Turantsev Oleg Yuryevich Biography

We continue to present the cycle of military-historical encyclopedias of the “regiments of the Russian Army” Project of the Red Star publishing house. In our previous reviews, we talked about the three first guards infantry regiments - Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Izmailovsky. In the following issues of the Word newspaper, we introduced readers who are interested in the military history of the Fatherland with two guards cavalry regiments - Cavaliergard and Horse Guard.

Now the time has come to tell about the Life Guards of Kirasir's Majesty Regiment. The history of its creation goes back to the time of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, to the person of which we, as it were, did not relate negatively, but we should pay tribute: Russia is owed to the three guards regiments-Izmailovsky, Horse Guard and Life Guard of Kirasir. Empress Anna Ioannovna became, a colonel of the Life-Kirasir regiment by that, by the same tradition-the chief of this regiment will invariably be the head of state.

It should be noted that Peter the First, who paid great attention to military reforms, for some reason ignored Kirasirov as a family of troops. Peter I, rebuilding his army according to the European model, could not create cavalry in the European sense. There was no money to purchase the necessary equipment and weapons, or a suitable horse composition, or the time to train recruits.

Therefore, Peter I stopped at the Cavalry of the Dragoon type: the dragoons fought both in the equestrian and on foot. Kirasirs appeared in the Russian army only in the year. Field Marshal Minich, who under Tsarina Anna Ioannovna was actively engaged in military affairs in Russia, was directly related to this. On the initiative of Minikh, it was decided to create ten cuirassier regiments in the Russian army.

They were planned to make them elite parts. To do this, it was supposed to purchase excellent horses abroad, order the required number of expensive Kiras armor, take into new connections of the best recruits and train them with horse riding daily. But since the creation of the Kirasir regiments was new and very expensive, in the end they decided to create one such regiment so far.

It was reorganized from the Vyborg Dragoon Regiment, and in the sign of special location this regiment began to be called the "Cirasir Regiment named after Minikh." It was intended for action against a light Turkish cavalry. Like the other guards regiments of Life CiRASI, in almost all wars that Russia then waged. Even as dragons, they fought on the fronts of the Northern War - GG.

In the era of the Napoleonic Wars, they participated in the battle of Preisish-Elau and other battles of the campaign-years, the Patriotic War of the year and foreign campaigns-years. However, the time of Kiirasirov was rapidly leaving. In the year, a cylindrical bullet was invented, which sharply increased the effectiveness of firearms and made pursuit practically useless.

The result of this innovation was the abolition of the year of Ciirassier regiments and the reverse reorganization of the Dragoon units from them. After that, the cuirassiers remained as part of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, the Life Guards of the Horse Regiment, the Life Guards of the Kirasir Regiment of His Majesty and the Life Guards of the Kirasir Regiment of the Sovereign Maria Fedorovna.

That is, these compounds were rather ceremonial than combat formations. And with the victory of the October Revolution, Kiirasir did not remain at all.