Russian Camp Life.

Thames Star, Volume XVII, Issue 5231, 23 October 1885, Page 2

Russian Camp Life.

An interesting article on Russian camp life is published by a military correspondent in the Cologne Gazette. In no European army, he says, is the training of the troops in camp developed to such an extent as in that of .Russia. Every summer more than three«fourths of the Bussian army are stationed in forty»two camps in various parts of the Empire. The train* ing last for from three to four months, according to the climate, and extends to all arms of the service, terminating with the great manwuvres in the autumn. Special camps are formed for the engineers, where officers and men of other corps are often trained as sappers. The most important, though not the largest of the Russian oampi, is that of Krasnoe Sab; it is the camp of the Imperial Guard, and is under the immediate supervision of the Emperor and the grand dukes. The force assembled at this camp consists of 57 battalions of infantry, 67 squadrons of cavalry, and 120 guns, and comprises in all 25,000 men. All the latest inventions in the art of wars are tried there, and from the Czar's country house in the village proceed the orders which in the course of the year penetrate into all parts of the Empire where troops are stationed down to the frontiers of Afghanistan and China. The tents of the men are arranged by battalions, the companies being separated from each other by well-kept pathways. Each tent is placed on an embankment of earth 4ft high, and holds from six to eight men. The men sleep on wooden boards placed on boxes, which contain their clothes, &c. The sergeant has a board to himself; the others sleep two together. The officers live in huts opposite to the men. Each hut has a little garden 5 the oftcers in command of a regiment or battalion are allowed a whole hut to themselves, and those of a lower rank a fixed number of rooms, according to seniority. The dining rooms for the men are airy and spacious, and tb# fo<4 is excellent, Eaoh

meal is prcccJed l>y a by tun, sung by all present. The officers' club comprises a large dining room, billiard room, music rooms, a library, a bowling ground, • croquet lawn, and a shooting gallery. There are also a hospital, a bath house, a field bakery, schools, and a soldiers' club. On the left wing of the camp, are stationed the men of the Ist or Preobrajenski Regiment of the Foot Guards. This is the oldest regiment in the Russian army, and is composed of men selected for their size and strength. The commander of the regiment is the Emperor, and most of the Grand Dukes are on the list of its officers, which comprises members of the \ oldest Russian families. A fter the forma* tion of the regiment by Peter the Great lit became the nucleus of the Russian artillery and navy, and its officer* still hare a boat with a special lag reserved for them in the fleet. Each of the regiments of the Guards has its characteristic type. The Preobrajenskis are distinguished by their size, the Semenoff* skis by their good looks, the riflemen by their being all of the same height, and the men of the Pavioff regiment by their,all baring snub noses. The latter also wear high grenadier caps, + many of which still bear the marks of bullets fired at their wearers in recent campaigns. The best shots in the Russian army are the men of the " Rifle Batallion of the Body Guard of the Imperial Family," and one of the Guards batallions is composed entirely of Finlanders, commanded by officers of the Swedish nobility. Most of the nationalities of the Russian Empire, indeed, are represented in the camp ; Crim Tartars and Germans of the Baltic provinces stand side by side with the Russian dandy of St. Peters* burg and the mrujik of Moscow. The officers of the Guards are selected from the "Pages' Corps," the principal military school of the Empire. One of the most distinguished of pupils of this school was Prince Krapotkin, the well-known Nihilist. His name was inscribed in letters of gold on the marble tablet where the names of the most eminent members of the corps are recorded, but it has now been blotted out.

In front of the camp is a huge plain used as an exercising ground, in the immediate vicinity of which is the village of Krasnoe Salo, where the Emperor and Empress occupy a country house charm* ingly situated in a park. The Empress takes great interest in the regiment of Chevalier Guards, of which she is the head, and she is very popular in the army generally. Although her gay and im* pulsive temperature often makes her overstep the forms of etiquette, she hai hitherto escaped the scandal which attacki the highest personages at the Sussiat Court. She has been compared to Marie Antoinette, whom indeed she resemblei in many respects; but her reputation stands much higher than that of the unfortunate Queen. Tbe officers live very luxuriously, but drink little wine except once a week, when they are allowed to invite guests to their mess ; and gambling is strictly forbidden in their dubs.