War Finance’ and the Officer Corps of the ‘New Order’ Regiments in Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich’s War Reform (1663)

Abstract

The article explores the problems underlying the formation of the Officer Corps in 17th-century Russia and how the process was influenced by the financial situation of the time, war reforms, and the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667. The author focuses on the influence that the military and currency reforms of 1654 as well as the counter-monetary reform of 1663 had on the state and prospects for the development of the Europeanized Officer Corps of the ‘new order’ regiments. Additionally, the article studies the appearance of a record of military forces in 1663, an important source on the history of the 17th-century Russian army. Officers’ careers are analyzed by referring to Patrick Gordon’s biography at its initial stage. The author concludes that financial problems, affecting the officers’ salaries, contributed to creating a low social status for new-order officers in the eyes of the Russian elite for a long time (until the early 18th century), which, in turn, impeded the development of the National Officer Corps. It was only Peter the Great who managed to solve the problem.