New Information about “The Draft of the Basic Beginnings of the Regulations on the Don Army” (1860s)

Abstract. The article discusses the results of the activities of the Don Committee for the revision of the military situation in the 1860s. The Committee prepared a number of projects in many areas of administration and economy of the Land of the Don Army, the main of which was the draft of the new Regulations on the Don Army. Based on the historiographic background, the author concludes that the project is of particular importance, which is the quintessence of the Don Cossacks’ legal understanding of their place in the imperial administrative and class hierarchy after the abolition of serfdom. The article characterizes the fundamental articles of the full text of the draft regulation, which was found in the State Archives of the Rostov Region. The analysis of the content of the project is placed in the context of the socio- political situation that prevailed on the Don at the beginning. 1860s The role of the military ataman of the Donskoy P.Kh. Grabbe in preparation for the project. The opinions of the Minister of War D.A. Milyutin, as well as other high- ranking officials in relation to the project, whose critical remarks eventually led to the abandonment of the project in practice.

Keywords: Don Cossacks, Committee for the revision of military regulations, draft regulations, P.Kh. Grabbe, D.A. Milyutin.