Since the 70s of the XIX century, orders for the military department began to appear in Russia about the need to organize officer meetings in regiments and on ships. They have contributed to a significant increase in the role and importance of these corporate communities. The Emperor and the military officials of the army and Navy were convinced that officers ' meetings serve to bring together the professional and spiritual interests of the army and Navy commanders.

To strengthen the best qualities, it was necessary to constantly analyze the organizational and educational work carried out with them. Knowledge and experience for this purpose could be gathered only from printed sources. Therefore, it is no coincidence that during the creation of military communities and in later periods of their formation, issues related to the arrangement of libraries and the organization of their work were primarily resolved. So, in the draft Charter of the Officers ' Assembly of the Army and Navy, published in 1897, it was written:: "At the meeting there are: a library, a common room, living rooms, dining rooms, billiards and rooms for visitors. With the permission of the chairman, lectures, talks, military and other games, friendly dinners, balls, concerts, as well as shooting, hunting, musical, dramatic and other clubs and associations of members and visitors for scientific or entertainment purposes may be organized in the assembly."

Creating libraries in officers ' collections, many regimental and ship commanders believed that the accumulated literature, in particular military literature, would help officers find answers to numerous questions about military life.

The library of the oldest officer's collection - the Kronstadt Naval Museum-was organized in 1831. All members of the community voluntarily contributed one percent of their monthly salary to purchase books, brochures, and magazines. Three rooms were allocated for the library from the meeting rooms. Its work was carried out by a library committee consisting of seven members, whose composition was chosen annually by a majority of the members of the meeting in an open vote. In 1859, the library of the Kronstadt Naval Collection already had eight bright rooms for its needs: Emperor Alexander II, aware of the cramped and inconvenient location of the previous one, gave up his rooms for it.

The library of the Izmailovo Regiment's Life Guards collection was very popular among officers. Here you could always read newspapers, interesting books and magazines in Russian and foreign languages, literature on military art. In the library there were various manuals on tactical training: military regulations, methodological developments, lesson plans. All this helped prepare officers for military and staff exercises, their admission to military academies.

The commanders of regiments and ships paid attention to preserving the existing library collections of officers ' collections and increasing them. In many cases, the administrative committee of the assembly, through the unit commander, received permission from the divisional chief to purchase books. Libraries were replenished with art and scientific literature and at the expense of private donations. There is even a well-known case when Emperor Nicholas II, showing concern for the financial situation of the Helsingfors Naval Collection being formed, in 1911 ordered to grant him an allowance of 750 rubles, a considerable amount at that time, a significant part of which was intended for the establishment of a library and the purchase of military, scientific and fiction literature.

In the reading room of the officers ' assembly of the unit, special conversations and classes on military topics were often held, which contributed to improving the military education of the command and commanding staff. Experience of conducting them at the Sevastopol Marine Assembly,

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The St. Petersburg Military Circle, the military club of officers of the 1st sapper brigade and others allowed us to formulate a number of criteria without which the activities of the officers ' meeting could not be carried out: visibility, accessibility, concise, imaginative narrative language, practicality.

At the initiative of Admiral-General Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the Kronstadt Naval Assembly in 1857 held lectures, talks and scientific reports on the development of naval affairs in the winter months, which contributed to the improvement of professional knowledge of military sailors. Classes were held on the following topics: naval artillery, minesweeping, naval tactics, steamship mechanics, ship architecture. For better assimilation of the material, a multi-stage naval game was conducted with the officers of the assembly, classes were held on naval history, statistics, hygiene, pedagogy, and legal proceedings. The military specially prepared reports on the work of scientists in the field of military affairs, interesting discoveries, inventions, observations of scientific expeditions.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, officers 'meetings began to actively discuss the problems of officers' morals, their pedagogical purpose, and the impact of military education on improving combat readiness in the army and navy.

In the officers ' assembly, strict discipline and good organization were strictly observed. The duties of the members of the assembly included the implementation of the established rules, the main ones of which were the following: strict compliance with the decisions of the society of officers; mutual respect and courtesy to each other; maintaining decency both in dress and in communication; due respect for the decisions of the elders chosen by the society. The use of obscene words and expressions in the assembly was unacceptable. The person who said them was considered a direct culprit for violating public rules. Misunderstandings and disputes were to be resolved by the members of the assembly through the mediation of the duty officer or the senior person present, and their decision had to be carried out immediately, otherwise the actions of those responsible for any misunderstandings were regarded as a challenge to society.

To monitor compliance with the established rules, members of the administrative committee were elected annually in land unit meetings and twelve petty officers in sea meetings. They were required to monitor the internal order in the assembly, economic affairs, as well as observe decency and decency during balls, evenings, concerts.

All important and most significant issues for the officer community were resolved at general meetings, which were convened as needed, but at least 1-2 times a year. These meetings, as a form of training and education of the command staff, were appointed by the chairman of the officers ' community, and all off-duty officers were required to attend them, and always in uniform. General meetings were organized in such a way that their attendance contributed to the festive mood. Democratic relations prevailed there: any officer, regardless of rank and position, had the right to express his point of view on any issue. In the meeting, and often during office hours, officers addressed each other by their first and patronymic names, while emphasizing a respectful attitude towards the interlocutor. In the officers ' assembly, senior commanders tactfully and unobtrusively taught subordinates a clear, clear statement of their thoughts, necessary in official relations and in a secular society. Not only the military, but also general education was of great importance. A good knowledge of history, literature, and foreign languages was considered mandatory. Every officer who cared about his reputation as a cultured person was distinguished by the ability to support a conversation on a relevant topic in society.

In officer meetings, much attention was paid to monitoring the officers ' compliance with the established etiquette standards, including outside meetings. For example, it was considered extremely indecent to appear drunk to a decent girl or lady, and even more so in this state, to try to get her permission to accompany her home. The officer community followed the implementation of the norms of behavior in relation to a woman especially carefully. It even went so far as to impose restrictions on smoking at sea meetings during events. So, in the Sevastopol Naval Assembly, during balls and musical evenings, smoking was allowed only in those rooms that were determined for this purpose by the committee of petty officers. And in the Kronstadt Assembly, on ball days, when ladies gathered, smoking was generally forbidden in the meeting room.

The military Department, which took care of the moral culture of the officers, in 1911 compiled a list of institutions for St. Petersburg that an officer, while off duty, had the right to visit. These included: the Imperial Aero Club, the Imperial Automobile Society, the Yacht Club, the noble, noble and literary and artistic meetings, the literary and artistic Society, and the Family Circle meeting. Among the establishments forbidden to officers were private clubs and meetings where gambling games were played, variety shows, "Yar-restaurant", small cinema, restaurants and hotels of the lower categories, inns, tea rooms, pubs, as well as 3rd class buffets located at railway stations.

In cases when an immoral act was committed by one of the members of the officers ' assembly, the officer community paid close attention to this fact, but the proceedings were conducted in a delicate form that spared human dignity. Officers were held responsible for their misdeeds, and the following types of crimes were committed:

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punishments were determined: for meetings of land units-a remark, notification of misconduct of members of the assembly, temporary exclusion from the number of members of the assembly, a fine for lost or damaged books, damage to things, furniture, breaking dishes; for sea meetings - a fine, a remark by petty officers, announcement of a committed offense to officers.

In the interests of educating officers on the military traditions of the army and navy, many officer collections created historical museums, the role and significance of which can be shown by the example of the museum of the officer collection of the Life Guards of the 2nd Artillery brigade. It attracted members of the assembly and guests by the fact that it contained paintings, photographs, drawings, engravings depicting episodes from the combat and peaceful life of the unit. Visitors got acquainted with the awards, medals, cups, gifts presented in the museum in memory of events related to the brigade; they had the opportunity to see its weapons, equipment of personnel, scientific works of officers of the unit. Replenishment of its exhibits was carried out at the expense of gifts from members of the imperial family, donations from officers and their families, and private individuals. The museum's collection was the property of the brigade's officers ' collection.

In the officer communities of the units, much attention was paid to the organization of leisure activities for professional servicemen and their families. Private rules of many meetings provided for the election of a leisure committee, usually consisting of three people. At the initiative of the committee, balls, literary and musical evenings were organized in the officers ' assembly of the unit, which contributed to the spiritual rapprochement of those who visited them, and the establishment of friendly relations between them. In addition, charity events were allowed in the congregations. Children's evenings and holidays, Christmas trees were organized for the children of officers, where gifts were distributed to boys and girls at the expense of the meeting.

The interest groups organized in the meetings were of great benefit to the moral unity of co-workers and their wives. For example, in the officers ' assembly of the Izmailovo Life Guards regiment, there was a scientific and literary circle that contributed to the development of a peculiar form of communication between officers and their relatives and friends. Its participants got acquainted with the works of domestic and foreign figures of culture and art, as well as with the latest achievements of science. There were readings and presentations on fine literature, literary and musical evenings, performances, and exhibitions of applied art.

It should be noted that balls and dance evenings in officers ' meetings were common, they were popular, they were willingly attended by officers, their wives, and invited guests. In the Revel Officers 'Club, such evenings were given once every two weeks, and in the officers' meetings of the regiments of the 27th Infantry Division (Vilna) - weekly, which allowed a contemporary to say: the officers of the unit "became akin to each other, merged into one large society, imbued with a common spirit; everyone won in social communication and there was not a single meeting." just one case of decency being violated." Festive evenings held in the officers 'assembly of the Vilna garrison were also liked by the ladies because they were" attracted by the simplicity that was required in clothing: rules were adopted according to which ladies came in ordinary clothes and without any luxury."

The establishment of trusting relations between officers was also facilitated by traditional friendly lunches and dinners on the occasion of receiving the next rank, promotion, sending off a member of the assembly to another unit, etc.For these purposes, wines and champagne were purchased at relatively low prices, which were allowed to be consumed only in the assembly. The administrative Committee or council of elders collectively set prices for food and beverages, determined portion sizes, and menus (see: RGVIA, f. 544, on. 1, d. 1505, l. 49a). At such friendly feasts, everyone kept simple, were friendly towards each other. The regimental commander usually sat at a common table, there were no special seats for senior commanders. In the Kronstadt Naval Assembly, since 1856, weekly friendly dinners were accompanied by music, while the choir was paid 10 rubles, and for lunch-35 kopecks per member of the assembly. In 1862, it was decided to hold daily friendly dinners, which served to further bring the military sailors closer together. On special occasions, four toasts were always made at the dinner: to the sovereign-emperor; to the Admiral-General; to the honorary and former foremen, members of the assembly and guests; to the health of the ladies attending the meeting.

In the activities of officer meetings of regiments and ships, the leading place was given to the development of combat and spiritual qualities of the command staff of units and divisions. It was carried out within the framework of the existing system of formation of special knowledge, spiritual experience, and general development among regular military personnel. This system included such elements as professional training, moral culture, military applied work, and leisure. The work carried out contributed to the spiritual rapprochement of officers and their families, increasing the level of military readiness of the command staff, useful time spent off-duty, consolidating progressive army and navy traditions, i.e. everything that forms the basis of military education. And in this case, an essential role was played by the officers ' meetings of the Russian Army and Navy.

Colonel Alexander NAZAROV, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor

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