'Russia and India in 1903' [‎7r] (13/68)

THE RUSSIAN ARMY OF TO-DAY.
II
been eight years as Colonel, and again eight years
before passing to Lieutenant-General.
The maximum age for captains is fifty, for the com
mand of a cavalry regiment fifty-six, of an infantry
regiment fifty-eight, for a brigadier sixty, for a divi
sional command sixty-three, and for an army corps sixty-
seven. The average service of lieutenant-colonels is
twenty-one years, of colonels twenty-six years, and of
major-generals thirty-four years.
Officers can retire upon half-pay after twenty-five
years’ service, and upon full pay after thirty-five. The
majority avail themselves of these provisions, especially
if ill-fortune has attended them in promotion by selec
tion, or officers are put over by that system—involving,
as a rule, transfer from another regiment, with whom
they are unable to get on.
The General Staff consists of 892 officers, of whom
282 are generals and 402 colonels. There are also, in
addition, 588 staff posts.
This may be a fitting place to say a word upon the
officers as a whole. It will be gathered from the
foregoing that they are recruited from different
sources to those of the German or the British Army.
Although the grade of “ noble ” is one to be attained
by official rank, either civil or military, and is not
necessarily dependent on hereditary descent, less than
half of the officers of the Russian Army are of gentle
birth. The life to which they are necessarily subjected
is often irksome and lonely. Owing to the deficiency
of non-commissioned officers of education, many of
the clerical duties in other Armies fall on the Russian
officer, and without interest the prospect of rapid
advancement is small. The officers represent the
whole country, and, except in the Guards, it is very
rare to find an officer speaking a foreign language.
Even in the infantry of the Guards there would not
be more than one in a battalion able to speak French.
Indeed, it is now quite impossible to travel in Russia