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Hussars were first recorded in Russia as groups of irregulars in the mid-17th century. Under Peter I, this class of light cavalry began to serve as organized regiments on a semi-permanent basis in 1723 based on Serbian Hussars out of the Habsburg monarchy. Hussar regiments remained a conscious element of the Imperial Russian Army until the Revolution of 1917 when they were finally disbanded.
The hussar regiment was a formation (military unit,Previously, the term Unit or Military Unit was used (the term now has a different meaning) regiment) of the light cavalry of the Army of the Russian Kingdom and the Russian Imperial Army of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom and the Empire.
The regiments of this type of weapon were intended for reconnaissance, raiding, Landed Army and liaison services. In the campaign, the subunits of the hussar regiment invariably were part of the vanguard and rearguard, hiding the movement of the main troops of the active formation, conducting reconnaissance of the enemy's actions. And in combat, fighting or battle, they were entrusted with pursuing the retreating (fleeing) enemy, and if their troops failed, to cover the withdrawal of the main troops. Hussar regiments were indispensable for actions on enemy lines of communication in the "parties".
In September 1660, the hussar companies were organized in the Novgorod Grade by Prince Ivan Khovansky.Oleg Kurbatov. From the History of Military Reforms in Russia in the 2nd Half of the 17th Century. The Reorganization of the Cavalry on the Materials of the Novgorod Grade of the 1650s – 1660s / Dissertation for the Degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences, Moscow, 2002, Page 116 These companies showed themselves splendidly in the battles of the Russian–Polish War and in August 1661 they were deployed into a regiment, which received "hussar shafts" (spears) and armour from the Kremlin Armoury.Oleg Kurbatov. From the History of Military Reforms in Russia in the 2nd Half of the 17th Century. The Reorganization of the Cavalry on the Materials of the Novgorod Grade of the 1650s – 1660s / Dissertation for the Degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences, Moscow, 2002, Page 117 Patrick Gordon's diary speaks of three companies of hussars who participated in the Kozhukhov Campaign in 1694. The last mention of the hussars of this organization falls in 1701, when the hussars were recruited into the Novgorod Dragoon Regiment. There was also the Consolidated Lance–Reitar–Hussar Regiment of the steward and Colonel Yakov Chelishchev. In 1701, this consolidated formation operated in the area of the Pechersky Monastery "to save the district peasants of the Pskovsky Uyezd", later it was reorganized into a garrison dragoon regiment, and in the period from 1713 to 1715 was in Smolensk.
Russian hussars, led in 1654 by Colonel Christopher Rylsky, wore wings.Relation About the Military Campaign of His Tsarist Majesty Alexei Mikhailovich to Lithuania Against the Polish King Jan Casimir, 1654 (translated from Polish) // Vitebsk Antiquity. Volume 4. Section 2. Vitebsk, 1885. Pages 347–352 The Kremlin Armoury has preserved Russian hussar armour of the 17th century. Russian hussars could also be supplied with Reiter. So, for example, Knyaz Khovansky did in 1661, when he did not have time to receive the hussar plate armour. As the prince wrote: "I have accepted 360 plates in the regiment. Of this number, 91 plates were given to the hussar, while by your (royal) decree, hussar armor will be sent to me, and the remaining 269 plates were given to the regiment of Colonel Davyd Zybin to the reitars... And hussar armor and shishaks did not come to my regiment in July until the 7th, and a hussar cannot be without armor and shishaks and without handcuffs".Igor Babulin. Hussar Regiments in the Russian Army of the 17th Century // Reitar. 2004. No. 12. Pages 31–36 Three units of hussars are recorded as having participated in the 1694 Kozhuhovskaya campaign. The last mention of these irregulars is recorded in 1701, when they were transferred to newly raised Novgorod Dragoon Regiment of regular cavalry.
In 1736, in connection with the outbreak of the Russian–Turkish War, the staff of the regiment was brought to 1,160 people in 10 companies. In 1737, in addition to the Little Russian and Zaporozhye (Cherkasy) Cossacks, it was allowed to accept Hungarians, Wallachians, Transylvanians and Moldavians into the regiment. By 1740, the regiment numbered 1,045. The Serbian Hussar Regiment took part in the storming of Ochakov, battles at the Prut River and Khotyn. On 14 October 1741, by decree of Anna Leopoldovna, the composition of the four existing hussar regiments (Serbian, Hungarian, Moldavian and Georgian) was brought to a uniformity: 963 (or 1,063) people in 10 companies.
During the regency of Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna, on 14 October 1741, four Hussar regiments, a Serbian ( Serbskiy), a Moldavian ( Moldavskiy), a Hungarian ( Vengerskiy) and a Georgian ( Gruzinskiy) were authorized. After the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739), these hussar regiments were converted to regular service. The rank and file were enlisted volunteers and not conscripts, as were the majority of the Russian army. The new hussar regiments had a status between regular and irregular cavalry. Hussars were recruited only from the nation indicated by the regiment's name, i.e., these regiments were national units in Russian service; all troops (including officers) were national, and commands were given in the respective languages. Each regiment was supposed to have a fixed organization of 10 companies, each of about 100 men, but these regiments were recruited from different sources, so they were often less than the indicated strength. Later, in 1759–60, three more Hussar regiments, were raised: the Yellow ( Zeltiy), the Macedonian ( Makedonskiy) and the Bulgarian ( Bolgarskiy).
In 1754, two Serbs Rajko Preradović and Jovan Šević entered the Russian service. Accompanied by a significant number of Serbian families they received grants of land between Bakhmutov and Lugansk. In return they were tasked with forming two hussar regiments of 1000 men each. In 1764, two Pandur regiments, together with the Novomirgorod garrison and Serbian hussars, were reorganized into three settled cavalry regiments: the Black and Yellow Hussars and the Elisavetgrad Pikiner Regiments. Under Catherine II Rajko Preradović's and Jovan Šević's existing hussar units were merged into one – the Bahmutskiy Hussars- in 1764. Two years later, additional hussar units were formed with Cossack, Bulgarian and Macedonian recruits these were disbanded.
On 24 December 1776, it was indicated that nine hussar regiments were formed on the territory of the Azov Governorate and Novorossiya Governorates to protect the southern borders of the empire, from the frame of the abolished cavalry units:
In 1783 the highest decision was made and the army hussar regiments were renamed into light horse regiments and became part of the Yekaterinoslav Cavalry. During the period of the All–Russian Emperor Paul the First, four regiments were disbanded, and their personnel went to replenish the field regiments, six were renamed as hussars, Ekaterinoslav Cavalry // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: In 86 Volumes (82 Volumes and 4 Additional) – Saint Petersburg, 1890–1907 and one as cuirassier. Light Cavalry Regiments // Military Encyclopedia: In 18 Volumes / Edited by Vasily Novitsky ... and Others – Saint Petersburg; Moscow: Printing House of the Ivan Sytin Partnership, 1911–1915 The Serbian Hussar Regiment in 1783 entered the formation of the Olviopol Hussar Regiment.
1st Hussar Division
2nd Hussar Division
3rd Hussar Division
| + Broadcloth of the uniform and equipment of the hussar regiments for 1812 | Instrument Metal |
Later, the hussar regiments took part in the abroad campaigns of the Russian Army in 1813–1814, in the Russian–Turkish War of 1877–1878. In 1883, the Supreme decision was again made to rename the regiments, this time to dragoon regiments. All regular Russian hussar and uhlan regiments (except the Imperial Guard) were converted to dragoons. All fourteen hussar regiments lost their traditional and distinctive uniforms as well as titles. The decision to abolish the traditions of the triumphant Russian army was very unpopular and widely opposed by military personnel. Many officers defiantly resigned, while others continued to wear makeshift versions of their former uniforms well into the mid-1880s. The new uniforms were designed in a simplified style, imitating the national semi-historical Russian costume, and were considered too simple and rustic. The reform left only two hussar regiments within the Imperial Guard (His Majesty's Hussar Life-Guards regiment and Grodno Life-Guards Hussar regiment) with their uniforms relatively unchanged.
During the military reform of Nicholas II in 1907, some regiments were given back the name of the hussars. Before the Imperialist War, there were 20 hussar regiments in the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire. Later, the following hussar formations remained in the Russian Imperial Army:
In November 1917, the 20 existing hussar regiments, along the remainder of the former Imperial Army, were disbanded. A former officer of the 1st Sumsky Hussar regiment recorded that his regiment survived until February 1918 when, however, the remaining officers and the Soldiers' Committee decided "…to mount and ride away in different directions to their respective homes".
All were richly adorned with gold or silver braid, cords, fringe and lace.
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