On October 1, 1550, Ivan the Terrible issued "The Tsar's verdict on the placement of a select thousand of servicemen in Moscow and the surrounding districts."

With this document, for the first time in the history of Russia, he created an army that had signs of a regular army.

Since 2006, in commemoration of this event, October 1 is celebrated as the day of the Russian Ground Forces.

From vigilantes to archers

According to experts, the history of the domestic armed forces dates back to the Middle Ages, when small squads and militias gathered from time to time could exist in the principalities.

“Later, a local army began to form.

However, by the middle of the 16th century, even it could not answer all the challenges of the time.

Therefore, under Ivan IV, the need for military reforms became acute, "Andrei Koshkin, a full member of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, told RT.

According to him, the Russian state needed troops that would constantly serve, and also have a well-thought-out system of manning and management.

Ivan IV undertook to solve this problem.

“A huge step in the development of the domestic armed forces was the creation by Tsar Ivan IV of rifle units.

We cannot accurately name the day of their appearance, this process took place around 1550.

The rifle army was divided into units that had a standard size, actively used firearms, had a clear management system and salaries, "Koshkin said.

The "Tsar's verdict on the placement in Moscow and surrounding districts of a selected thousand of service people" described the system of manning and supplying a permanent army in Moscow and nearby settlements.

“The decision was dictated by the urgent need associated with external wars.

Similar processes took place not only in our country, but also in other countries, "military historian Boris Yulin said in an interview with RT.

"A step towards creating a regular army"

According to Andrey Koshkin, what Ivan IV created was not yet a regular army in the modern sense, but already reminded it: “This army acted both in peacetime and in wartime, clearly understood how it would be supplied.

The king's decision was a real breakthrough. "

The expert noted that thanks to the actions of Ivan IV, infantry and artillery began to form in the Russian state as separate branches of the troops.

“The introduction of regular elements into the Russian army was part of larger reforms that covered various spheres of state life.

As for the rifle units specifically, they performed not only purely army, but also police functions, and also protected the peace of the sovereigns, "Evgeny Spitsyn, advisor to the rector of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, told RT.

  • Fragment of the painting "Tsar Ivan the Terrible" by V. Vasnetsov

He emphasized that some aspects of the archers' activities were significantly different from our ideas about the regular army.

In particular, according to the expert, in their free time from service, the archers were engaged in fishing and crafts.

According to Boris Yulin, the military reforms of Ivan IV were also notable for the transition to a more active use of personal firearms than before.

“It was a qualitative leap, as our troops were able to use fire fighting normally.

The combat power of the army has greatly increased in many respects due to the fact that new forms of using firearms have been developed, ”the expert said.

  • Painting by V. Vasnetsov "Sagittarius"

As Andrei Koshkin noted, the military reforms of Ivan the Terrible contributed to the strengthening of the defense capability of the Russian state.

This ultimately led to the defeat of the Crimean Turkish troops in the Battle of Molody, the annexation of Kazan and Astrakhan, and victories at the initial stage of the Livonian War.

According to the scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society Mikhail Myagkov, the creation of the Strelets' army, which had far-reaching historical consequences, played a special role among the reforms of Ivan the Terrible.

“It was a huge step towards building a regular army.

The archers had uniform uniforms and were well armed for that time.

They were armed with both squeaks and reeds.

Each regiment had its own numbering.

The system was so well thought out that it existed until the end of the 17th century, ”emphasized Myagkov.

According to historians, Peter I came to what is now commonly called a regular army. He came to a recruiting system in which a soldier is called up for military service, and then he serves without doing household chores.  

  • Portrait of Peter the Great on horseback, painted by the French artist of Spanish origin Louis (Louis) Caravac (1684-1754) in 1718

  • RIA News

According to Andrei Koshkin, the reforms of Ivan IV and Peter I became the basis for those victories that the Russian army won in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. 

“We must remember and appreciate the fact that it was the Land Forces that at one time became the guarantor of Russia's sovereignty.

It is thanks to their victories that our ancestors managed to preserve and develop statehood, ”the expert summed up.