Cantonist
Encyclopedia
Cantonists were underage sons of Russian conscripts who from 1721 were educated in special "canton schools" (Кантонистские школы) for future military service (the schools were called garrison schools in the 18th century).
, fortification
, music and singing, scrivener
y, equine veterinary science, or mechanics. Those lacking in any talent were taught carpentry
, blacksmith
ing, shoemaking and other trades useful to the military. The ablest ones were taught for additional 3 years, until the age of 18. All entered military service at the completion of their studies. The decree of 1758 required all male children of the military personnel to be taught in the cantonist schools. In 1798 a military "asylum-orphanage" was established in St Petersburg, and all regimental schools were renamed after it, the total enrollment reaching 16 400.
The schools were reorganized in 1805 and all children were now referred to as cantonists. 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. During the reign of the 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' wives' or widows', and even foundlings.
There were several exemptions:
boys, who were drafted to military service at the age of twelve and placed for their six-year military education in cantonist schools. Like all other conscript
s, they were required to serve in the Imperial Russian army
for 25 years after the completion of their studies (in 1834 the term was reduced to 20 years plus 5 years in reserve and in 1855 to 12 years plus 3 years of reserve). According to the "Statute on Conscription Duty" signed by Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia
on August 26 (September 7 new style) 1827 Jews were made liable to personal military service and were subject to the same conscription quota as all other tax-paying estates ("sosloviya") in the Russian Empire. The total number of conscripts was uniform for all populations (four conscripts per each thousand subjects), however the actual recruitment was implemented by the local qahals and so a disproportionate number of Jewish conscripts were underage.
The main goal behind the compulsory military service was the integration of Jews and other non-Russian minorities into Russian society (effectively to the detriment of their religious and national identities
). Ukrainian and Polish cantonists were also pressured to assimilate
, as part of general policy of Russification
. However, in the case of Jews, unlike similar measures implemented earlier by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph II
the Russian policy failed to provide greater civil and economic rights.
The vast majority of Jews entered the Russian Empire
with the territories acquired as the result of the last Partitions of Poland of the 1790s; their civil rights
were severely restricted (see Pale of Settlement
). Most lacked knowledge of the official Russian language
. Before 1827, Jews were doubly taxed in lieu of being obligated to serve in the army and their inclusion was supposed to alleviate this burden. However the number of recruits reduced the number of young men that could go into the workforce, and this in combination with political restrictions led to widespread destitution.
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. 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.
There were some significant differences in treatment of Jews and non-Jews: Jews were required to provide conscripts between the ages of 12 and 25, but all others between 18 and 35. This system created 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.
s were imposed on all communities and the qahals were given the unpleasant task of implementating conscription within the Jewish communities. Since the merchant-guild
members, agricultural colonists, factory mechanics, clergy, and all Jews with secondary education were exempt, and the wealthy bribed their way out of having their children conscripted, fewer potential conscripts were available; the adopted policy deeply sharpened internal Jewish social tensions. Seeking to protect the socio-economic and religious integrity of Jewish society, the qahals did their best to include “non-useful Jews” in the draft lists so that the heads of tax-paying middle-class families were predominantly exempt from conscription, whereas single Jews, as well as "heretics" (enlightenment-minded individuals), paupers, outcasts, and orphaned children were drafted. They used their power to suppress protests and intimidate potential informers who sought to expose the arbitrariness of the qahal to the Russian government. In some cases, communal elders had the most threatening informers murdered (such as the Ushitsa case, 1836)
The zoning rule was suspended during the Crimean war
, when conscription became annual. During this period the qahals leaders would employ informers and kidnappers (Russian: "ловчики", lovchiki, Yiddish
: khapper
s), as many potential conscripts preferred to run away rather than voluntarily submit. In the case of unfulfilled quotas, younger boys of eight and even younger were frequently taken.
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 watch during military games at Uman
. Not only was he not punished, but he was given a reward of 25 roubles for his prowess.
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 conversion
to the state religion
of Orthodox Christianity
and Jewish boys were coerced to baptism
. As kosher food was unavailable, they were faced with the necessity of abandoning of Jewish dietary laws
. Polish Catholic
boys were subject to similar pressure to convert and assimilate as the Russian Empire was hostile to Catholicism and Polish nationalism. Initially conversions were few, but after the escalation of missionary activities in the cantonist schools in 1844 about 1/3 of all Jewish cantonists would have undergone conversion.
Discriminatory regulations however ensured that unconverted Jews were held back in their army promotions. According to Benjamin Nathans,
Jews who refused to convert were barred from ascending above the rank of "унтер-офицер" i.e. NCO
. There were only eight exceptions that were recorded during the 19th century. 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 Grulev, Arnoldi, Zeil, Khanukov; admirals Kaufman, Sapsay, Kefali.
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 8 years old, who were marched to Kazan
. Their (sympathetic) officer complained that a third had already died.
Nikolai Leskov
described underage Jewish cantonists in his 1863 story The Musk-Ox (Ovtsebyk).
's decree on the 26th of 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. 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 to 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 Riga
and Vitebsk
, and as much as 50% at Kazan
and Kiev
schools. A general estimate for the years 1840–1850 seems to have been about 15%. In general Jews comprised a disproportionate number of recruits (ten for every thousand of the male population as opposed to seven out of every thousand), the number was tripled during the Crimean War
(1853–1856).
After the 25-year conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live and own land anywhere 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.
Cantonist schools during the 18th and early 19th centuries
Cantonist schools were established by the 1721 decree of Tsar Peter the Great that stipulated that every regiment was required to maintain a school for 50 boys. Their enrollment was increased in 1732, and the term was set from the age of 7 to 15. The curriculum included grammar and arithmetic, and those with a corresponding aptitude were taught artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
, music and singing, scrivener
Scrivener
A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities...
y, equine veterinary science, or mechanics. Those lacking in any talent were taught carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
ing, shoemaking and other trades useful to the military. The ablest ones were taught for additional 3 years, until the age of 18. All entered military service at the completion of their studies. The decree of 1758 required all male children of the military personnel to be taught in the cantonist schools. In 1798 a military "asylum-orphanage" was established in St Petersburg, and all regimental schools were renamed after it, the total enrollment reaching 16 400.
The schools were reorganized in 1805 and all children were now referred to as cantonists. In 1824 all cantonist schools were made answerable to the Director of Military Settlements Count Aleksey Arakcheyev
Aleksey Arakcheyev
Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev was a Russian general and statesman under the reign of Alexander I.He served under Paul I and Alexander I as army leader and artillery inspector respectively. He had a violent temper, but was otherwise a competent artillerist, and is known for his...
, and in 1826 they were organized into cantonist battalions. During the reign of the Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
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' wives' 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.
Cantonism and ethnic minorities
After 1827 the term was applied also to Jewish and KaraiteKaraim
Karaim may refer to:*Crimean Karaites, the article about this group, and*Karaim language, the article about their language.*Karaite Judaism, a Jewish movement....
boys, who were drafted to military service at the age of twelve and placed for their six-year military education in cantonist schools. Like all other conscript
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
s, they were required to serve in the Imperial Russian army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
for 25 years after the completion of their studies (in 1834 the term was reduced to 20 years plus 5 years in reserve and in 1855 to 12 years plus 3 years of reserve). According to the "Statute on Conscription Duty" signed by Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
on August 26 (September 7 new style) 1827 Jews were made liable to personal military service and were subject to the same conscription quota as all other tax-paying estates ("sosloviya") in the Russian Empire. The total number of conscripts was uniform for all populations (four conscripts per each thousand subjects), however the actual recruitment was implemented by the local qahals and so a disproportionate number of Jewish conscripts were underage.
The main goal behind the compulsory military service was the integration of Jews and other non-Russian minorities into Russian society (effectively to the detriment of their religious and national identities
Jewish identity
Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. Under the broader definition, the Jewish identity does not depend on whether or not a person is regarded as a Jew by others, or by an external set of religious, or legal, or...
). Ukrainian and Polish cantonists were also pressured to assimilate
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
, as part of general policy of Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
. However, in the case of Jews, unlike similar measures implemented earlier by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
the Russian policy failed to provide greater civil and economic rights.
The vast majority of Jews entered the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
with the territories acquired as the result of the last Partitions of Poland of the 1790s; their civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
were severely restricted (see Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
). Most lacked knowledge of the official Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Before 1827, Jews were doubly taxed in lieu of being obligated to serve in the army and their inclusion was supposed to alleviate this burden. However the number of recruits reduced the number of young men that could go into the workforce, and this in combination with political restrictions led to widespread destitution.
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. 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.
There were some significant differences in treatment of Jews and non-Jews: Jews were required to provide conscripts between the ages of 12 and 25, but all others between 18 and 35. This system created 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.
Strains within the Jewish community
Strict quotaQuota
-Commerce:* Import quota, a type of trade restriction* Production quota* Sales quota, a minimum sales goal for a set time span* Tariff-rate quota, a type of trade restriction-Electoral systems:* Droop quota* Election threshold* Hagenbach-Bischoff quota...
s were imposed on all communities and the qahals were given the unpleasant task of implementating conscription within the Jewish communities. Since the merchant-guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
members, agricultural colonists, factory mechanics, clergy, and all Jews with secondary education were exempt, and the wealthy bribed their way out of having their children conscripted, fewer potential conscripts were available; the adopted policy deeply sharpened internal Jewish social tensions. Seeking to protect the socio-economic and religious integrity of Jewish society, the qahals did their best to include “non-useful Jews” in the draft lists so that the heads of tax-paying middle-class families were predominantly exempt from conscription, whereas single Jews, as well as "heretics" (enlightenment-minded individuals), paupers, outcasts, and orphaned children were drafted. They used their power to suppress protests and intimidate potential informers who sought to expose the arbitrariness of the qahal to the Russian government. In some cases, communal elders had the most threatening informers murdered (such as the Ushitsa case, 1836)
The zoning rule was suspended during the Crimean war
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, when conscription became annual. During this period the qahals leaders would employ informers and kidnappers (Russian: "ловчики", lovchiki, Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
: khapper
Khapper
The Khappers were employed by the kahals to fulfill the recruit quotas imposed on the Jewish communities from 1827 to 1857 in the Russian Empire....
s), as many potential conscripts preferred to run away rather than voluntarily submit. In the case of unfulfilled quotas, younger boys of eight and even younger were frequently taken.
Training and pressures to convert
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
. Not only was he not punished, but he was given a reward of 25 roubles for his prowess.
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
Torban
The torban is a Ukrainian musical instrument that combines the features of the Baroque Lute with those of the psaltery. The Тorban differs from the more common European Bass lute known as the Theorbo in that it had additional short treble strings strung along the treble side of the soundboard. It...
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 conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to the state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
of Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and Jewish boys were coerced to baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
. As kosher food was unavailable, they were faced with the necessity of abandoning of Jewish dietary laws
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
. Polish Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
boys were subject to similar pressure to convert and assimilate as the Russian Empire was hostile to Catholicism and Polish nationalism. Initially conversions were few, but after the escalation of missionary activities in the cantonist schools in 1844 about 1/3 of all Jewish cantonists would have undergone conversion.
In the army
For all cantonists, their 25-year term of service began after they reached the age of 18 and were distributed into the army. The distribution patterns of the 18-year-old cantonists show that Jews were not discriminated against: they demonstrated similar average literacy, physical ability, and training accomplishments and were sent in the same army and navy regiments as Christian graduating cantonists. A comparison between baptized and unbaptized Jewish cantonists indicates relatively insignificant advantages that the former enjoyed over the latter.Discriminatory regulations however 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."
Jews who refused to convert were barred from ascending above the rank of "унтер-офицер" i.e. NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
. There were only eight exceptions that were recorded during the 19th century. These restrictions were not lifted until the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
in 1917.
Some Baptized cantonists eventually reached high ranks in the Imperial Army and Navy, among them were generals Grulev, Arnoldi, Zeil, Khanukov; admirals Kaufman, Sapsay, Kefali.
Literary references
The cantonists' fate was sometimes described by YiddishYiddish literature
Yiddish literature encompasses all belles lettres written in Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazic Jewry which is related to Middle High German. The history of Yiddish, with its roots in central Europe and locus for centuries in Eastern Europe, is evident in its literature.It is generally described...
and Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
classics.
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
in his My Past and Thoughts described his somber encounter with Jewish cantonists. While being convoyed to his exile in 1835 at Vyatka
Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Kirov , formerly known as Vyatka and Khlynov, is a city in northeastern European Russia, on the Vyatka River, and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast. Population: -History:...
, Herzen met a unit of emaciated Jewish cantonists, some 8 years old, who were marched to Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. Their (sympathetic) officer complained that a third had already died.
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was a Russian journalist, novelist and short story writer, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is...
described underage Jewish cantonists in his 1863 story The Musk-Ox (Ovtsebyk).
Abolition and results of cantonist policy
The Cantonist policy was abolished by Tsar Alexander IIAlexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
's decree on the 26th of August 1856, in the aftermath of the Russian defeat in the Crimean war
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, which made evident the dire necessity for the modernisation of the Russian military forces. 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 to 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 Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, and as much as 50% at Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
schools. A general estimate for the years 1840–1850 seems to have been about 15%. In general Jews comprised a disproportionate number of recruits (ten for every thousand of the male population as opposed to seven out of every thousand), the number was tripled during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1853–1856).
After the 25-year conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live and own land anywhere outside the Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
. The earliest Jewish communities in Finland
History of the Jews in Finland
Finnish Jews are Jews who are citizens of Finland. The country is home to approximately 1,500 Jews, who mostly live in Helsinki. Jews came to Finland as traders and merchants from Europe.-History :...
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.
Statistics
Jewish cantonist recruits, 1843–1854- 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
- 1853 - 3,904
- 1854 - 3,611
See also
- DazdieDazdieDazdie was the tax paid by Roma state serfs in Bessarabia to the Russian Empire after the region was incorporated in 1812.Roma state serfs were organized in 3 categories:* First class: owing annual taxes of 40 lei;...
- tax - JizyaJizyaUnder Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
- tax - Useful JewUseful JewThe term useful Jew was used in various historical contexts, typically describing a Jewish person useful in implementing an official authorities' policy, sometimes by oppressing other Jews....
- LeibzollLeibzollThe Leibzoll was a special toll which Jews had to pay in most of the European states in the Middle Ages and up to the beginning of the nineteenth century.- Rate of the toll :...
- tax - Pale of SettlementPale of SettlementThe Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
- More Judaico
- Devşirme system
- JanissaryJanissaryThe Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
- TallageTallageTallage or talliage may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the crown upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains...
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) Кантонистские школы Кантонисты Былое и думы. Часть вторая (Alexander Herzen, My Past and Thoughts, Part Two) Э. Шкурко. Еврейские мальчики в солдатских шинелях, или «жизнь за царя». (E. Shkurko. Jewish Boys in the Army Overcoats, or "Life for the Tsar") 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) Феликс Кандель Очерки времен и событий. Очерк седьмой (Felix Kandel. Jewish history. Essay 7) (chassidus.ru)