The Armory Chamber and Armed Forces of Russia in the Second Half of 17th - Early 18th Century
Abstract
The article is devoted to the insufficiently studied aspect of the activities of the Armory chamber in the second half of 17th - beginning of 18th centuries – supplying the needs of the Russian armed forces. Political and military realities of the first half of the seventeenth century revealed the need for the modernization and transformation of the armed forces of Russia. Military reform required a massive amount of combat weapons and equipment made by Western European standard. The middle of the 17th century was the times of a search for an optimal algorithm which would provide the armed forces with weapons and equipment. The integration in this process of the court gunsmith and Armory was an effective solution. The content of the Inventory of the Armory Chamber in 1647 can be divided into two parts: 1) parade and ceremonial weapons and armor, designed for the sovereign and court 2) a huge number of combat weapons deposed in a different storages. The research is based on the complex of archival documents showing the role of the Armory chamber officials in organizing the purchase of combat weapons, its testing, preserving, repairing and transfer to the troops. The author also observed the changes in the activities of the institution in the last quarter of the century – when craftspeople of the court Armory workshop participated in the manufacturing of some special types of combat arms and service as a military gunsmith directly in troops and provincial armories.
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