the Cossacks of the Convoy who were present at that moment: - Now you must tear off my monograms. To which the Cossacks, standing at attention, replied: - Your Imperial Majesty, order them to be killed! The king did not expect that someone in this situation could still remain faithful to him. Shock None of the officers and Cossacks of the Convoy, who were at Headquarters on March 3, knew why the tsar was not in Tsarskoye Selo, but in Pskov. Around noon, like a bolt from the blue, the news came: "Nicholas II abdicated the throne!" Colonel Kireev arrived at the location of the convoys. He appealed to his subordinates with an appeal to firmly remember the oath. At 15 o'clock, having learned about the arrival of the tsar in Mogilev in the evening, the assistant to the commander of the Convoy Fyodor Mikhailovich Kireev called hundreds to the city and ordered to put up a reinforced guard in the house of Nicholas II. By 19 o'clock, the grand dukes and officers of the Headquarters, who were at Headquarters, began to arrive at the military platform of the station. A guard lined up from the convoy to meet, led by the cornet Galushkin. At 20.20, the tsar's letter train slowly approached the platform. The murmur of voices ceased at once, and there was a painful silence. No one came out for five minutes. At last the carriage door opened and General Grabbe appeared. Having greeted only the Cossacks, the commander of the Convoy asked Galushkin: - Is it known about the abdication of the Emperor? - Your Excellency, no one believes this! “Unfortunately, it is so,” Grabbe said quietly and entered the car again. Sergeant Pilipenko, the tsar's orderly, appeared and signaled him to leave. The guard of the Convoy, as always, clearly greeted the king. Nicholas II shook hands with Galushkin, then with the Cossacks. They unanimously answered: - We wish you good health, Your Imperial Majesty! Putting his hand on the hat (the king was dressed in the uniform of the Kuban scouts), he said: - Thank you for your service, Cossacks! After greeting General Alekseev and accepting a report from him, Nicholas II went to the Grand Dukes. Hugs and kisses everyone. Then he walked around the line of officers. An oppressive silence still reigned on the platform. It was felt that those who met were in a depressed state of mind. Colonel Kireev was waiting at the main entrance to the provincial house of the tsar. The old campaigner, always calm and reasonable, was hard to recognize. He somehow gave up in an instant and looked like an unhappy, deep old man. Having reported to Nicholas II on the state of the convoy, Fyodor Mikhailovich said in a broken voice: - Your Imperial Majesty, all officers and Cossacks are ready to fulfill their military duty to the end. We will not break the oath given to Your Majesty! .. On March 4, terrible news for many came to Tsarskoe Selo - about the abdication of the king. None of the convoys wanted to believe it. In the afternoon, from somewhere, manifestos about the abdication of Nicholas II and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich came to the Alexander Palace. In the afternoon, the Empress invited the centurion Zborovsky to her place. She said that there was a connection with the sovereign. He asked to convey gratitude to the convoys for their loyalty to his family. Before the departure of the centurion, Alexandra Feodorovna told him: - Viktor Erastovich, let all the officers and Cossacks remove the monogram of His Majesty from shoulder straps. News has reached me that officers are being killed in Petrograd because of them. Please do this for me and my children. We don't want anyone to get hurt because of us. When this request of the empress was brought to the attention of the Cossacks, the majority, especially the long-term conscripts, refused to do so. By evening, soldiers of the reserve battalions began to appear in the area of the Convoy barracks. The convoys tried to avoid conversations with them, and those who tried to organize a rally were asked to leave, citing the lack of time to listen to them. However, there were no particularly zealous agitators. Perhaps they were affected by the atmosphere of strict discipline that prevailed in the Convoy. Soldiers and intelligent-looking civilians in pince-nez and with goatee beards tried to talk to the Cossacks who were serving to guard the Alexander Palace. Met with a gloomy silence or a short - "Retreat!", They stepped aside. Surrender of posts The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant General Alekseev, issued Order N 344, the first paragraph of which read: "The Convoy under the jurisdiction of the Commander of the Imperial Headquarters, His Majesty's Own Convoy shall be included in the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and renamed the Convoy of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief." For the convoys, this news came as a complete surprise. Someone found out that the commander of the Convoy, General Grabbe, allegedly initiated the order. At the request of the officers, Colonel Kireev turned to him for clarification whether this was true. Arriving personally to the officers, Grabbe tried to convince them that after the abdication of Nicholas II and his brother Mikhail, the only representative of the Romanov dynasty was Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, who was expected at Headquarters. Therefore, the Convoy, being with him, will retain continuity.
With all due respect to the commander, the officers unanimously condemned his hasty personal decision. Grabbe, realizing that he had made a mistake and involuntarily offended his subordinates, asked their forgiveness. On March 7, Yesaul Svidin and the commander of the Consolidated Infantry Regiment were summoned to the city hall and announced that, by order of the Provisional Government, on March 8 it was necessary to surrender posts in the Alexander Palace to parts of the Tsarskoye Selo garrison. After a sleepless night, all the officers of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban and 3rd Life Guards of the Terek Hundreds gathered in the Officers' Assembly. Everyone looked painful and tragic. They still could not fully believe in everything that was happening. Until the last day, there was a glimmer of hope that the situation would somehow change for the better. But the order to leave the Palace killed this last hope. In the afternoon, the commander of the troops of the Petrograd garrison, General Kornilov, arrived. He announced to the Empress the decision of the Provisional Government to arrest the family of Nicholas II. After the departure of Kornilov, Alexandra Fedorovna, having learned that the Convoy was ready to fight to the last for the life of the royal family, invited the centurion Zborovsky. - Viktor Erastovich, I ask you all to refrain from any independent actions that could delay the arrival of His Majesty and affect the fate of the children. Starting with me, everyone must submit to fate! .. The surrender of posts and the withdrawal of the Convoy and the Consolidated Regiment from the Alexander Palace was scheduled for 16 hours. The officers again asked Zborovsky to go to the Empress and report that the Convoy was ready to fulfill any of her orders. When he conveyed these words, Alexandra Feodorovna burst into tears. Suppressing her excitement, she asked to express gratitude to all the officers and Cossacks for their loyalty. Handing over small images as a keepsake, she led the centurion into the nursery to say goodbye to Olga and Tatyana, who were recovering from measles. There was a change at 4pm. Farewell On the last day of his stay in Mogilev, the tsar said goodbye in the control room of the general on duty with all the ranks of the headquarters. The officers of the Convoy lined up on the left flank, and the sergeants and sergeants, along with representatives of the Combined Infantry Regiment, were on the stairs leading to the headquarters. At exactly the appointed time, the sovereign entered. He was dressed in a gray Kuban Circassian coat, with a sword over his shoulder. On the chest hung only one St. George's cross, brightly white against the dark background of the Circassian coat. General Alekseev gave the command: - Lord officers! Nicholas II cast a sad glance at those present. He held checkers on the hilt with his left hand with a hat clamped in it. The right one was lowered and trembled violently. The face was even more haggard and yellowed. - Lord! Today I see you for the last time, - the voice of the king trembled, and he fell silent. There was an oppressive silence in the room where several hundred people were gathered. No one even coughed, everyone looked at the king. Excited, he began to bypass the line of officers. However, after saying goodbye to the first three, the sovereign could not stand it and headed for the exit. At the last moment I saw the guards standing in scarlet ceremonial Circassians. Went up to them. I hugged Colonel Kireev and kissed him. At that moment, the cornet Lavrov, a giant of two meters in height, could not withstand the stress, fell right at the feet of the king ... Before leaving, Nicholas II decided to see the officers of the Convoy and the Consolidated Regiment once again. Entering the hall, the king silently bowed to them. Then he retired to his study and brought back a porcelain figurine of an escort. Passing his parting gift to Kireev, he said: - I have two of them. I will keep one as a keepsake. Thank you all again. Serve the Motherland as faithfully as before. Going down the stairs, I saw sergeants, officers and trumpeters. They were on their knees, most of them had stingy male tears in their eyes. The king became very pale. He went up to them, hugged each of them and, according to Russian custom, kissed each of them three times. He asked the sergeant major of the 1st Life Guards of the Kuban Hundred, cadet Novoseltsev, to convey to all the Cossacks his farewell greetings and gratitude for their faithful service. Then, turning to the officers, he said: - I ask you to stay here, do not see me off! Of the personnel of the convoy with the tsar, only one of his orderlies, sergeant-major Pilipenko, left for the capital. The new authorities did not allow anyone else ... On March 9, at about 11 o'clock, Nicholas II arrived in Tsarskoye Selo. The Cossacks of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban and 3rd Terek hundreds, having learned about this, lined up at their barracks without any command. On the way to the Alexander Palace, the tsar had to pass them by all means. After about an hour of waiting, the royal car appeared. Seeing the line of convoys, the driver slowed down without a command. Nicholas II got up and greeted the Cossacks. In response, a loud voice sounded: "We wish you good health, Your Imperial Majesty!" This was the last meeting of the tsar, who had already been deprived of his liberty by a decree of the Provisional Government, with his convoy. In Tsarskoye Selo, hundreds of convoys after March 8 did not carry out any garrison service. Only occasionally they were engaged in drill exercises and every other day they were taken out in horseback ranks for rides. Officers and Cossacks in these troubled days rallied as one. In Mogilev, with the departure of Nicholas II, Colonel Kireev ordered to return to the country camp again. They also no longer went to the garrison outfits. Uncertainty On March 11, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich arrived at Headquarters from the Caucasus. However, on the same day, a representative of the Provisional Government announced to him that he had been removed from the post of Supreme Commander. Convoy's position became even more uncertain. In addition to everything, disturbing rumors appeared about the alleged decision of the Provisional Government to disband the Convoy and send personnel to different units. The officers and Cossacks unanimously decided that all measures must be taken to preserve the Convoy, to unite all the hundreds in one place and send them to the front as a separate military unit. At this time, the Military Council allowed all interested persons of His Majesty's retinue to resign with the right to a pension and the preservation of all benefits. General Grabbe secured this right for all officers of the Convoy. However, they refused for the sake of preserving the unit and then sending it to the front. At the end of March, permission finally arrived for the departure of the convoy to the North Caucasus. Hundreds who were at Headquarters were not allowed by the Provisional Government to come to Tsarskoye Selo to pick up their families and property. The new rulers of Russia were frightened by such decisiveness, steadfastness and fidelity of the convoys to the once given oath. The ministers were afraid that this small part, after the story with the banners, could do big things. Therefore, Guchkov ordered Colonel Kireev to send hundreds of Yesauls Raspil and Tatonov immediately to Yekaterinodar. In Tsarskoe Selo it took more time to get ready. It was necessary to pack the documents of the office of the Convoy, collect the belongings of comrades who were not allowed into Tsarskoe Selo, and help the families of officers and conscripts who were leaving home for the Kuban and Terek. On May 29, in the evening, officers of the 2nd Life Guards of the Kuban, 3rd Life Guards of the Terek and the team of the 5th Life Guards of the Consolidated Hundreds met for the last time in their Meeting. Before each stood a small silver goblet engraved with the autographs of Convoy officers. These glasses were made according to the general desire especially for this day. No speeches were made. Fyodor Mikhailovich Kireev, who had arrived from Mogilev, stood up and silently raised his glass. It was the first and last toast... Epilogue With the exception of a few Cossacks of the non-combatant team, the entire personnel did not violate the military oath. The convoys did not accept either the February coup or the October coup. During the years of the civil war, they did not join any of the warring parties for a long time. However, driven into a corner by the policy of decossackization, having lost one father, one brother during the mass executions, many were forced to join the Volunteer Army. In the fire of the fratricidal war, 24 officers, more than 200 conscripts and Cossacks were killed. According to archival documents, among those who died or died from wounds and diseases during the Civil War, it was possible to find the names of Colonel Kireev, all four commanders of the hundreds: the 1st Life Guards Kuban - Yesaul Georgy Raspil, the 2nd Life Guards Kuban - Yesaul Mikhail Svidin , 3rd Life Guards Terek - Yesaul Mikhail Pankratov, 4th Life Guards Terek - Grigory Tatonov. The centurion Shvedov and Yesaul Lavrov died in the prisons of the Cheka. In 1920, the survivors, together with their families, left their homeland as part of the army of General Wrangel. P.S. In conclusion of this topic, I would like to add that in exile His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy existed as a combat unit until 1941. In 1941, the remnants of S.E.I.V. The convoy arrived from Bulgaria to form the Russian Security Corps in Belgrade. Nikolai Dmitrievich Plotnikov - colonel, candidate of military sciences
From the history of His Imperial Majesty's Own ConvoyIn Russia, the guard was created by Peter I in 1687. The Russian Life Guards grew out of his amusing Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, which proved their loyalty to the tsar during the suppression of the archery rebellion in August 1689; who showed miracles of stamina to Russia near Narva in 1700, when the Swedish king Charles XII inflicted a severe defeat on the Russians; who demonstrated the height of the Russian spirit during the defeat of the Swedish troops near Poltava on June 28, 1709.
The Life Guards of His Imperial Majesty is especially close to him, the best, selected army. The Life Guards regiments became the forge of commanders for the Russian army and navy. They were a kind of practical school, where the guardsmen, mostly from the nobility, went through all the stages of service, starting from the ordinary soldier, and only then were sent to the field regiments as officers. The same Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments sent officers to the grenadier, musketeer, chasseur regiments and peripheral battalions. The Horse Guards Regiment (1721) trained officers for the cuirassier, dragoon, hussar, carabinieri, cavalry chasseurs and grenadier regiments.
The Life Guards regiments were distinguished by high military prowess: the infantry - exceptional activity, endurance, maneuverability, and the ability to conduct a firefight; cavalry - mobility, excellent training in maneuver and hand-to-hand combat; artillery - the perfect art of firing at distant and near targets, maneuvering on the battlefield and bringing military equipment to readiness.
For the greatest patriotism, exceptional moral qualities and military training, the guardsmen were encouraged by special advantages against the army. Traditionally, the Life Guards were divided into old and young (1813). According to the table of ranks (1722), the chief officer ranks of the old guard were two steps higher and older than the army ranks.
In the first half of the 18th century, guards officers had a great political influence, were the driving force palace coups. From the second half of the 18th century, the number of soldiers from the nobility in the guards regiments was purposefully reduced. In the 19th century, the guard was already recruited from the lower classes (trustworthy people, tall and strong). IN late XVIII – early XIX centuries, the number of guards regiments has been increasing. Guards troops are formed in all branches of the military and in the navy. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the Russian guards and Cossack regiments participated in all the wars waged by Russia.
The first Cossack guards regiments were the Cossack Life Guards Regiment and the Donskoy Ataman Regiment. In 1775, by the will of Empress Catherine II, a special team was created from the Don and Chuguev Cossack teams and the hussar life squadron, which made up Her Majesty's escort. In 1796, this team became part of the newly established Life Hussar Cossack Regiment (1796-1798). The following year, the regiment was separated into an independent unit.
"Ataman Regiment" was formed on April 20, 1775 as part of the Don Cossack army. In 1859 he was assigned to the young guard.
In 1811, the Black Sea Cossacks appeared in the Russian Life Guards. The order of the Minister of War to the Kherson military governor de Richelieu dated May 18, 1811 said: “His Imperial Majesty ... wants to have with him, among the guards, his hundred Cossacks from the Black Sea army from the best people, under the command of one staff officer and the required number of officers and excellent people from their own troops ... ".
The first commander of the hundred was appointed military colonel Afanasy Fedorovich Bursak, adjutant of the Minister of War, son of the ataman of the Black Sea Cossack army Fyodor Yakovlevich Bursak.
Ataman Bursak on June 15 gave the order to the commanders of 10 cavalry regiments to select 10 people from the regiment into the guards hundred - "good condition, good behavior, health, height and prominent face." A few days later, a new order went to the regiments: "... and so that people were not alone in the household." The presence of an economy and a family was, on the one hand, a guarantee of trustworthy behavior, on the other hand, the ataman took care of the welfare of the Cossack households, which would inevitably go bankrupt if the breadwinner was absent for a long time. The equipment of the hundred became a matter of honor for the entire army.
On March 16, 1912, Alexander I reviewed, and on the same day, the Life Guards Cossack regiment, consisting of three squadrons of the Don and hundreds of Black Sea men, marched on Vilna, where it was supposed to be in the forefront of the 3 Corps of General Tuchkov, and hold pickets along the banks of the Neman .
The shots of the Cossacks at the crossing French heralded the beginning Patriotic War 1812.
The Guards Cossacks had a heavy share - to cover the withdrawal of Russian troops. They were in the thick of things and participated in all rearguard battles from the Neman to Tarutino. After the retreat from Moscow, the regiment waged a partisan war. With the transition of the Russian army to the counteroffensive, the Cossack guards constitute the vanguard. With the arrival in the active army of Emperor Alexander I of the Life Guards, the Cossack regiment was assigned to be in his guard.
On October 4, 1813, the Life Guards of the Black Sea Cossack Hundred of the Imperial Convoy participated in the Battle of Nations, the Battle of Leipzig, which was decisive in the campaign of this year. in this battle, hundreds of Cossacks saved the Russian, Austrian and Prussian emperors from mortal danger. All hundred were awarded the St. George Crosses.
The Cossack Life Guards Regiment itself fought its way to Paris, where it camped on the Champs Elysees, performing the functions of the Imperial escort and its close guards.
Guards Cossacks as part of the Russian and Prussian guards regiments under the joint command of the commander of the Russian artillery of the Life Guards, General and Cavalier Alexei Petrovich Yermolov, participated in the victory parade in Paris.
After the foreign campaign of 1813-1814, the Cossack troops again began elections for the guards and the hassle of equipping the Cossacks.
Upon returning from a foreign campaign, the Life Guards were infected with revolutionary, Jacobin sentiments, which ultimately resulted in the December 14, 1825 uprising of the Decembrists. Unlike the titled nobility, the Cossack regiments in general and the guards Cossacks in particular did not support the so-called Decembrists.
By the end of the 20s of the 19th century, the Caucasian war that had flared up in the south of the Russian Empire was gaining momentum. Emperor Nicholas I makes a decision with the aim of, as it is now fashionable to say, "image policy" to attract the mountain peoples to serve in his Convoy. On the one hand, the Emperor wanted to show the highlanders that he was not afraid of them and even trusted them with his life and the life of his family, on the other hand, the highlanders' stay in St. Petersburg was intended to show them the life of the empire, to convince them that Russia does not seek destroy them, but wishes friendship and peaceful coexistence. Thus, the involvement of the highlanders in the service in the Convoy was a very far-sighted and positive step of Nicholas I, which later played a positive role for Caucasian-Russian relations. 
On May 1, 1828, the first full-time unit was formed, designed to carry out escort service at the highest court, the Life Guards of the Kavkaz-Gorsky Platoon.
Representatives of the most influential and noble families of the mountain peoples were recruited into the Caucasian mountain platoon of the Convoy. On April 30, 1830, the Life Guards Kavkazsko-Gorsky platoon was deployed in the Life Guards Kavkazsko-Gorsky half-squadron. By this period, the half-squadron already had teams of Circassians, Kabardians, Dagestanis, Georgians, Armenians, and Crimean Tatars. In 1838, a team of Lezgins was attached to the semi-squadron, and in 1839, a team of the Transcaucasian Muslim Cavalry Regiment. With the end Caucasian war the original idea of the Caucasian mountain half-squadron fell away and it was disbanded. Since that time, only Ossetian Cossacks from the mountaineers served in the Convoy as part of the Terek Cossack Hundred.
In 1832, the composition of the Convoy of His Imperial Majesty was replenished with a command of the Caucasian linear Cossacks, formed from eight regiments of the Caucasian linear Cossack army. On April 9, the Supreme Review took place in the Mikhailovsky Manege. A team of linear Cossacks of 50 people, led by Yesaul Levashov, was armed with rifles, pistols, daggers and checkers of the Circassian type. On October 12, 1832, the command of the Caucasian Cossack line troops was officially formed and began to serve.
On July 1, 1842, the Life Guards Black Sea Squadron was seconded from the Life Guards Cossack Regiment and deployed into an independent Life Guards Black Sea Cossack Division.
On November 18, 1856, the team of the Life Guards of the Caucasian Cossack Line Army was transformed into the Life Guards Caucasian Squadron of His Own Imperial Majesty's Convoy.
On February 2, 1861, the Life Guards Caucasian squadron of the convoy was merged with the Black Sea division into the Life Guards of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Caucasian Cossack squadrons of His Own Imperial Majesty's convoy. The squadrons included ¾ of the Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack army and ¼ of the Cossacks of the Terek Cossack army. Mixed recruitment turned out to be very inconvenient, and on October 7, 1867, the Cossack squadrons of the convoy began to form separately from their troops, and the Life Guards were named the 1st and 2nd Caucasian Kuban and the Life Guards Caucasian Terek squadrons.
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the guards Cossacks successfully acted in the battle of Gorny Dubnyak, and especially distinguished themselves in the battle of Lovchey. For this, the 1st and 2nd Kuban Cossack squadrons were awarded insignia for headgear. It is curious that the regimental march of the convoys during this war was Meldelssohn's wedding march, since, according to Alexander II, they went into battle as if they were going to a wedding. 
On December 2, 1881, another Terek squadron was created as part of His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy. The regulation on the convoy of 1881 determined its staff at four hundred: the Life Guards of the 1st and 2nd Kuban and the Life Guards of the 3rd and 4th Terek.
In 1889, a new regulation was established on His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy. The convoy belonged to the Imperial main apartment and enjoyed the rights of the old guard. Under Alexander III, the young guard lost its advantage against the army, and the seniority of the old guard was reduced by one rank. The seniority of the Kuban squadrons of the convoy was determined from May 18, 1811. The commander of the convoy was appointed at the personal discretion of the sovereign. The squadrons were to be completed with officers from "natural Cossacks", and certainly from combat units. The Cossacks were elected from the preparatory and combat ranks.
On March 14, 1891, the squadrons were renamed into hundreds, which became known as the Life Guards of the 1st and 2nd Kuban and 3rd and 4th Terek Cossack hundreds of His Own Imperial Majesty's convoy. The emperor bore the title of "Chief of the Hundreds of the Convoy" and was on the lists of the Life Guards of the 1st Kuban Hundred. The number of convoys in peacetime was determined: 520 lower ranks and 25 officers; in the military: 611 lower ranks and 25 officers.
On December 23, 1894, an order for the Caucasian Cossack troops was attributed: “So that the escort Cossacks chosen for service in His Imperial Majesty’s Own would not be less than 2 arshins 7 vershoks and not more than 2 arshins 10 vershoks in height, and horses not less than 2 arshins 1 vershoks and Kabardian breed. The procedure for choosing a Cossack for the convoy ended with a special subscription, according to which the parents were obliged to equip their son. In escort hundreds, usually two Cossacks were selected from the regiments and one from the batteries. Stanitsa fees (circles) made up special sentences for each selected Cossack in which the applicants were given a description and petitions for his enrollment in the convoy. The teams in the convoy were formed by a special officer who was sent to the Cossack troops to select the lower ranks. 
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian guard consisted of 12 infantry, 4 rifle, 13 cavalry regiments, artillery and sapper units, a naval crew and several ships. During the First World War, the Russian guard suffered irreparable losses, primarily in personnel. The Life Guardsmen shared the tragic fate of the Russian people.
At the height of the First World War in February 1915, the 5th Consolidated Hundred of His Own Imperial Majesty's convoy was formed from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks.
Having existed until 1917, His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy ceased to exist with the abdication of Nicholas II. So, on March 4, 1917, the Imperial convoy was renamed the Convoy of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and on March 13, according to order No. The Caucasian Cossack regiment and send it to the active army with inclusion in the 3rd Guards Cavalry Division "on March 30, 1917, according to this order, the convoy was disbanded.
During civil war from the former escorts in the Kuban Cossack army and the Terek Cossack army, guard divisions were created. After the evacuation from the Crimea in November 1920, the Kuban and Terek Guards divisions were reorganized into the Life Guards division from the Kuban and Terek hundreds. 
Being in exile, the Life Guards Escort Division continued its existence in the form of an association of the ranks of His Imperial Majesty's Own Escort until the early 90s and ceased to exist with the death of the last convoy.
Candidate of Historical Sciences Eduard Burda
Illustrations:
1. Officers of His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy in historical uniforms in 1911 during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the convoy
2. Cossacks of His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy.
3. Cornet of His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy Gazheev Daniil Ivanovich. Bulgaria 1877 Russian-Turkish war
4. Emperor Nicholas II and the convoys at the staff car. First World War
5. Cossacks of the Kuban Guards Division during the funeral of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General P. N. Wrangel, 1927 /
