The primary means of raising an army during the reign of Nicholas I was by means of the draft.  Approximately 80,000 men were required to be drafted into the Imperial army each year to maintain it at an acceptable strength (3).  This system had been common since before the Napoleonic wars, but was especially necessary in Russia, a land with relatively low population density and very long borders.  The vast majority of the conscripts raised for the Imperial army came from the serfs who lived in the villages across Russia.  These serfs filled out the bulk of the lower ranks of the army, unlike the officer class which was comprised primarily of aristocratic young men.

Conscription of the serfs was for a period of twenty five years which was effectively a lifetime during the 1800's. This was accomplished by the Recruitment Committee sending out draft notices to districts, who then sent them out to village communes.  Typically village elders would decide who was to go. (3)  Masters of serfs could also decide, as could courts - who would often send petty criminals into the army.

Most serfs viewed the idea of being drafted with feelings of dread and sorrow.  This also proved a burden on peasant families faced financial ruin if the only able-bodied male was sent into the army as it left no one to work the fields.  Many villages would hold mock funerals for the young men who were selected for conscription, for few would ever return home again.  This was noted in an 1825 report by M. M. Speransky who wrote that "every family ruined by conscription increased the number of orphans, promoted impoverishment, and harmed agriculture and industry" (2).

These unfortunate men were then marched away (under armed escort) to nearby cities where they would be further processed for the army.

Evading Conscription

Not surprisingly, many attempted to evade conscription by means of physical disqualification.  Among those of acceptable height and age many attempted to injure themselves so that they would not be selected.  This was termed 'self mutilation' by the Tsarist authorities.  It most commonly involved cutting off a portion of the pointer finger on the right hand - which made it difficult to pull a trigger.  Another common malady was claiming that one had a disease.  This proved so common that it a fifteen year long study by the medical board of the Pskov province revealed that peasants of conscription age suffered mange at a rate ten times higher than women of the area.  To alleviate this problem the Ministry of the Interior declared in 1828 that it would draft recruits with mange.

By 1831 new regulations were adopted to ensure that potential recruits did not deliberately injure themselves to avoid conscription.  Injuries not reported and investigated were assumed to be due to the fact that the serf was attempting to avoid being drafted.  This brought punishments of between twenty five and fifty lashes - and assignment to the army anyway.

Still, attempts at avoiding military service continued.  Recruiting station officials of the 1830's often reported finding beeswax, lard, and other substances in the ears of potential recruits who attempted to claim hearing disabilities.  It was said that in 1847 that "to avoid conscription, Tatars damage fingers and auditory organs... they also feign hernias and spread wounds over their bodies" (2).  The army typically reacted to such tactics by simply lowering the acceptance standards and drafting the men all the same.

The Uneven Social Burden of Conscription

There were attempts as early as 1811 to lighten the burden on the Russian serfs and extend the levy to other peoples of the empire.  It should be noted that this was less to ensure social equality and more to allow for larger numbers of soldiers to be raised in times of war.  By the early years of Nicholas I there had been some movement in that direction.  An 1827 statute required Jews to send recruits to the army each year in place of the monetary payments that they had sent previously.  The government explained that "the recruitment obligation, for the relief of our subjects, should be equal for all social categories" (2).  This was not completely true.  Exemptions continued for nobles, merchants, and clergy.  Additional exemptions could be granted to serfs whose master owned less than twenty able bodied men to work his factory or fields.  Non-Russian border populations (Georgians, Bessarabians, Lithuanians, and many Muslim groups) were often expected to make a monetary payment in place of sending conscripts.  This was because it was very easy for members of these groups to desert to avoid service, while others viewed their loyalty to the Tsar as suspect.

By the early 1850's the War Ministry looked into the process of ending exemptions from conscription, but this was opposed by many provincial governors who did not want to deal with the social pressures that would result from enforcing this policy.