| Unit Name: | Imperial Guard Лейб-гвардия |
| Type: | Artillery Cavalry Horse artillery Imperial guard Infantry |
| Dates: | 1683–1917 |
| Allegiance: | Emperor of Russia |
| Size: | Division |
The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (Russian: Лейб-гвардия Leyb-gvardiya, from German Leib "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia. Peter the Great founded the first such units in 1683, to replace the politically motivated Streltsy. The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become an elite corps of all branches within the Imperial Army rather than Household troops in direct attendance on the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the Imperial family and the bulk of the regiments of the Imperial Guard were stationed in and around Saint Petersburg in peacetime. The Imperial Guard was disbanded in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.
See main article: article and Military history of the Russian Empire. Tsar Peter I (later to become known as "Peter the Great") first established the two senior units of the eventual Imperial Guard, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky infantry regiments[1] as part of his so-called "toy army" in the 1680s. Peter later built on these two regiments as part of his professionalization of the Russian army after its disastrous defeat in 1700 by the Swedes at the Battle of Narva, during the early phases of Great Northern War of 1700-1721.[2] He was influenced, too, by his distrust of the Streltsy, who had risen against him repeatedly, both during his childhood (which traumatised him) and during his reign.
In 1730 Empress Anna formed the Izmailovsky Regiment (recruited from her former domain, the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia), out of distrust of the other guard regiments (especially the Preobrazhensky) as a result of her paranoia of losing power. The Izmaylovsky Regiment became the official palace guards during Anna's reign.
The term "leib" was not used until the reign of Empress Elizabeth (1741-1762) during her formation of the Leib Company made up of the grenadiers (especially the Preobrazhensky) who helped put her on the throne.[3]
The Imperial Guard played a key role in suppressing the 1905 Revolution, most particularly at Saint Petersburg on Sunday, (Bloody Sunday). The Semyonovsky Regiment subsequently repressed widespread disturbances in Moscow. However, a full battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment mutinied in June 1906.[4]
During the February Revolution of 1917, the garrison of Saint Petersburg included 99,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard. These were reserve battalions, made up of a mixture of new recruits and of veterans from the regiments of the Imperial Guard serving at the front. While generally still recruited from rural districts, the rank and file of the Guards were no longer the reliable instruments of Tsarist autocracy that their predecessors had been during the abortive revolution of 1905. About 90 percent of the officers of these reserve units were wartime-commissioned, often militarily inexperienced and sometimes sympathetic towards the need for political reform.[5] The overall morale and leadership of the Saint Petersburg troops was poor, although they still enjoyed the status of the historic regiments they represented.
During the early days of rioting in Saint Petersburg, the Semyonovsky, Pavlovsky, and Volinsky Regiments obeyed their officers and fired on the crowds of demonstrators. But on 27 February, first the Volinsky, then the Semyonovsky, Moskovsky, and Izmailovsky Regiments defected in large numbers to what had now become a revolution. Some officers were killed. An estimated 66,700 guardsmen in the capital had deserted or defected within about two days.[6] This mass defection from units of the Imperial Guard marked the end of the Tsarist régime.
During the October Revolution of 1917, the Pavlovsky Regiment, though celebrated for its actions during the Napoleonic Wars, was one of the first regiments to mutiny and join the Bolsheviks; it then participated in the storming of the Winter Palace.[7] Much of the former Imperial Guard was still extant in October 1917, retaining their historic titles, though now their role was that of politicised republican soldiers. In addition to the Pavlovsky, the Semenovsky and Ismailovsky Regiments rallied to the Bolsheviks at a crucial stage in the revolution.[8]
The final composition of the Russian Imperial Guard at the beginning of 1914 was:Guards Corps St. Petersburg District. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Millionaya. (Guards units not part of the Guards Corps were the Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment and Guards Field Gendarme Squadron.)
Guard units of direct subordination as of 1917:
Plus the following were part of the 23rd Army Corps, Warsaw Military District. Headquarters, Warsaw, Poland.
Every soldier and officer of the Guard had the style of the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии...), for example: Colonel of the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии полковник). It is a misconception that the monarch himself functioned as the commander of the Leib Guard regiments, so only he and some members of the imperial family could hold a title of Colonel (Polkovnik) of the Guards. In fact, there were many guards officers in the rank of colonel.
Commissioned officers enjoyed a two-grade elevation in the Table of Ranks over regular army officers; this later changed to a one-grade elevation—first for the New Guards then for the rest of the Leib Guard. Following the abolition of the rank of Major in 1884, most grades below VII shifted one position upwards, effectively returning to those of the Old Guards.
| Grade, Old Guards | Grade, New Guards | Category | Infantry | Cavalry, Cossacks until 1891 | Cossacks (since 1891) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | V | Staff Officers | Colonel (Полковник) | ||
| V | VI | Lieutenant colonel (Подполковник) (until 1798) | |||
| VI | VII | Premier Major, Second Major (Премьер-майор, секунд-майор) (until 1798) | |||
| VII | VIII | Ober-Officers | Captain (Капитан) | Rittmeister (Ротмистр) | Yesaul (Есаул) |
| VIII | IX | Staff Captain(Штабс-капитан) | Staff-Rittmeister (Штабс-ротмистр) | Junior Yesaul (Подъесаул) | |
| IX | X | Poruchik/Lieutenant (Поручик) | Sotnik (Сотник) | ||
| X | XI | Junior Poruchik/Sub-lieutenant (Подпоручик) | Khorunzhiy (Хорунжий) | ||
| XI | XII | Praporshchik (Прапорщик) | Cornet (Корнет) | ||
| XII | XIII | Under-Officers | Feldwebel (Фельдфебель) | ||
| XIII | XIV | Sergeant (Сержант) (1800-1884) | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | Junior Khorunzhiy (Подхорунжий) | |
| XIV | |||||
| Junior Praporshchik (Подпрапорщик); Senior Unteroffizier (Старший унтер-офицер) since 1800 | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | ||||
| Unteroffizier (Унтер-офицер) | Uryadnik (Урядник) | ||||
| Gefreiter (Ефрейтор) | Prikazny (Приказный) | ||||
| Privates | Musketeer, Fusilier, Grenadier etc. (Мушкетер, фузилер, гренадер и т.д.) | Dragoon, Hussar, Cuirassier, Cossack etc. (Драгун, гусар, кирасир, казак и т.д.) | Cossack (Казак) | ||
From the 18th century onwards the rank and file of the Imperial Guard were picked from each annual intake of conscripts. In peacetime most regiments had a selection criteria based on features of physical appearance such as height, hair-colour etc. The purpose of this tradition was to enhance the uniform appearance of each unit when on parade. As an example, the Semyonovsky Regiment conscripts were picked for their height (tallest of the Guard Infantry), light brown hair and being clean-shaven.[9]