Cantonment of troops and housing service in Belarus (mid 1850s – mid 1870s)

Abstract

The article reveals the essence of one of the phenomena of the era of Alexander’s reforms which on the scale of the Russian Empire was most common in Belarus but until now has not become the subject of research by Belarusian historians. According to the sources identified in the archives and book repositories of Belarus, Russia, Lithuania the military post due to the special geostrategic position of the Belarusian provinces in the mid 1850s – mid 1870s was an integral attribute of the daily life of hundreds of thousands of their inhabitants. In the present study is the first to assess the extent of involvement of the population in Belarusian provinces in support of troops of the Russian Empire housing allowance, sets out the principles and forms of army civilian infrastructure and food within the housing service, the role of local civil administration and selfgovernment in the cantonment of the troops on the ground. For the first time most of the used ones are mentioned.

Keywords

• quartering of troops
• housing service
• belarus as part of the russian empire
• russian troops
• vilna military district