The leader of the lesson is recommended to focus the attention of students on the fact that, on the one hand, the ongoing military reform is being carried out to ensure reliable defense of the country, to improve the conditions of service and living conditions of military personnel. On the other hand, its success is largely determined by the professionalism and moral and psychological state of the military personnel themselves. This is what the next question is about.
The role and place of military personnel in the successful implementation of military reform
When starting to present the third question, it is recommended that the leader of the lesson remind that the essence military reform is quality transformation Armed Forces. The task of ensuring Russia's external security still remains relevant. In connection with the change in the nature and scale of military dangers for the country, a certain adjustment is taking place in the specific tasks of the branches of the Armed Forces. And this will inevitably predetermine the content and direction of the entire process of combat training and military service.
The main task of containing any possible aggression still rests with Rocket Forces strategic purpose. They serve as the core of Russia's national defense system, a reliable guarantee of its security. And during a period of deep economic and political transformations, including military reform, the role of the nuclear deterrent factor even increases.
In terms of conventional Armed Forces and weapons, Russia, even in the new conditions, has sufficient capabilities to deter a potential enemy from unleashing military conflicts, local and smaller scale. Constant readiness formations are called upon to play an important role in this regard. Ground Forces, characterized by mobility Airborne troops. In local wars and armed conflicts, the importance of Air Force units will increase.
The current stage of military reform is characterized by a large-scale reorganization of the army and navy. There is a massive layoff of military personnel. Many support structures are being withdrawn from the Armed Forces. It is important that all these and other events continue to be carried out in an organized manner, without any disruptions. Main - prevent a weakening of attention to the tasks of increasing vigilance and combat readiness. Under no circumstances should complacency and carelessness be allowed, for modern world unsafe.
The success of military reform and the level of combat effectiveness of the army and navy depends, first of all, on the quality and efficiency of the military labor of military personnel, especially officers. Requirements for officers - organizers of training and education of subordinates, implementers of state policy in the army and navy are increasing significantly. Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Marshal of Russia I.D. Sergeev notes: “We must not forget that the state of the army and navy is determined, first of all, by the state of the officer corps. It is the officers, true professionals, patriots devoted to their Fatherland, who with dignity bear their high title of defender of the Russian land” (“Red Star”, July 1, 1997).
Indeed, it is the officers who decisively determine the results of military transformations. Despite the numerous logistical problems they face today, officers, as a rule, perform their official duties with the highest dedication. The fate of the ongoing reform is in the hands of the officer corps. The quality of combat training and the level of military skill of soldiers and sergeants primarily depend on his professionalism. And the personal example of compliance with Russian laws and military regulations by officers serves as an effective means of establishing law and order in the troops.
In officer audiences, it seems appropriate to dwell in more detail on the tasks of officers in relation to specific units (ships) and subunits.
The attention of officers today should be focused, first of all, on issues of increasing the combat training of their subordinates. Combat training- this is so far the only way to compensate for the reduction in the number of personnel and weapons systems. Combat training, despite all the difficulties with underfunding, must be taken seriously, use training time effectively and save material resources. Combat training, as required by the Charter, must be “the main content of the daily activities of military personnel in peacetime.”
It is advisable to remind listeners - conscript soldiers - the content of the concept “ Combat readiness." This is the ability of troops (forces), units (ships), subunits to begin military operations in any situation and to complete assigned tasks to defend the Motherland within the established time frame. It is the main indicator of the qualitative state of the Armed Forces and consists of many important components (equipment, weapons, organization, discipline, professional skills and much more). It is important to find out how military personnel understand their tasks to ensure it in modern conditions.
One of the most important tasks is - strengthening the education of military personnel. In this work, it is necessary to be guided by the requirements of military legislation and general military regulations, the Concept of military construction, the Concepts of educational work, legal and military-patriotic education.
The leader of the lesson is recommended to briefly dwell on the problems of patriotic education. ON THE. Nekrasov wrote wonderful lines: “Go into the fire for the honor of the Fatherland, for conviction, for love.” The poet very accurately noted that patriotism and readiness to defend one’s homeland are inseparable. The strength of patriotism determines the human dignity of everyone, including a person in uniform.
It is advisable to address military personnel with questions: what is patriotism? Why is it necessary to develop a sense of patriotism among soldiers? What are the ways of its formation in modern conditions?
Patriotism- the foundation on which the strength and strength of our Armed Forces is based. It is the foundation of the moral and psychological character and fighting qualities of the Russian soldier and sailor. Only a patriotic warrior is capable of defending his Fatherland selflessly, until his last breath.
Patriotism presupposes: selfless love and devotion to one’s Fatherland, pride in belonging to a great people and its achievements, trials and problems, veneration of national shrines and symbols, readiness for worthy and selfless service to society and the state. A patriotic warrior is always aware of his military duty and is faithful to it.
Russian soldiers have shown patriotism and loyalty to military duty at all times. The exploits of ancient Russian squads and militias, the soldiers of Peter and Suvorov, will never be forgotten.
On November 16, 1941, 28 Panfilov guardsmen did not retreat before the pressure of 30 fascist tanks, destroying more than half of them. Almost all of them, faithful to their military duty, heroically laid down their lives for their Motherland and did not let the enemy pass. And there are many such examples.
Practice shows that from the level of patriotic and moral education The degree of combat training of military personnel, their discipline and responsibility for service directly depends. Without love for the Motherland and the Armed Forces, exemplary performance of military duty is impossible.
Performing military service duties while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or toxic substances is considered a gross disciplinary offense.
The main direction of work of officers to prevent offenses due to the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel is the social diagnosis of a negative phenomenon.
It is considered as the ability of officers to recognize the prerequisites for the use of alcoholic beverages, identify the causes of their occurrence and persistence, and predict trends in the behavior of subordinates.
The doctor makes a diagnosis based on knowledge human body. Thus, unit officers, when diagnosing relationships, are obliged to rely on deep knowledge of the individual characteristics of their subordinates, use the recommendations of pedagogy and psychology, take into account their service experience, and accumulated practice in uniting military teams.
The goals of the diagnostic stage of work are: identifying the degree of alcohol dependence, the reasons for drinking alcohol, desires and independent attempts to stop drinking, the nature of the influence on military personnel of various social groups and individuals, conditions that provoke cravings for alcohol, etc. The result of such a study of the individual and the social environment is a diagnosis, on the basis of which the goals, means and methods of social work are selected.
In the interest of diagnosing behavior, the following methods are used:
- observation,
- document analysis,
- sociological survey.
No less important in terms of preventing drunkenness and alcoholism are social therapy activities, which involve solving such problems as the formation of anti-alcohol public opinion in military groups, intolerance towards drunkards, correction social structure military units.
Organizational forms of work to prevent drunkenness consist in exercising strict control over military personnel who are prone to drinking alcohol on the part of commanders, limiting their access to alcohol, creating spatio-temporal barriers to drinking, especially during working hours, using various types of sanctions against persons prone to drinking alcoholic beverages, and the like.
When working with persons prone to drinking alcohol, officers must follow a number of rules.
Firstly, do not conduct consultations, pedagogical and psychological activities with persons who are intoxicated.
Secondly, carry out psychocorrective actions only with military personnel who express a desire to change. Otherwise, organizational and social measures will be more effective.
Thirdly, remember that not a single person admits to being an alcoholic voluntarily, so one should expect resistance on the part of the latter when conducting psychodiagnostic and psychocorrectional measures with him.
Fourthly, to cure an alcoholic, it is not enough to arouse his aversion to alcohol; it is necessary to create a microenvironment around him that would encourage his sobriety in every possible way, support his efforts in the fight against alcohol addiction, and put up barriers to relapse.
Fifthly, understand and explain to officials that alcoholism is a persistent disease of the whole organism, nervous system, the human psyche, that it is impossible to heal by order of the commander or through the use exclusively of coercive measures and punishment.
Thus, the prevention of alcoholism in military units consists of a complex of organizational, social, psychological, pedagogical and medical measures. It consists of timely identification and assessment of facts of alcohol abuse by military personnel, creation of social and organizational barriers to the development of this negative phenomenon, provision of medical and psychological assistance to patients, qualified explanation to military personnel and members of their families of the physical, psychological and social consequences of drunkenness and alcoholism, one in a word, it is better to get to know a person.
In this regard, the study of autobiographical data, characteristics from the place of work or study, from military commissariats helps; educational documents; materials professional selection; medical books; service cards.
But the most reliable data comes, of course, from personal communication with subordinates. With a skillful conversation, it is possible to reveal the true experiences of a serviceman, his opinion about the state of affairs in the team, about colleagues, about commanders. The results of the conversation help to form a more complete picture of the warrior, on the basis of which individual educational work with him is built.
The best effect is achieved by the integrated use of various methods for studying the individual characteristics of a military personnel.
Get the information you need in a concise and effective way allows survey of military personnel. This is one of the most important methods for diagnosing their behavior.
In the interests of identifying those prone to drinking alcohol, it is necessary to interview all categories of military personnel in the unit.
It is also important to know their mood, readiness, ability and ability to serve. The survey is conducted in the form of an interview. You need to ask, as if consulting with your interlocutor.
Observation is the purposeful perception of the behavioral characteristics of a soldier in order to identify a predisposition to drink alcohol.
During its course, the characteristics of a serviceman’s behavior in various situations of his official activity, in an informal setting, are recorded. Observation must be systematic and targeted. It allows you to see and record changes, the dynamics of development of behavioral characteristics, and helps to study hidden processes in the military team.
Analysis of documents allows us to make an assumption about the tendency of some military personnel to change behavior. In combination with the observation method and other methods of identifying a predisposition to hazing, it gives a positive result.
Officers are required to get to know each member of the unit literally from the first day of his service. Try to find out in what conditions the serviceman grew up and was brought up before joining the army, what habits he developed, and whether there are any negative ones among them. In a word, it is necessary to see subordinates as they really are, with all their strengths and weaknesses of character, everyday worries and needs.
In everyday communication with subordinates, carefully take into account their established character traits and habits. Particularly difficult are relationships with military personnel with uncertain or unstable views on life, military service, friendship and camaraderie. They, as a rule, do not have their own opinion. They focus on a stronger personality. The officer should become an example for them. Strict exactingness, debunking the negative habits of both themselves and those whom they consider leaders, constant personal control, public condemnation of hazing actions related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages - this is the way to combat drunkenness and alcoholism.
Solving the main tasks of preventing offenses due to the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel is impossible without radically strengthening military discipline and ensuring high discipline.
A prerequisite for such activity is an assessment of its condition.
It must be built taking into account the following requirements.
The first requirement. Organizational and educational work to ensure the discipline of military personnel must be carried out exclusively on the basis of laws and in the name of their implementation, the requirements of the military oath, general military regulations, manuals, instructions, orders of commanders and superiors.
Requirement two. The need for a clear organization of combat training and service, life and leisure of personnel in strict accordance with the statutory provisions, as well as a strict distribution of official and service functions between performers.
Requirement three. It is associated with the development of the ability of the military collective to analyze and evaluate from the standpoint of statutory norms and rules of behavior of both each serviceman individually and the unit, crew, and crew as a whole.
Requirement four. Purposefulness, activity, constancy and consistency of disciplinary influences on the individual on the part of commanders and the army public.
Requirement five. Decisive and uncompromising struggle in a unit, in a unit, with persons prone to drinking alcohol.
Systematic individual educational work carried out by unit officers allows for comprehensive measures aimed at preventing offenses committed by military personnel due to the use of alcoholic beverages.
A special place in the system of preventing drunkenness and alcoholism among military personnel is occupied by their legal education.
This is a purposeful and systematic influence on consciousness, feelings and psychology in order to form stable legal ideas, beliefs and feelings among military personnel, instilling in them a high legal culture, skills and habits of active lawful behavior.
Legal education contributes to the development of high discipline, unquestioning obedience, and strengthening military camaraderie.
Work to prevent drunkenness and alcoholism among personnel of the Armed Forces should be carried out in a differentiated manner, with military discipline playing the main role in this process.
The place and significance of this process in military education are determined primarily by the fact that we are talking about instilling in a serviceman one of the most important qualities, without which the personality of a warrior is unthinkable, the specific activities of the army and navy are the concept of discipline as a military duty.
Military education, as it were, reveals the essence of the components of military discipline, aims personnel at exact and strict observance of the military oath and military regulations, and, in conjunction with training, ensures the implementation of their specific requirements.
This unified educational process is designed to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of the statutory order.
The educational process is a form of training, which is a specially organized interaction between members of a small group, in which an impact is carried out aimed at personal development, promoting the personal growth of a serviceman and maximizing the use of his potential in life and career.
Taking this into account, by order of the Minister of Defense Russian Federation The Regulations on working with personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were put into effect. This document provides for the implementation of measures to maintain high morale and psychological stability of troops, combat duty and various types of combat training activities in the troops and subordinate military units.
In order to increase the role of sergeants (squad commanders in units) in the prevention of negative phenomena, including offenses due to the use of alcoholic beverages, it is advisable to consider the issue of training and appointing military personnel called up for service on a contract basis to the position of squad commanders.
Everything must be done to ensure that junior commanders are the officer’s support. They must constantly be with their subordinates and fully perform their job duties.
Due to the fact that many conflict situations arise due to dissatisfaction with the life of personnel, the efforts of the officers of the units should be concentrated on maintaining the statutory military order, achieving timely and complete satisfaction with everything necessary according to established standards.
A cohesive military team has a significant impact on solving combat training tasks, strengthening military discipline and organization.
Success is brought not by random events, not by an emergency method, when other commanders take on restoring order only after a series of violations - the consumption of alcoholic beverages by military personnel, but by constant, purposeful, carefully planned work, coordinated efforts of the entire command, engineering and technical staff, and educational structures.
Only it allows us to comprehensively solve the problems of preventing offenses based on the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel, as well as actively influence all the components that ensure the achievement of strong military discipline.
Special issue “Officer of the Armed Forces in modern Russian society”
Kepel O.V.
THE ROLE OF OFFICERS IN MAINTAINING MILITARY DISCIPLINE: HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS
The history of military development shows that the main burden of ensuring discipline in the army was borne by command cadres, and, above all, by officers. In this article, the author presents the results of a study of the activities of officers in maintaining discipline in the Russian army from 1874 to 1914.
Until the middle of the 19th century. the domestic officer corps was formed mainly due to noble class. Subsequently, in connection with the abolition of class restrictions, representatives of commoners joined it. Before the First World War, the Russian cadre officers were all-class in origin1. A common type of officer during this period was a hereditary military man (in many cases a hereditary nobleman), wearing shoulder straps from the age of ten, who came to the school from cadet corps and brought up in the spirit of boundless devotion to the throne and fatherland.
The system of training officers in Russia fully met the requirements of the time, as a result of which, until the revolution of 1917, the attitude towards officers in Russian society, although shaken in late XIX century, remained quite honorable, and the quality of the officer corps was maintained at a level not inferior to the level of other professional groups that together form the cultural layer of the country.
Developed and implemented in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The education and upbringing system contributed to the fact that the quality of training of officers of the Russian army before the First World War was not inferior to the level of education in the armies of European states. The moral and psychological state of university graduates was also high. A former cadet at the Pavlovsk School, Olkhovsky, recalled: “After being promoted to officer, serving in the regiment seemed quite easy to me... I had to complete my education, but not re-educate”2.
The entire ideological machine of the state, military legislation, traditions, and the environment contributed to the formation of a highly moral officer. The officers, brought up in the concepts of knightly honor, cherished the honor of their uniform, the honor of the regiment, and their personal honor like the apple of their eye. The guardian of officer honor was the court of honor in each regiment.
The officers were educated and educated the army and navy in the consciousness that the army is not only the defender of the Fatherland from external enemies, but also the support of the tsarist system from internal enemies.
Due to the reduction in the service life of lower ranks, the role of officers in the training and education of subordinates is changing. At a time when a soldier served in the army for 25 years, the main job of an officer was to “die in war.” However, at the beginning of the 20th century, and especially after the Russo-Japanese War, officers became “hard workers.” It took a lot of work to transform a semi-literate recruit into a mentally and physically developed and morally strong warrior over three years of military service.
In the disciplinary practice of those years, commanders had at their disposal three main methods of establishing statutory order in their assigned units: the method of coercion, based on the unconscious fear “of the arbitrariness of an individual commander”3; a method of coercion based on fear “of the known law”4, a method of persuasion based on morality and a conscious attitude towards one’s military duty.
The first method, which existed contrary to military law, was inherited from the serfdom era of Nicholas I. Proponents of this method of strengthening discipline were generals and officers - opponents of everything new and progressive. Contrary to the progressive principles of education enshrined in the regulations, they still proceeded from the fact that discipline in the army should be based on the fear of punishment, and considered the main forms of strengthening it to be putting under arms, a punishment cell, corporal punishment, etc.
However, from the late 80s - early 90s of the XIX century. the situation began to change. At the initiative of the Kyiv Military District, a movement began against this phenomenon. District Commander M.I. Dragomirov, in order No. 319 of October 27, 1889, noted: “In some units they are fighting. Please remember that the Disciplinary Charter states what penalties can be imposed on lower ranks, and which penalties no one else can impose. I recommend that hunters familiarize themselves with Vol. XXII of the Code of V.P. before hand execution. 1867, art. 185, from which they will reveal what
they can expect in the future, if they allow themselves to write their own next to the disciplinary regulations”5.
Gradually, “fist reprisals” began to cease, especially after 1904, when corporal punishment in the army was finally abolished - simultaneously with the abolition of flogging by sentences of volost courts. “Fist violence has become the wrong side of barracks life - hidden, condemned and persecuted. In any case, by the time great war assault, where it existed among us, was only a sick relic of an outdated system and an outdated custom.”6
Improvement legislative framework military discipline, the creation of a system of law enforcement agencies presupposed the use of the method of coercion in the disciplinary practice of the Russian army, applied to those individuals who violated “...the rules prescribed by military laws.”
In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Thanks to the efforts of state and military bodies, the best representatives of the officer corps, the most important method of maintaining military discipline in the army is the method of persuasion. Military discipline is beginning to be strengthened through the moral education of military personnel and the formation of a conscious attitude towards fulfilling their official duty.
In the top leadership of the country and the army, the prevailing opinion was that corporal punishment, and especially illegal ones, are not the maintenance of discipline, but, on the contrary, represent “in highest degree its relaxing element.” Gradually, “stick discipline” became a thing of the past and was replaced by discipline based on legal consciousness and morality.
In accordance with the law, officers could be subject to both disciplinary sanctions related to the specifics of military service and punishment under ordinary criminal law on an equal basis with representatives of other groups of the population. By 1914, the following disciplinary sanctions could be imposed on officers: 1) remarks and reprimands, announced verbally or in an order; 2) comments and reprimands announced at a meeting of officers; 3) comments and reprimands announced in the order; 4) house arrest or arrest with detention in a guardhouse for up to one month; 5) non-recognition of officers and civil officials for vacancies or for length of service, pending the approval of their superiors; removal from office or command of a unit.
In general, at this time the officers as a whole were highly disciplined. This is evidenced by objective statistical data. The number of officers put on trial was insignificant, especially if we take the ratio of the number of officers tried to their total number for the relevant years. So in 1825-1850. There was one defendant per 213 officers on average. In 1881-1885 - for 222 officers, in 1886-1890. - at 326 and in 1891-1894. - for 411 officers. At the beginning of the 20th century. it increased slightly: in 1910, 245 officers were on trial (0.6% of them total number), in 1911 - 317 (0.8%)8.
As is clear from the data, for decades the number of officers subjected to serious punishment (related to imprisonment, exile) remained very small and usually did not exceed 2-3 dozen cases per year. Even short-term arrests with detention in a guardhouse or in prison departments amounted to several dozen cases.
Thus, it can be stated that in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The officer corps as a whole met the level of the tasks facing it; it was assigned a decisive role in the process of strengthening military discipline. At the same time, there were a number of factors that reduced the effectiveness of officer work.
One of them was insufficient material and financial support for officers. Since the middle of the 19th century. “the officer’s salary was miserable” (N. Obruchev), his spirit was constantly undermined by “daily everyday need and deprivation of his family” (A. Gerua). There was a catastrophic lack of money for living and needs corresponding to the high status of an officer and his hard work. Thus, a second lieutenant of the Russian army at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries received only 600 rubles a year, i.e. significantly less than the salary of a skilled worker (3 rubles per day). The company commander received 1,200, and the battalion commander - 1,740 rubles per year9.
The disastrous financial situation of the average officer corps had a negative impact on the moral climate among officers, on the attitude of officers to service, the training and education of subordinates, the level of combat readiness of troops, and the state of military discipline.
The fact that not all was well among the officers is also evidenced by the results of a survey of commanders’ opinions. high level(generals, from the brigade chief and above) about the state of military discipline and law and order and me-
work to strengthen it, carried out by the Committee on the Education and Organization of Troops in 1907 10
Among the reasons negatively affecting the state of military discipline, the highest ranks of the army named the following: the decline in the prestige of officer service; decline in the intellectual, moral and business levels of officers; lack of advancement among officers in the service, hence the general apathy; difficult financial conditions of officers; impunity of top bosses; the cowardice of some officers in " Time of Troubles"; the superiors' predilection for certain officers, love of subservience and external servility, intolerance towards people with independent character; drunkenness among officers; decreased morale of the officer corps; the problem of high staff turnover of staff officers in regiments; the tendency of “false pride and anti-discipline” among young officers; aging of the officer corps; inequality of discipline requirements for junior officers and generals; flaws in the award system: a significant part of the awards during the Russo-Japanese War were incorrect, unfair, immoral, and their number was prohibitively large; the lack of good combat experience among many senior leaders, which subsequently helps commanders maintain the proper state of discipline and order, etc. Many senior military leaders quite rightly believed that the decline in discipline among the lower ranks during the first Russian Revolution was undoubtedly a direct consequence of the decline in discipline among officers.
The result of the influence of negative trends was the fact that the outflow of officers from the army consistently exceeded its replenishment. This led to a constant shortage of officers. So in 1897, 3,700 officers left the army, 3,415 entered, i.e. 7.71% less! This especially affected the combat units, where, in fact, the power of the army was formed. There was a massive departure from the army of young officers who did not see any prospects for their service. Calculations carried out by A. Gerua showed that only in cavalry units for the period 1896 - 1906. 2,526 college graduates arrived for service, and 1,169 (43.5%)11 left, with the bulk leaving combat units.
The leadership of the military department knew about these problems and tried to solve them. But as subsequent events showed, they were never completely eliminated.
Non-commissioned officers played an important role in the system of maintaining military discipline, along with officers. To prepare competent, disciplined and demanding non-commissioned officers, fireworksmen and sergeants, in the opinion of the leadership of the Military Department, meant in many ways solving the complex problems of training and educating army soldiers. “My long-term practice shows,” wrote A.F. Roediger - that a non-commissioned officer must be a teacher of a soldier, therefore, he himself must firmly know the basic information about the service, weapons, which he must teach - he must be the first soldier. Without good non-commissioned officers we will get an army without teachers, and one can fear that an increase in the size of the army will be done to the detriment of its quality.”12
Realizing that a good commander can be one who serves for a long time, the authorities and the army command took measures to retain non-commissioned officers in long-term service. “Long service is desirable for a non-commissioned officer; we can assume that after three years he is just
begins to be useful as a teacher and educator.” The leadership of the Military Department, interested in a strong and well-trained non-commissioned officer cadre, demanded that military commanders pay due attention to the selection of junior commanders and the staffing of units with them14.
As a result of the measures taken at the end of the 19th century. the troops had about 10 thousand non-commissioned officers in long-term service15. However, a comparison of the number of conscripts in Russia and European armies was clearly not in our favor. Thus, in Germany there were about 12 per company, in France - 6, in the Austro-Hungarian Army -3, and in Russia only 2 long-term non-commissioned officers16.
The subject of concern for the military administration was the training of junior commanders, which was carried out in higher or regimental schools for training
training of non-commissioned officers.
In the troops, non-commissioned officers bore the main burden in individual training of the soldier, as well as in his upbringing, instilling service skills and discipline. That's why they played in the army main role in molding the recruit and turning him into a soldier. The Internal Service Charter of 1910 defined the status of a non-commissioned officer as follows: “With the current development of rifle combat, platoon non-commissioned officers, detached commanders, must be valid
heads of the lower ranks subordinate to them." There, the duties of the detached commander, platoon non-commissioned officer and sergeant major were described in some detail and thoroughly. Military regulations provided significant dis-
disciplinary powers for non-commissioned officers. In particular, the sergeant major could subject a soldier to arrest for a period of one day.
The most numerous objects of disciplinary action by commanders of all levels were the lower ranks. It was they who, first of all, determined the state of discipline in the troops.
Military reforms second half of the 19th century- beginning of the 20th century led to a reduction in the period of active conscription service, the abolition of corporal punishment, changed the psychology of the common soldier, and placed higher demands on his military training and discipline.
We find important information about the peculiarities of the service of lower ranks in the memoirs of A.I. Denikin “The Old Army”19. Their study allows us to draw a number of conclusions about the quality of the conscript contingent in the Russian army on the eve of the First World War.
Firstly, the army during this period remained predominantly peasant. Before the war, the contingent of lower ranks was 1,350 thousand, and the annual conscription was 450 thousand people.
Secondly, despite previously taken measures, there was a high percentage of illiterate recruits among recruits (in Germany in the years preceding the First World War, less than 1% of illiterate recruits arrived, in France - 2-3, in Russia - about 45%), which forced “The command staff spend a lot of effort and time on the work that the school teacher was doing for the neighbors.”
Thirdly, the Russian soldier was exceptionally hardy, but was distinguished by a complete lack of ideas about sports. “A strongman - bending horseshoes - cannot pull himself up 5-6 steps up an inclined staircase: sweat rolls in hail, the “4th term” bursts at the seams, and lowers his overweight body helplessly and guiltily.”
Fourthly, the conscript was distinguished by a complete lack of qualities necessary for military service. “With few exceptions, young soldiers came to the barracks in the full sense of the word “raw.”
Fifthly, the political unreliability of the lower ranks was obvious. “Reports from the military censorship on soldiers’ moods and excerpts from letters from the war often contained signs of great observation and psychological analysis ongoing events; and at the same time, unclear signs of the approaching - alarming and dark. "
Sixthly, military service, even after the terms were reduced to 3-4 years, was only a heavy duty for the majority of soldiers. The reason for this, in my opinion, is
Thus, the analysis of the moral and business qualities of military personnel of the Russian army in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. indicates that while the officer corps generally satisfied the requirements of military discipline, the moral and psychological state of the lower ranks left much to be desired. This caused certain difficulties in the process of the officers’ work to restore order and organization in the troops. Nevertheless, at critical moments for the country, Russian soldiers, like officers, showed themselves with the best side. Historical materials convincingly indicate that in the shameful outcome of the war Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 Russian soldiers, sailors and most officers were not to blame. On the battlefields they showed exceptional courage, self-sacrifice and heroism, and loyalty to their military duty. The army remained faithful to the autocracy during the revolutionary events of 1905-1907. The crisis of autocracy in Russia and political agitation undermined the discipline of the lower ranks of the army, which ultimately led to its disintegration.
The study of the level of moral and psychological state and discipline of officers and lower ranks in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, the comprehension and critical processing of the historical experience of military education of military personnel made it possible to draw a number of lessons from it.
First lesson. The political leadership of the country must understand that only a real change in attitude towards a serving person, respect for his personality and selfless service to the Fatherland, concern for his material well-being can raise the prestige of military service and strengthen law and order in the troops.
Lesson two. Historical experience teaches that the effectiveness of work to strengthen military discipline depends to a great extent on the availability of Armed Forces a coherent system of military command and control bodies and officials bearing direct responsibility for the state of organization and order in the troops. In this regard, the state’s concern for the formation, training and education of command personnel of the Armed Forces is of paramount importance today. As soon as the leadership of the country and the army ceases to pay due attention to the problems of the officer corps,
Unfortunately, this immediately affects the prestige of officer service, and as a result, leads to serious failures in maintaining high military discipline.
Lesson three. The most important component of maintaining discipline is the military, spiritual and moral education of military personnel. Without a scientifically based ideology, without a single center of education, without a system of social and humanitarian training for commanders and superiors, officer-educators, without the use of multifaceted experience of religious and moral education, without the organization of pre-conscription training of youth for military service, without constant research and educational work, this task impossible to solve.
Lesson four. Historical experience teaches and convinces again and again that maintaining strong military discipline and order requires an uncompromising fight against the negative phenomena of army life (hazing, protectionism, aging of the officer corps, dismissal of young officers, etc.), constant work to raise prestige and the attractiveness of military service.
1. A successful solution to the problem of strengthening military discipline must inevitably involve the corresponding development of the legislative framework. In the draft Disciplinary Charter, which is currently being developed, in the author’s opinion, it would be necessary to separate disciplinary, administrative and criminal liability in military activities, rework the system of disciplinary sanctions for contract military personnel, strengthen the disciplinary rights of junior commanders, and reintroduce the provision on responsibility of subordinates for carrying out the criminal order of the commander.
2. The organization of work to strengthen military discipline presupposes the presence of well-trained junior commanders in the field. Considering the possibility of creating a professional corps of contract sergeants in the near future, it would be advisable for the relevant department of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces to develop a special regulation on the institute of sergeants.
gents (foremen) of the Armed Forces, taking into account the experience of selection, training and distribution of non-commissioned officers of the Russian army of the period under study.
3. Regimental military (military disciplinary) courts could become an important link in the system of military proceedings. The purpose of their introduction is to deal with minor offenses.
A means of preventing and preventing gross disciplinary offenses. Social disciplinary commissions created in military units could become prerequisites for committing crimes.
4. For state and military bodies, in the interests of neutralizing the causes of violations of military discipline and the conditions accompanying them, it is advisable to use the spiritual and moral potential of religious confessions traditional for Russia.
5. In order to ensure a constant impact on the consciousness, feelings and behavior of officers, it seems important to return to the creation of officers’ courts of honor and Officers’ Meetings as places for leisure, communication, education of honor and dignity based on the spiritual and moral initiative of officers.
1 By 1912, the social composition of army officers was as follows: 53.6% of officers (44.3% in the infantry) came from nobles, 25.7% from burghers and peasants, 13.6% from honorary citizens, 3 .6% - from the clergy and 3.5% - from merchants. See: Volkov S.V. Russian officers as a service class // Russian Military Collection. M.: Military University, 2000. Vol. 17. P. 521.
2 P.D. Olkhovsky. Military education // Russian military collection. M.: Military University, 1997. Vol. 13. P. 200.
3 See: A. Popov. The concept of military discipline // Military Collection. 1924. Book. 5. P. 144.
4 See: Ibid. P. 145.
6Denikin A.I. Old army. Paris, 1929. T.1. P.123.
7 See: Disciplinary Charter. St. Petersburg, 1912.
8 See: Military Statistical Yearbook of the Army for 1910, St. Petersburg, 1911, pp. 318-319; Military statistical yearbook of the army for 1911. St. Petersburg, 1912. pp. 428-429.
9 See: Smirnov A.A. Moral and psychological support for activities Russian army in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: Dis. ...cand. ist. Sci. M., 1997. P. 35.
10 See: Romanov N. N. The eternal problem of the Russian army // Nezavisimaya Gazeta. 2001. No. 9.
11 See: GeruaA. Towards knowledge of the army. St. Petersburg, 1907. P. 37.
12 Roediger A.F. Non-commissioned officer issue in the main European armies. St. Petersburg, 1880. P. 10.
13 Ibid. P. 7.
14 RGVIA, f. 1, op. 2, d. 19, l. 26.
15 RGVIA, f. 868, op. 2, d. 163, l. 12 rev.
16 See: A.F. Roediger. Recruitment and organization of the armed forces. St. Petersburg, 1914. P. 206.
17See: V.N. Ostashkin. Cultural and leisure work in the Russian army of the second half of the 19th century:
dis. .Dr. History Sci. M., 1997. P. 220.
18 Charter of internal service in the infantry troops. // Military collection. 1887. No. 10. P. 98.
19 See: A.I. Denikin. Decree. Op. pp. 75-153.
At all times, success in battle was determined not by the most advanced technology, but by people. They control powerful equipment; the solution to the assigned tasks ultimately depends on their military spirit, patriotism, moral and moral strength.
Therefore, the issues of educating military personnel of all categories, maintaining their high vocational training and strong military discipline, constant readiness and ability to fulfill one’s duty to protect the interests of the Russian people were, is and will be the main content of educational work in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The object of educational influence in a military unit is the entire personnel, but special attention is paid to the education of the officer team, which forms the basis of the entire military collective of the unit and contains enormous educational opportunities.
possibilities.
In the history of the development of the Russian Armed Forces, important importance has always been attached to officer cadres. At different stages, in different historical conditions of our country, the issues of officer training were posed differently, but the understanding of one immutable truth was constant: officers are the basis of human
factor of the army, the foundation of the morale of the troops. Success in battle directly depends on the level of professional training of officers, their readiness and ability to carry out the tasks assigned to them with full responsibility. Thousands of examples from the history of our army and navy confirm this. The basis of a regiment or brigade in social, professional and moral terms is always composed of
said the officer group. The officer team has always acted as a highly organized group of professional military men, united by common goals and interests, joint socially useful activities, military discipline, mutual demands.
activity, responsibility, help. It is called upon to fully support the high combat readiness of the regiment (ship) and effectively solve training and educational tasks. This circumstance predetermines the need for constant, purposeful work with a team of officers in the interests of increasing its pedagogical potential. It is carried out on the basis of pedagogically reasoned influences of an organizational and substantive nature, including a set of measures aimed at ensuring the comprehensive and harmonious development of the officer’s personality and the cohesion of the officer team.
The functioning of the officer education system presupposes the close unity of all components (directions) of education, the use of the maximum possible arsenal of forms and methods of work, coordination of the efforts of all interacting subjects of the educational process in terms of time, activities, etc.
In a regiment (on a ship), such activities are carried out in two main directions. The first of them involves improving the personal qualities of an officer with a special military-social status, the social significance of his activities, as well as as a leader and military specialist.
Officers, as leaders and participants in the educational process, have always been characterized by selfless devotion to the ideals of protecting and serving the Fatherland, a democratic style in work, deep, comprehensive, professional preparedness, brilliant knowledge and masterful use of weapons and military equipment, high organizational abilities, and a broad outlook. , large-scale thinking, a sense of the new, the ability to fully use the power
high intellectual potential in military-professional activities.
The second direction is the unification of the officer team, increasing the strength of its educational influence on the entire personnel of the regiment (ship).
There is cohesion important characteristic officer team, an indicator of its maturity and capacity. It represents the ideological, socio-political, moral, ethical, psychological and organizational unity of officers. It is on the basis of the strong unity of the named components of the cohesion of the officer team that it is possible to implement effective educational measures in the interests of the combat readiness of the unit. And above all, measures to
ensuring a healthy moral and psychological climate in the team, instilling a sense of pride in belonging to one’s team, introducing and developing the traditions of the officer corps of the Russian army.
Consequently, the education of the officer team is the process of forming its qualitative characteristics, which are most
would be more consistent with the needs of military affairs, combat readiness, improvement of the personal qualities of an officer in a team, and the performance of his inherent functions in the field of educational work and public life of the unit.
An officer’s personal qualities are formed and developed directly during his studies at a military educational institution; his professional formation and further development as a commander, teacher and mentor of his subordinates occurs while serving in units (units). It is in the process
official activity reveals the officer’s personality in many ways, revealing his qualities, abilities and inclinations.
While serving in the military, an officer performs many tasks, including
However, the main content of its activities comes down to the implementation of the following basic functions: socio-political, organizational and managerial, military-pedagogical, military-special and administrative-economic.
One of the most important functions of an officer is socio-political. The complexity of implementing this function is due to the following factors.
Firstly, Russian military development is carried out in a complex and contradictory socio-political, socio-economic, national-demographic, informational, criminal and religious situation.
Secondly, the social portrait of the army has changed significantly recently. Among the young recruits entering
military service, the educational level dropped significantly. Worsened physical health and the mental state of conscripts. Pacifist and anti-army sentiments increased. Religious and national factors, problems of drunkenness and drug addiction among young people are becoming increasingly important. The criminal situation in the country has a serious impact on the personnel. The dynamics of crime in the Armed Forces correlates with the general direction of crime development in the country. Intensifies
the tendency of organizational crime to penetrate into the military environment.
Thirdly, the implementation of the socio-political function is of an acutely contradictory nature. The main components of the contradictions are: a) the contradiction between the necessity, the duty of each officer to steadily implement the state policy in the field of defense construction and the uncertainty, vagueness, and lack of clear guidelines for this policy; b) the contradiction between the state’s interest in a strong, combat-ready army and the lack of decisive measures in creating such an army; c) the contradiction between the constitutional duty of every citizen to defend the Fatherland and the deliberate destruction of the ideals of military service by conducting anti-army campaigns in mass media; d) the contradiction between the need to staff the Armed Forces with the best representatives of the people and the decline in the prestige of the officer’s service; e) the contradiction between the constitutional duties of an officer and social lack of rights, social insecurity, etc.
There are also a number of contradictions that complicate the implementation of the socio-political function of an officer’s activity, namely: between military duty and civil rights; between the need for an officer to have a formed scientific worldview and the conditions and ways of its formation; between officer duty, official duties and ensuring democratic rights of the individual, etc.
At present, in units (units), it is necessary to urgently raise issues of formation and development of officers’ scientific worldview, ideological conviction and political maturity, development
they have it political culture, which is in the very general view is considered as the unity of political consciousness and political action (behavior), as comprehensive political awareness and the ability to defend one’s political beliefs in a reasoned and convincing manner.
Every officer is first and foremost a military leader, therefore important in his professional activity has an organizational and managerial function. The content of this function includes organizing, planning, conducting training sessions and educational activities, streamlining, regulating various
types of activities of subordinates, setting tasks and their implementation, monitoring the execution of their orders, mobilizing subordinates to solve specific problems, managing various social processes in subordinate units, leading military teams and individual military personnel, etc. The contradiction in the implementation of this important function in the activities of an officer is that, on the one hand, the processes of organizing the activities of units and units have become significantly more complicated, and on the other hand, new requirements are being placed on management activities officers. Trying to solve new, complex problems using old approaches and methods does not always give a positive result. Therefore, the personality of a modern leader should be characterized by a high ideological and theoretical outlook and political maturity, strong moral principles, the ability to convince and lead people, competence, organization, efficiency, discipline, independence, the ability to create conditions for high productive labor people, establish an atmosphere in teams creative search, intolerance to manifestations of rudeness, inattention to people.
Officers carry out combat and public-state training, educational process, and carry out individual work with subordinates. Here, the success of a commander is not possible without the ability to study the personal characteristics of soldiers, their social, national and other characteristics, observe the principles of education and training, correctly use their methods and forms, and personal example. It is important for the commander to know how to plan combat and public-state training, and the independent work of subordinates. A well-thought-out plan disciplines people and mobilizes them to perform high-quality tasks assigned to them.
Currently, the importance of comprehensive development, erudition and general culture of officers is increasing. The outstanding Russian commander M.V. Frunze emphasized that only the commander who commands respect with his knowledge and experience will be able to truly educate, train and discipline the unit subordinate to him. Only when the appropriate commander relies on knowledge can true discipline be achieved. When this knowledge is not available, then you can only rely on
compulsion. In modern conditions, this instruction of M.V. Frunze is especially relevant.
Many officers - commanders of units and military teams - today lack special knowledge in management theory; they sometimes have insufficiently developed organizational skills and the ability to effectively manage subordinates. Official authority in working with subordinates is preferred to the authority of the leader’s personality; demandingness towards subordinates is sometimes not combined with respect for the personal dignity of the serviceman and showing concern for him. Rudeness, rudeness, and arrogance are often tolerated in relationships with subordinates. Many leaders’ words do not match their deeds; there is a lack of personal exemplary behavior in service, behavior, communication, etc. This causes serious harm to the authority of the officer-manager and undermines the moral foundations of the managerial activities of officer personnel. Formation and perfection
Instilling in officers a management culture based on democratic and ethical principles is the most important task in educational work with officers of units and ships.
The implementation of the military pedagogical function in the activities of an officer occupies a special place. Organization, implementation of training and education of subordinates, in order to qualitatively solve the problems of official activity, maintain combat readiness, strengthen military discipline, form moral, political, combat and psychological qualities military personnel requires from the officer special knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, methodological skills, pedagogical culture. Complexity and inconsistency pedagogical activity officer in a unit (unit) is that, on the one hand, to the training and education of military
Military personnel are subject to high demands, and on the other hand, to implement the tasks of training and education, there is not only a lack of material resources and training facilities, but also there is no opportunity to efficiently organize the educational process. The reduction in personnel does not allow the deployment of full-fledged combat training activities; the personnel are busy with service, performing various economic and other works. Household problems take up all the time; studying remains only a good intention. In these conditions, military personnel do not receive full combat training, training is carried out formally, and officers lose the qualifications of teachers and participants in the educational process, they
All interest in military pedagogical activities disappears. We must not allow this to continue. An entire generation of officers may grow up in the army who will have only an indirect idea of real combat training.
A military special function in an officer’s activity presupposes the fulfillment of the tasks of a military specialist, knowledge of the theory and practice of military affairs, weapons and military equipment of his unit, unit, ship and potential enemy, his strengths and weaknesses. The contradiction in the implementation of this function lies in the fact that every year there are changes in the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of equipment and weapons. Less and less new equipment is being supplied to the troops, more and more remains of old equipment that has served its intended purpose. New complex equipment requires large material and financial costs, and highly qualified specialists. Failure to comply with these requirements leads to accidents. The use of old equipment that has expired also causes accidents. Violation of the established rules for the operation of equipment and weapons is also associated with the qualifications of specialists, which are noticeably reduced due to a reduction in the training time for specialists and the material insecurity of their training. Flights, hikes, live firing, and driving equipment are carried out less and less often.
In his activities, the officer also implements administrative and economic functions. The life of military personnel, food, clothing, accommodation, accommodation, the ecology of the military unit and the settlements where family members of military personnel live and many other issues are the subject of attention of officers. There are also many problems here, and solving them takes a lot of time, material and financial resources. Showing concern for subordinates, their social security, knowledge of the needs, interests, problems of each serviceman, and providing assistance to them greatly contribute to the high-quality solution of other very important problems related to service.
To realize everyone listed functions It is not enough for an officer to just be a good commander or specialist, an expert in military affairs, or be able to manage a unit. It is also necessary to be a person with high moral potential, a model for subordinates. Concepts such as honesty, honor, modesty, simplicity, accessibility, respect, benevolence,
integrity, conviction, justice, and officer's duty must be filled with deep content for him. The high professionalism of an officer, combined with moral purity, is undoubtedly attractive to subordinates and arouses their respect and desire to imitate.
A professional portrait of a modern officer can be schematically represented in general form
The social portrait of an officer is very diverse; there is one part of the officers who have abandoned the ideals of military service and continue to serve, but do not show proper interest in the service; many of them are ready to leave the army without hesitation. Not-