The tasks of the officer staff for information support of the reform process. Lecture on the place and role of officers in the implementation of the requirements of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation The role of officers in their implementation
In information support of the reform process, it is extremely important general tasks project military reform on the problems of a particular unit (unit). It is important to help people see the reform not only from above, but also from below. For this purpose, it is expedient to make maximum use, first of all, of combat training.
It is no secret that at present the combat training of troops is associated with well-known difficulties. Moreover, the responsibility of officers for its organization increases. In the course of combat training, the entire educational material through the prism of the problems of reforming the Armed Forces, to explain to the personnel the intention, goals and expected results of the military reform.
Public-state training is called upon to play a key role in providing information to the reform process. It has the most systemic organization, has a certain depth of content, and has great potential to influence the consciousness of personnel.
In accordance with the order of the Minister of Defense of 1993 No. 250, OCP classes are held with officers for at least 4-6 hours a month, with female military personnel - 2 hours a week, with other categories of military personnel - at least 3 hours a week. Training is also provided for civilian personnel.
In comparison with other types of information impact, the UGP has the most developed educational and methodological base, allows you to convincingly and thoroughly convey to the audience the issues of state policy, national history, rights, etc.
It should be taken into account that many officers of the units (ships) are the leaders of the UCP groups. They are faced with the task of effectively using the opportunities of their studies for the purpose of in-depth and comprehensive coverage of the tasks and progress of military reform.
Plans for public-state training of personnel for 1998 academic year a block of topics directly devoted to military reform is provided. There are topics that highlight the experience of military reforms of the past. Of particular importance are topics that reflect today's problems of military reform in Russia. One cannot do without highlighting certain aspects of the reform in the study of other topics. Much here depends on the preparedness and methodological skill of the leaders of the classes.
Another effective form of information support for the reform process is informing personnel. According to the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 235 of 1995, informing soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen serving on conscription is organized 2 times a week for 30 minutes; ensigns (midshipmen), cadets (listeners) of military educational institutions - once a week for 1 hour; officers - 2 times a month for 1 hour; civilian personnel, family members of military personnel - at least once a month.
Thus, informing, being an operational form, makes it possible to timely explain the measures taken by state bodies for military reform, the facts of the successful implementation of tasks within the framework, reforms in the troops (forces), and the relevant decisions of commanders and chiefs.
It is very important to hold common information days. Their competent and creative organization allows not only to highlight individual issues of reform, but also provides feedback. An experienced commanding officer gets the opportunity to study the mood of subordinate personnel, their attitude to specific measures in the framework of the reform of the Armed Forces Russian Federation.
From the point of view of information support for the military reform, military social work plays an important role. An important place in it is occupied by bringing to the attention of subordinates and explaining legal documents, both of a more general nature and directly related to the reform of the army and navy. It is especially valuable when the officer not only conducts this work but also attracts specialists from law enforcement agencies, representatives of the military leadership, state power, local administration. Undoubtedly, such work should be supported by an increase in the level of social protection of military personnel, observance of the principles of social justice in the unit (unit). To do everything possible to fulfill the assigned tasks, to solve the problems of subordinates - the primary task of the commander (chief) of any rank.
It is also important to use such forms as evenings of questions and answers, honoring the foremost workers in service and study, summing up the results of work to strengthen law and order and military discipline.
The effectiveness of the information support of the military reform will not be high enough without individual work with subordinates. It makes it possible to most accurately communicate the strategy of reform to every serviceman, worker and employee, as well as set specific tasks for subordinates that follow from the general logic and goals of military reform.
Along with the listed forms, in the interests of information support, cultural and leisure work should be used. This includes themed evenings, oral magazines, amateur performances, quizzes and more. In a word, we are talking about those activities in which vast experience has been accumulated in the troops. The list of forms of information work would be incomplete without mentioning wall printing. All that remains is to introduce new ideas and fresh factual material into this work, to adjust it, figuratively speaking, to the pulse of the reform.
Improving the level and focus of informing various categories of military personnel, it is advisable to use the relevant dates and anniversaries, primarily public holidays and days military glory Russia. Latest defined federal law"On the days of military glory (victorious days) of Russia" dated 16.03.95
In order to achieve a greater effect in the information support of the reform, one should not be confined within the framework of a unit (subdivision). The success of the reform largely depends on the attitude towards it not only of the personnel of the Armed Forces, but of the whole society. It is necessary to actively work with the local population, at sponsored enterprises, organizations and institutions.
Conducting information work, the officer must take into account the socio-political reality of today. One of its conditions is a multi-party society. This causes an ideological confrontation between parties and movements, and is the reason for different interpretations of the problems of reform in the media. A complete distortion of the facts is not ruled out. Counteracting such phenomena is one of the most important tasks of officers in the framework of information support for military reform. In this case, it is preferable to work "ahead of the curve", to prevent negative, harmful reform of information. The most effective means of prevention is the timely, systematic and objective informing of the personnel of the unit (subdivision) about the events, facts, and problems of the progress of the reform. The more convincing the information, the less reason for the appearance of various conjectures.
Undoubtedly, speaking about the information support of the reform of the Armed Forces, it is impossible to foresee everything. However, the main thing in this work is creativity and foresight, initiative and perseverance.
The activities of each society most of all depend on its leaders. This psychological axiom prevails all the more in the army, where discipline reigns.
Some officers now serve for a long time, they educate, they are the source of knowledge, they are the highest commanders and they are the guarantee of victories and defeats.
The basis of the entire life and combat activity of the army should be its officers.
If the character of a nation declines, then the great feelings that inspire the warriors also decline: the material goods of the world come to the fore.
Happy are those nations where there is a consciousness that not everything can be bought with money, happy are those where there is an estate of knights who value iron and steel more than silver and gold.
Such a class always gives energy from the idea, the class of martyrs, which is not equal to the energy of interest, to the class from the philistines. The efforts of pseudo-philosophers and subject peoples who dream of independence will always be directed towards destroying the foundations of the army.
Finally, many civilians still do not like officers simply because of petty everyday reasons.
Thus, from various sides, both external and internal, they are trying to prevent, consciously and unconsciously, the development of the army and improve the composition of its officers.
And meanwhile, who does not know the axiom that for the state a lost campaign will always be more expensive than preparations for a victorious war. And who will dare to fight with us when they know our strength and readiness.
Even before the unfortunate Russo-Japanese War, it seemed that in the life of our army and its head - officers - there are many aspects where improvements are necessary and possible.
At the beginning of 1903, I published my work "Statistics of Generals" where, examining the conditions for the service of a higher command element, I tried to find ways to improve.
Although the book was written with great restraint and, it seemed to me, justly, nevertheless, troubles had to be endured. The bottom line was that some unknown person dared to look for new ways in training the corps of officers and did not say that everything was fine.
It seemed to me that our army had deviated from the path indicated by the great commanders, the great connoisseurs of man. They began to educate her in a wrong way and teach her not what was needed for the war.
In it, the main attention was paid to the appearance, partly to the life of a soldier, but little attention was paid to the essence of the improvement of an officer.
Gone was the spiritual power, the great connection between fathers-commanders and their subordinate children. The ability to lead and manage, the ability to make everyone and everything go to death has ceased to be valued in practice. There was no need, and I did not want to look into the future. More attention was paid to the exact knowledge of forms, to the ability to manage the household, in a word, to the valor of a peaceful citizen and a good owner.
I repeat, a good composition of officers is the basis of a good combat activity of the army. The Russian army has never had better soldier material than at present, and yet it has only experienced defeat.
The performance of military service duties in a state of alcoholic, narcotic or toxic intoxication refers to gross disciplinary offenses.
The main direction of the work of the officers in the prevention of offenses on the basis of 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, to identify the causes of their occurrence and vitality, to predict trends in the behavior of subordinates.
The doctor makes a diagnosis based on knowledge human body. Thus, subunit officers, when diagnosing relationships, are obliged to rely on a deep knowledge of the individual characteristics of their subordinates, use the recommendations of pedagogy, psychology, take into account their service experience, the accumulated practice of uniting military teams.
The goals of the diagnostic stage of work are: to identify the degree of alcohol dependence, the reasons for drinking alcohol, the desire 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 personality and the social environment is a diagnosis, on the basis of which the choice of goals, means and methods of social work is carried out.
In the interests of diagnosing behavior, the following methods are used:
- observation,
- analysis of documents,
- sociological survey.
No less important in terms of the prevention of drunkenness and alcoholism are social therapy measures that involve solving such problems as the formation of anti-alcohol public opinion in military collectives, intolerance towards drunkards, correction social structure military units.
Organizational forms of work on the prevention of drunkenness consist in the implementation of strict control over military personnel who are prone to drinking alcohol by commanders, limiting their access to alcohol, creating spatial and temporal barriers on the way to drinking, primarily during working hours, using various kinds of sanctions against persons prone to drinking alcohol, and the like.
When working with persons prone to drinking, the officers must follow a number of rules.
Firstly, not to conduct consultations, activities of a pedagogical and psychological nature with persons who are in a state of alcoholic intoxication.
Secondly, to carry out psycho-corrective actions only with servicemen who express a desire to change. Otherwise, organizational and social measures will be more effective.
Thirdly, remember that not a single person recognizes himself as an alcoholic voluntarily, therefore, one should expect resistance from the latter when conducting psychodiagnostic and psychocorrective measures with him.
Fourthly, in order to cure an alcoholic, it is not enough to make him averse to alcohol, it is necessary to create such a microenvironment around him that would in every possible way encourage his sobriety, support his efforts in the fight against alcohol addiction, and put up barriers on the way to relapse.
Fifth, 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 be cured by order of the commander or through the use of coercive measures and punishment only.
Thus, the prevention of alcoholism in military units consists of a complex of organizational, social, psychological, pedagogical and medical measures. It consists in the timely detection and assessment of the facts of alcohol abuse by military personnel, the creation of social and organizational barriers to the development of this negative phenomenon, the provision of medical and psychological assistance to patients, a qualified explanation to military personnel and members of their families of physical, psychological and social consequences drunkenness and alcoholism, in a word, get to know a person better.
In this regard, the study of autobiographical data, characteristics from the place of work or study, from military commissariats helps; education documents; professional selection materials; medical books; service cards.
But the most reliable data is, of course, personal communication with subordinates. With the skillful conduct of a conversation, one can reveal the true feelings of a soldier, 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 an individual educational work with him.
The best effect is obtained by the complex use of various methods for studying the individual characteristics of the personality of a serviceman.
Get the information you need concisely and effective way allows the questioning of military personnel. This is one of the most important methods for diagnosing their behavior.
In the interests of identifying those prone to drinking, it is necessary to interview all categories of military personnel of the unit.
It is also important to know their attitude, readiness, ability and ability to serve. The survey is conducted in the form of an interview. It is necessary to ask, as if consulting with the interlocutor.
Observation is a purposeful perception of the behavioral characteristics of a soldier in order to identify a predisposition to drinking alcohol.
In its course, the features of the behavior of a serviceman in various situations of his official activity, in an informal setting. Surveillance must be systematic and purposeful. It allows you to see and fix the changes, the dynamics of the development of behavioral characteristics, helps to study the hidden processes in the military team.
An analysis of the documents allows us to make an assumption about the propensity of some military personnel to change their behavior. In conjunction with the method of observation and other methods for identifying a predisposition to hazing, it gives a positive result.
Officers are required to recognize 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, 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 consider their prevailing character traits and habits. Of particular difficulty are relationships with military personnel with uncertain or unstable views on life, military service, friendship and camaraderie. They usually don't have an opinion. They are guided by a stronger personality. The officer should become an example for them. Strict exactingness, debunking of negative habits both among themselves and those whom they consider to be leaders, constant personal control, public condemnation of hazing actions on the use of alcoholic beverages - this is the way to combat drunkenness and alcoholism.
Solving the main tasks of preventing offenses on the basis of the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel is impossible without a radical strengthening of military discipline and ensuring high discipline.
A prerequisite for such activity is the assessment of its condition.
It should be built taking into account the following requirements.
The first requirement. Organizational and educational work to ensure the discipline of military personnel should 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, instructions, instructions, orders of commanders and superiors.
The second requirement. 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.
Third requirement. It is connected with the development of the ability of the military team to analyze and evaluate from the standpoint of the statutory norms and rules of conduct both for each individual serviceman and for the unit, crew, 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 community.
Fifth requirement. Decisive and uncompromising struggle in a unit, in a unit with persons prone to drinking alcohol.
The systematic individual educational work carried out by the officers of the unit makes it possible to carry out comprehensive measures aimed at preventing offenses committed by military personnel on the basis of the use of alcoholic beverages.
A special place in the system of prevention of drunkenness and alcoholism among servicemen 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, instill 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 the strengthening of military partnership.
Work to prevent drunkenness and alcoholism among the personnel of the Armed Forces must 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 is 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 soldier is unthinkable, the specific activity of the army and navy is the concept of discipline as a military duty.
Military education, as it were, reveals the essence of the components of military discipline, aims the personnel at the exact and strict observance of the military oath and military regulations, and, in unity with training, ensures the implementation of their specific requirements.
This unified educational process is designed to promote the approval and maintenance of the statutory order.
The educational process is a form of training, which is a specially organized interaction of members of a small group, in which an influence is carried out aimed at personal development, contributing to the personal growth of a soldier and maximizing his potential in life and career.
With this in mind, by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Regulations on work with the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were put into effect. This document provides for activities to maintain high morale and psychological stability 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 (commanders of departments in subdivisions) in the prevention of negative phenomena, including offenses based on the use of alcoholic beverages, it is advisable to consider the issue of training and appointing commanders of departments of military personnel called up for service on a contract basis.
Everything must be done so that junior commanders are the backbone of the officer. They must be constantly with their subordinates and in in full perform their official duties.
Due to the fact that many conflict situations arise due to dissatisfaction with the life of the 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 close-knit military team has a significant impact on solving the problems of combat training, strengthening military discipline and organization.
Success is brought not by random events, not by an emergency method, when other commanders undertake to restore order only after a series of violations - the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel, but by constant, purposeful, carefully planned work, coordinated efforts of all command, engineering and technical staff, educational structures.
Only it allows in a complex to solve the problems of preventing offenses on the basis of the use of alcoholic beverages by military personnel, as well as to 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 construction shows that the main burden of ensuring discipline in the army was borne by command personnel, and, above all, officers. In this article, the author presents the results of a study of the activities of the officers in maintaining the discipline of the military personnel of the Russian army from 1874 to 1914.
Until the middle of the XIX century. the domestic officer corps was formed mainly at the expense of the nobility. Subsequently, in connection with the abolition of class restrictions, representatives of the raznochintsy joined it. Before World War I, the Russian career officers were all-class in origin. 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 the cadet corps and was 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 introduced in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. the system of education and upbringing contributed to the fact that the quality of training of the 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. Olkhovsky, a former cadet of the Pavlovsk School, recalled: “After being promoted to officer, service in the regiment seemed quite easy to me ... I had to finish my studies, but not re-educate”2.
The entire ideological machine of the state, military legislation, traditions, environment contributed to the formation of a highly moral officer. Brought up in terms of knightly honor, the officers, like the apple of their eye, cherished the honor of their uniform, the honor of the regiment, their personal honor. The guardian of officer honor was in each regiment a court of honor.
The officers were brought up and brought up 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.
In connection with the reduction in the service life of the 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 the war." However, at the beginning of the 20th century, and especially after the Russo-Japanese War, officers became "hard-working." It took a lot of work to turn a semi-literate recruit into a mentally and physically developed and morally strong warrior in three years of soldier's service.
In the disciplinary practice of those years, commanders had at their disposal three main methods of restoring statutory order in entrusted subunits: the method of coercion based on an unconscious fear “before the arbitrariness of an individual chief”3; a method of coercion based on fear “before a known law”4, a method of persuasion based on morality and a conscious attitude to one's military duty.
The first method, which existed contrary to military legislation, was inherited from the serf era of Nicholas I. The supporters 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 statutes, they still proceeded from the fact that discipline in the army should be based on fear of punishment, and the main forms of strengthening it were considered arming, punishment cell, corporal punishment, etc.
However, since the late 80s - early 90s of the XIX century. the situation began to change. At the initiative of the Kiev military district, a movement began against this phenomenon. District Commander M.I. Dragomirov, in Order No. 319 dated October 27, 1889, noted: “In some parts they are fighting. Please remember that the Disciplinary Charter says what penalties can be imposed on the lower ranks, and which no one else has to impose. I recommend that hunters before manual reprisals familiarize themselves with the XXII volume of the Code of V.P. 1867, Art. 185, from which they will discover what
can expect in the future, if they allow themselves to continue, next to the disciplinary regulations, to compose their own”5.
Gradually, the "fist reprisals" began to stop, especially after 1904, when corporal punishment in the troops was finally abolished - simultaneously with the abolition of flogging by the verdicts of the 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 obsolete system and an obsolete custom.
Perfection legislative framework military discipline, the creation of a system of law enforcement agencies assumed the use of the method of coercion in the disciplinary practice of the Russian army, applied to those persons who violated "... the rules prescribed by military laws."
In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. thanks to the efforts of state and military bodies, the best representatives of the officer corps, the method of persuasion becomes the most important method of maintaining military discipline in the army. Military discipline is beginning to be strengthened through the moral education of military personnel, the formation of a conscious attitude towards the performance of their official duty.
In the top leadership of the country and the army, the opinion prevailed that corporal punishment, and even more so illegal, is not the maintenance of discipline, but, on the contrary, is "in the highest degree relaxing element. Gradually, the “stick discipline” became a thing of the past and was replaced by a discipline based on legal awareness and morality.
In accordance with the law, officers could be subjected to both disciplinary sanctions related to the specifics of military service, and punishments under general 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) remarks and reprimands announced in the order; 4) house arrest or detention in a guardhouse for up to one month; 5) failure to honor officers and civil officials for vacancies or for length of service, until the approval of the authorities; removal from office or command of a unit.
In general, at this time, the officers as a whole were distinguished by high discipline. This is evidenced by objective statistics. The number of officers brought to trial was insignificant, especially if we take the ratio of the number of officers tried and their total number for the corresponding years. So in 1825-1850. one defendant accounted for an average of 213 officers. In 1881-1885. - for 222 officers, in 1886-1890. - by 326 and in 1891-1894. - for 411 officers. At the beginning of the XX century. it slightly increased: 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 punishments (related to deprivation of liberty, 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 XIX - early XX centuries. the officer corps as a whole corresponded to the level of 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 the insufficient material and financial support of the officers. Since the middle of the XIX century. “The maintenance of the officer was beggarly” (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 life and needs corresponding to the high status of an officer and his hard work. Yes, Lieutenant Russian army at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, he received only 600 rubles a year, i.e. much less than the wages of a skilled worker (3 rubles a day). The company commander received 1,200, and the battalion commander - 1,740 rubles a year9.
The disastrous financial situation of the middle officers had a negative impact on the moral climate in the officer environment, on the attitude of officers to the service, the training and education of subordinates, the level of combat readiness of the troops, and the state of military discipline.
The fact that not everything was all right in the officer environment is also evidenced by the results of a survey of the opinions of commanders. high level(generals, from the head of the brigade and above) on the state of military discipline and law and order and
rah 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, higher ranks armies called the following: the fall in the prestige of the officer service; a decrease in the intellectual, moral and business levels of officers; the lack of advancement among officers in the service, whence - general apathy; difficult material conditions of officers; impunity of the top bosses; cowardice of some officers in " Time of Troubles»; the predilection of the authorities for some officers, love for serving and external servility, intolerance for people with an independent character; drunkenness among officers; the lowered morale of the officer corps; the problem of high turnover of staff officers in the regiments; a trend of "false pride of indiscipline" 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 in the Russo-Japanese War was incorrect, unfair, immoral, and their number was prohibitive; the lack of good combat experience among many top leaders, which subsequently helps commanders maintain the proper state of discipline and order, etc. Many senior military leaders rightly believed that the decline in discipline among the lower ranks during the period of 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 mass departure from the army of young officers who did not see any prospects for their service. The calculations carried out by A. Gerua showed that only in the cavalry units for the period 1896 - 1906. 2,526 school graduates arrived at the service, and 1,169 (43.5%)11 left, and the bulk left precisely the combat units.
The leadership of the military department knew about these problems and tried to solve them. But as subsequent events showed, it was not possible to completely eliminate them.
An important role in the system of maintaining military discipline, along with officers, was played by non-commissioned officers. To prepare competent, disciplined and demanding non-commissioned officers, fireworks and watchmen, according to the leadership of the Military Department, meant in many respects to solve the complex tasks of training and educating army soldiers. “My long-term practice shows,” wrote A.F. Rediger, - that a non-commissioned officer should be a teacher of a soldier, therefore, he himself must firmly know the elementary information about the service, weapons that 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 at the expense of its quality.
Realizing that a good commander can be one who serves for a long time, the authorities and the army command took measures to keep non-commissioned officers in extended service. “For a non-commissioned officer, a long service is desirable; 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, demanded that military commanders pay due attention to the selection of junior commanders and the recruitment of their units14.
As a result of the measures taken at the end of the XIX century. the troops had about 10 thousand non-commissioned officers of extra-long service15. However, a comparison of the number of long-term servicemen in Russia and European armies was clearly not in our favor. So, in Germany there were about 12 per company, in France - 6, in the Austro-Hungarian army - 3, and in Russia there were only 2 non-commissioned officers for extra-long-term service16.
The subject of concern of the military authorities was the training of junior commanders, which was carried out in higher or regimental schools to prepare
non-commissioned officers.
In the troops, non-commissioned officers carried the main burden in the solitary training of a soldier, as well as in his upbringing, instilling service skills and discipline. So they played in the army leading role in shaping a recruit and turning him into a soldier. The charter of the internal service of 1910 defined the status of a non-commissioned officer as follows: “With the current development of small arms combat, platoon non-commissioned officers, separated chiefs, must be valid
chiefs of the lower ranks subordinate to them. In the same place, the duties of the detached chief, platoon non-commissioned officer and sergeant major were described in some detail and thoroughly. Military regulations provided significant dis-
tciplinary powers to non-commissioned officers. In particular, the sergeant major could arrest a soldier for a period of one day.
The most numerous object of disciplinary influence of commanders of all degrees were the lower ranks. It was they who, first of all, determined the state of discipline in the troops.
Military reforms II half of XIX- the beginning of the XX century. led to a reduction in the term of active service on conscription, the abolition of corporal punishment, changed the psychology of an ordinary soldier, made higher demands on his military training and discipline.
We find important information about the features of the service of the 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 draft contingent in the Russian army on the eve of the First World War.
First, the army during this period remained predominantly peasant. Before the war, the contingent of the lower ranks was 1,350 thousand, and the annual conscription was 450 thousand people.
Secondly, despite the measures taken earlier, there was a high percentage of illiterates among the recruits (in Germany in the years preceding the First World War, less than 1% of illiterate recruits were admitted, in France - 2-3, in Russia - about 45%), which forced " command staff spend a lot of time and energy on the work that the neighbors did a school teacher.
Thirdly, the Russian soldier was exceptionally hardy, but distinguished by a complete lack of ideas about sports. "A strong man - horseshoe oppression - cannot pull himself up 5-6 steps up an inclined staircase: sweat rolls in hail, bursts at the seams" 4th term ", and helplessly and guiltily lowers a heavy body."
Fourthly, the conscript was distinguished by the complete absence of the 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 evident. “Reports of military censorship on soldier moods, cited excerpts from letters from the war contained very often signs of great observation and psychological analysis of ongoing events; and at the same time, vague signs of the impending - disturbing and dark. ".
At sixth, military service and after reducing the terms to 3-4 years, it was only a heavy duty for the bulk of the soldiers. The reason for this, in my opinion,
Thus, the analysis of the moral and business qualities of the military personnel of the Russian army in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. indicates that if the officer corps as a whole met the requirements of military discipline, then the moral and psychological state of the lower ranks left much to be desired. This caused certain difficulties in the course of the work of the officers in restoring order and organization in the troops. Nevertheless, at critical moments for the country, Russian soldiers, like officers, showed themselves with better side. Historical materials convincingly indicate that in the shameful outcome of the war, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. there was no fault of the Russian soldiers, sailors and most of the officers. On the battlefields, they showed exceptional courage, self-sacrifice and heroism, loyalty to their military duty. The army remained loyal to the autocracy in the revolutionary events of 1905-1907. The crisis of autocracy in Russia, political agitation undermined the discipline of the lower ranks of the army, which, in the end, led it to decay.
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 serviceman, 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 to a large extent depends on the presence in Armed Forces a coherent system of military command and control bodies and officials directly responsible for the state of organization and order in the troops. In this regard, the concern of the state for the formation, training and education of command personnel of the Armed Forces is of paramount importance for today. As soon as the leadership of the country and the army ceases to pay due attention to the problems of the officer corps,
pusa, this immediately affects the prestige of the 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 servicemen. Without a scientifically based ideology, without a single center of education, without a system of social and humanitarian training of commanders and chiefs, officer-educators, without using the multifaceted experience of religious and moral education, without organizing pre-conscription training of young people for military service, without constant research and scientific 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 struggle against the negative phenomena of army life (“hazing”, protectionism, aging officers, dismissal of young officers, etc.), permanent job to raise the prestige and 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 opinion of the author, it would be necessary to separate disciplinary, administrative and criminal liability in military activities, rework the system of disciplinary sanctions for contract servicemen, strengthen the disciplinary rights of junior commanders, and introduce the newly used in pre-revolutionary charters the provision on responsibility of subordinates for the execution of 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. Given the possibility of creating in the near future a professional corps of contract sergeants, the relevant department General Staff It would be expedient for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to develop a special provision on the institution of
zhants (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 justice. The purpose of their introduction is to consider minor offenses.
A means of preventing and preventing gross disciplinary offenses. as prerequisites for the commission of crimes, could be the social disciplinary commissions created in military units.
4. In order to neutralize the causes of violations of military discipline and the conditions accompanying them, it is expedient for state and military bodies to use the spiritual and moral potential of religious confessions traditional for Russia.
5. In order to ensure a permanent impact on the consciousness, feelings and behavior of the officer corps, it seems important to return to the creation of officer courts of honor and officer 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 (in the infantry - 44.3%) came from the nobility, 25.7% - from the townspeople and peasants, 13.6% - from honorary citizens, 3 .6% - from the clergy and 3.5% - from the merchants. See: Volkov S.V. Russian officers as a service class // Russian Military Collection. Moscow: Military University, 2000. Issue. 17. S. 521.
2 P.D. Olkhovsky. Military education // Russian military collection. Moscow: Military University, 1997. Issue. 13. S. 200.
3 See: A. Popov. The concept of military discipline // Military Collection. 1924. Book. 5. S. 144.
4 See: Ibid. S. 145.
6Denikin A.I. Old army. Paris, 1929. Vol. 1. P.123.
7 See: Disciplinary Charter. SPb., 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 of the activities of the Russian army in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: Dis. ... cand. ist. Sciences. M., 1997. S. 35.
10 See: RomanovN. N. The eternal problem of the Russian army // Nezavisimaya gazeta. 2001. No. 9.
11 See: GeruaA. To the knowledge of the army. SPb., 1907. S. 37.
12 Rediger A.F. Non-commissioned officer question in the main European armies. SPb., 1880. S. 10.
13 Ibid. S. 7.
14 RGVIA, f. 1, op. 2, d. 19, l. 26.
15 RGVIA, f. 868, op. 2, d. 163, l. 12rev.
16 See: A.F. Rediger. Manning and organization of the armed forces. SPb., 1914. S. 206.
17 See: V.N. Ostashkin. Cultural and leisure work in the Russian army in the second half of the 19th century:
Dis. .d-ra ist. Sciences. M., 1997. S. 220.
18 Charter of internal service in infantry troops. // Military collection. 1887. No. 10. S. 98.
19 See: A.I. Denikin. Decree. op. pp. 75-153.
“There is no doubt that much depends on the general routine in the institution,
but the main thing will always depend on the personality of the immediate
teacher standing face to face with the pupil: the influence of personality
educator for a young soul is that educational force,
which cannot be replaced either by a textbook, or by moral maxims, or by a system of punishments and rewards.”
K. D. Ushinsky
Moral qualities occupy the most important place among all social qualities of a person. Manifested through concrete activity to defend the Fatherland, they are expressed in the concept of the moral character of a military man.
In this way, moral character of an officer- this is a system of certain moral traits in its creation and behavior, which, having relative stability, determine the character of the individual.
An analysis of the results of pedagogical research conducted in the troops and universities made it possible to identify moral qualities professionally necessary for an officer. It is advisable to classify them on the following grounds:
a) qualities shown by an officer in relation to the Motherland: patriotism, devotion to the Fatherland, fidelity to military duty, responsibility, selflessness;
b) qualities shown by officers in relation to military labor, service activities: courage, endurance, self-control, steadfastness, determination, discipline, adherence to principles, courage, courage, bravery, initiative, military camaraderie, military friendship, honesty, disinterestedness, openness, diligence, diligence, efficiency, independence;
v) qualities shown by an officer in relation to other people: collectivism, justice, generosity, tolerance, exactingness, truthfulness, directness, politeness, delicacy, goodwill, sociability, decency;
G) officer's personal qualities: modesty, pride, exactingness, self-criticism, feeling dignity and honor.
A special quality that has absorbed most of the moral traits of an officer's personality is officer honor.
Activities for the formation of these moral qualities are based on a number of principles, including:
- purposefulness of educational influences;
- humanism and democracy in solving problems of personal development;
- education in the process of military labor;
- education in the team and through the team by creating in it an atmosphere of mutual understanding, friendship, camaraderie, social justice, high culture relationships;
- an individual approach to the education of the personality of an officer;
- ensuring the unity of word and deed in the process of education, scientific theory and practices;
- unity of exactingness and respect for the individual;
- consistency and continuity of educational influences and influences;
- stimulation of educational activities and self-improvement of the officer's personality.
The effectiveness of the process of forming the moral character of an officer depends on: humanization of the way of life of troops; affirmations of social justice in them; combining the democratic foundations of the relationship of military personnel with one-man command; creating a healthy moral atmosphere in military teams; ensuring personal exemplification of command personnel, as well as stimulating their activity in self-improvement.
Formation of morality - The process is complex and multifaceted. It cannot be instilled or introduced into the consciousness and behavior of an officer automatically. It is formed by systematic educational influences in the course of solving three interrelated groups of psychological and pedagogical tasks.
The first one associated with the development of moral consciousness: professional and ethical knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, moral motives of activity, a sense of duty, honor, conscience, responsibility for one's deeds and actions, for the results of one's work and the training of subordinates.
Moral consciousness, fixed in the relevant views and ideas, ideas, traditions and habits, determines the attitude of the officer to professional activity. The unity of ideological and moral convictions allows him to choose the right line of conduct in the educational process, to successfully solve official tasks.
Second- is to form the officer's professional pride and improve the ethics of his relationships.
The success of an officer's work is ensured primarily by his attitude to his profession. This is expressed in pride in belonging to it, in the conscientious fulfillment of one's military duty, in the constant creative search for effective ways to solve educational problems.
No less important are the moral relations of an officer with the military collective, higher commanders, the local population, members of the families of military personnel, parents of subordinates, and with their own family.
To do this, an officer must improve his communication skills with people, show restraint, courtesy, pedagogical tact and moral culture in relationships with them. This requires a thorough psychological and professional preparation from him.
The third group of tasks covers issues of moral behavior of an officer. It is a concrete expression of the level of development of moral qualities and traits of his personality as a military leader, teacher and educator of his subordinates. In practice, this is manifested in moral actions and deeds, skills and abilities, methods and techniques of the officer's educational influence, moral habits that have been formed and established in his life.
The profession of defender of the Fatherland has always been honorable in Russia. Historically, our people had to fight for centuries against foreign invaders for their national existence. One of the best achievements of the past is the developed code of morality in the Russian army - the basis of the moral character of an officer. We are talking, first of all, about such enduring values as honor and military duty, the system for educating these excellent qualities among Russian officers.
The moral traditions of the officer corps have been preserved to this day. To develop them, to make them the foundation of the emerging new Russian army is the most important task of the state.
Ideal officer...
“Very bold, but without rashness, quick without recklessness, active without frivolity, submissive without humiliation, at ease without slyness, firm without stubbornness, thorough without pedantry, pleasant without frivolity, benevolent without treachery, shrewd without innocence (stupidity), affable without roundaboutness helpful without greed."
