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Discussion

Russian autocrats were sometimes dethroned by coups. In these coups, the Russian Imperial Army played a very important role. This was because the army was not patrimonial but patriotic.

Peter the Great, who created the Regular Army, considered the State more important than the monarch. He disinherited his own son for the sake of the interest of the State. He ordered, “Shoot deserters even if it was me”. The generals of Catherine II, especially Alexander Suvorov, used the soldier’s patriotism as the basis for their morale.

Such a tendency of the Russian Imperial Army anticipated many characteristics of the national army, which French Revolution gave birth.

In XVIII century, the standing armies of European monarchies were composed of mercenaries, who lacked patriotic sentiment. Their main tactic was inaccurate volley firing in lines and their main operation was the siege of enemy fortresses and disconnection of enemy supply lines.

However, the Russian army had already known the bayonet charge under Peter the Great. During the Seven Years' War, Russians used charges of dense columns and light infantries or jaegers with precision fire. In the end, Suvorov adopted the strategy of annihilation of enemy force. An author of the end of XVIII century wrote that Suvorov of the Russian Imperial Army and Pichegru of the French Revolutionary Army used the same method of battle. No army can use these tactics and strategies without morale built on patriotism.

The very patriotism was the action principle of Russian soldiers. Therefore, they did not always prioritize the monarch’s will over what they think the interests of the State.

Without winning the Army’s favor, Russian emperors were never able to die naturally, except for empresses. Peter III, who compromised to Prussia, was dethroned by the Army. Pavel I, who was unpopular among the officers, was killed. Anna was not killed, but the Army arrested her favorite Christoph Munich after her death. Elizabeth took the throne by the very support of the Army. Cathrine II won over the hearts of officers, just because she gave broad authority to the generals. Decembrists planed the high treason, when Alexander I intended the cession of the territory to Poland.

In France, the revolution created a national army, but in Russia a patriotic army created many coups and in the end a revolution.

(Report would be done in Russian.)