Cantonist
Cantonists (
Cantonist schools during the 18th and early 19th centuries
Cantonist schools were established by the 1721 decree of Tsar
The schools were reorganized in 1805 and all children were now referred to as cantonists. After the
In 1824 all cantonist schools were made answerable to the Director of Military Settlements Count Aleksey Arakcheyev, and in 1826 they were organized into cantonist battalions. The standards of curriculum dropped significantly, and it was limited to the subjects useful to the military.
During the reign of Nicholas I of Russia the number of cantonists reached 36,000. Several cantonist battalions became specialized: they prepared auditors, artillerists, engineers, military surgeons, cartographers.
More children were added to the category of cantonists. Eventually children of the discharged soldiers were also included, illegitimate children of soldiers' partners or widows, and even foundlings.
There were several exemptions:
- Legitimate sons of staff-officers, and all officers awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 4th class.
- A single son of a junior staff-officer, out of a total number of his children, if he had no sons born after his attainment of the officer's rank.
- A single son of a junior officer maimed in battle.
- A single son of a widow of a junior officer or an enlisted man killed in action or deceased during service.
There were considerable differences in cantonists' service obligations:
- Children of nobility were required to serve for 3 years at the completion of their studies.
- Children of senior officers – 6 years.
- Children of clergy – 8 years.
- All other social categories – 25 years.
Cantonism and ethnic minorities
There was forcible conscription of underage recruits from the populations of indigenous peoples,
There were some significant differences in treatment of Jews and non-Jews: all others were required to provide conscripts between 18 and 35, while for Jews the age limit was 12–25, and it was left to the discretion of the Jewish qahal to choose conscripts from whatever age they decided. Thus in practice, Jewish children were often conscripted as young as eight or nine years old.[6] This system created a disproportionate number of Jewish cantonists, and betrayed the utilitarian agenda of the statute: to draft those more likely to be susceptible to external influence, and thus to assimilation.
Jews
After 1827, the term was applied to Jewish and
In the aftermath of the Polish uprising of 1831, children of political prisoners and boys on the streets of captured cities often were abducted, and placed in cantonist schools, with the intent of their Russification,[11] see Incorporation of Polish children into the Imperial Russian Army (1831–1832) for more.
The vast majority of Jews entered the
Russia was divided into northern, southern, eastern, and western "conscription zones" and the levy was announced annually for only one of them. The Pale of Jewish settlement was outside conscription in the fallow years, so the conscription in general and of cantonists in particular occurred once every four years, except during the Crimean War, when conscription was annual. The first 1827 draft involved some 1,800 Jewish conscripts; by the qahal's decision half of them were children. In 1843 the conscription system was extended to the Kingdom of Poland that was previously exempt from it.
Strains within the Jewish community
The 'decree of August 26, 1827' made Jews liable for military service, and allowed their conscription between the ages of twelve and twenty-five. Every four years, the Jewish community had to supply four recruits per thousand of the population. Strict quotas were imposed on all communities and the qahals were given the unpleasant task of implementing conscription within the Jewish communities. Since the merchant-
The zoning rule was suspended during the
Training and pressures to convert
All cantonists were institutionally underfed, and encouraged to steal food from the local population, in emulation of the Spartan character building. On one occasion in 1856, a Jewish cantonist, Khodulevich, managed to steal the Tsar's own watch during military games at Uman. Not only was he not punished, but he was given a reward of 25 roubles for his prowess.[15][16]
The boys in cantonist schools were given extensive training in Russian grammar (and sometimes literature), and mathematics, in particular geometry necessary in naval and artillery service. Those who showed aptitude for music were trained in singing and instrumental music, as the Imperial Army had a large demand for military wind bands and choirs. Some cavalry regiments maintained equestrian bands of torban players, and cantonist schools supplied these as well. Some cantonist schools also prepared firearms mechanics, veterinarians for cavalry, and administrators ("auditors").
The official policy was to encourage their
Other
In the era of
In the aftermath of the Polish uprising of 1831, children of political prisoners and boys on the streets of captured cities were often abducted, and placed in cantonist schools for Russification:[11] see Incorporation of Polish children into the Imperial Russian Army (1831–1832) for more.
In the army
For all cantonists, their 25-year term of service began after they reached the age of 18 and were recruited into the army.
Discriminatory regulations ensured that unconverted Jews were held back in their army promotions. According to Benjamin Nathans,
... the formal incorporation of Jews into Nicolas I's army was quickly compromised by laws distinguishing Jewish from non-Jewish soldiers. Less than two years after the 1827 decree on conscription, Jews were barred from certain elite units, and beginning in 1832 they were subject to separate, more stringent criteria for promotion, which required that they "distinguish themselves in combat with the enemy."[18]
Jews who refused to convert were barred from ascending above the rank of "унтер-офицер" i.e. NCO; only eight exceptions were recorded during the 19th century.[citation needed] These restrictions were not lifted until the February Revolution in 1917.
Some baptized cantonists eventually reached high ranks in the Imperial Army and Navy; among them were generals Arnoldi, Zeil; admirals Kaufman, Sapsay, Kefali.
Literary references
The cantonists' fate was sometimes described by Yiddish and Russian literature classics.
Alexander Herzen in his My Past and Thoughts described his somber encounter with Jewish cantonists. While being convoyed to his exile in 1835 at Vyatka, Herzen met a unit of emaciated Jewish cantonists, some eight years old, who were marched to Kazan. Their (sympathetic) officer complained that a third had already died.[19]
Nikolai Leskov described underage Jewish cantonists in his 1863 story "The Musk-Ox" (Ovtsebyk).
Judah Steinberg described underage Jewish cantonists in his novel "In Those Days" (English translation in 1915, from the Hebrew).[20]
The agony of Polish children incorporated into the Imperial Russian Army was presented in Juliusz Słowacki's narrative poem Anhelli.
Abolition and results of cantonist policy
The cantonist policy was abolished by Tsar Alexander II's decree on 26 August 1856, in the aftermath of the Russian defeat in the Crimean War, which made evident the dire necessity for the modernisation of the Russian military forces. Nonetheless, the drafting of children lasted through 1859.[21] All unconverted cantonists and recruits under the age of 20 were returned to their families. The underage converted cantonists were given to their godparents. However the implementation of the abolition took nearly 3 years.
It is estimated that between 30,000 and 70,000 Jewish boys served as cantonists, their numbers were disproportionately high in relation to the total number of cantonists. Jewish boys comprised about 20% of cantonists at the schools in
At the conclusion of the conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live and own land anywhere in the Empire, outside the Pale of Settlement. The earliest Jewish communities in Finland were Jewish cantonists who had completed their service. The rate of conversion was generally high, at about one third, as was eventual intermarriage. Most never returned to their homes.[23]
Statistics
Jewish cantonist recruits in 1843–1854, according to statistics of the Russian War Ministry. Only in the eleven years listed below – the total of 29,115 children were conscripted. Basing on these data, it was estimated that between 1827 and 1856, there were over 50,000 of them.[5]
- 1843 – 1,490
- 1844 – 1,428
- 1845 – 1,476
- 1846 – 1,332
- 1847 – 1,527
- 1848 – 2,265
- 1849 – 2,612
- 1850 – 2,445
- 1851 – 3,674
- 1852 – 3,351
- 1854 – 3,611
See also
- 1917 film: "The Cantonists" (Кантонисты), historical drama, by director and screenwriter Alexander Arkatov
Military training of children
Extra burdens on the Jews
- Abstinence (conscription)
- Jizya – tax
- Leibzoll – tax
- More Judaico
- Tallage
References
- ^ Levanda, Vitaliĭ Osipovich (1874). "Полный хронологическій сборник законов и положеній, касающихся евреев: от Уложенія Царя Алексѣя Михайловича до настоящаго времени, от 1649-1873 г" [A complete chronological collection of laws and regulations concerning the Jews: from the Code of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to the present, from 1649-1873] (in Russian).
- ^ Rosenthal, Herman. "Cantonists". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Cantonists". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Czimbalmos, Mercédesz (24 September 2020). "Finnish Jewish intermarriage since 1917". Aarhus University. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Kантонисты" [Cantonists]. Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia (in Russian). Vol. 4. Jerusalem: the Society for Research on Jewish Communities in cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 1988.
- ISBN 0-87677-005-7.
- ^ Stampfer, Shaul. Karaite Separatism in Nineteenth-Century Russia.
- ^ Lutski, Joseph Solomon. Epistle of Israel's Deliverance. Philip E. Mille.
- JSTOR 131633.
- ISBN 0-691-00764-0.
- ^ a b Rudny, Wojciech (29 June 2004). "Skutki rewolucji listopadowej dla sprawy polskiej" [In the aftermath of the Polish January Uprising] (in Polish). Racjonalista.pl. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "ЕВРЕИ В РУССКОЙ АРМИИ И УНТЕР ТРУМПЕЛЬДОР" (in Russian). International Military Historical Association. 31 August 2009.
- ISBN 0-253-33811-5.
- ^ "Herzl Yankl Tsam". Beyond the Pale.
- ^ Petrovsky-Shtern 2008, p. 90–110.
- ^ "Евреи в русской армии. 1827-1914" [Jews in the Russian army. 1827-1914] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ISBN 5518040083.
- ^ Nathans, Benjamin (2002). Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter with Late Imperial Russia. University of California Press. p. 29.
- ^ (in Russian) Alexander Herzen. "Былое и думы" (My Past and Thoughts), end of Chapter 13: "Беда да и только, треть осталась на дороге."
- ^ "In Those Day: The Story of an Old Man". 1915.
- ^ Petrovsky-Shtern, Yohanan (8 June 2017). "Military Service in Russia". YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.
- ^ Petrovsky-Shtern 2008, p. 111–172.
- ^ Petrovsky-Shtern 2008.
Bibliography
- 2008 YIVO encyclopedia http://www.yivoinstitute.org/downloads/Military_Service.pdf
- ISBN 5-93273-105-2) pp. 141–149, 306-308
- CANTONISTS, by Herman Rosenthal at Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
- Benjamin Nathans, Beyond the Pale: The Jewish encounter with late imperial Russia (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 2002). pp. 26–38
- ISBN 978-0521515-73-3.
- Larry Domnitch, The Cantonists: The Jewish Children's Army of the Tsar (Devora Publishing, 2004). ISBN 1-930143-85-0
External links
- Life in the Pale of Settlement. Cantonists (Beyond the Pale exhibition)
- Military conscription in 19th century Russia by Dan Leeson (JewishGen)
- The Cantonists (Jewish History on the Web)
- (in Russian) Кантонистские школы
- (in Russian) Кантонисты
- (in Russian) Былое и думы. Часть вторая (Alexander Herzen, My Past and Thoughts, Part Two)
- (in Russian) Э. Шкурко. Еврейские мальчики в солдатских шинелях, или «жизнь за царя». (E. Shkurko. Jewish Boys in the Army Overcoats, or "Life for the Tsar")
- (in Russian) В. В. Энгель. Курс лекций по истории евреев в России, тема 6: «Политика самодержавия в отношении евреев во второй четверти XIX века». (V.V.Engel. Lectures on the history of Jews in Russia. Part 6: Tsarist Politics Concerning the Jews in the Second Quarter of the 19th century)
- (in Russian) Феликс Кандель Очерки времен и событий. Очерк седьмой (Felix Kandel. Jewish history. Essay 7) (chassidus.ru)