The Serving Tatars in the military activities of Russia in 1618–1634

Research objectives: The purpose of our research is to consider the participation of Russian serving Tatars in the military activities of the Russian Kingdom in 1618–1634, a period dating from Deulin armistice to the end of the Smolensk War (1632–1634). Research materials: The study is based on the data found in “Razr’ad” books and va­rious documentary material. Results and novelty of the research: The participation of serving Tatars in the mobilization activities and military actions of this period allows us to determine their place in the armed forces of the Russian state during years that saw the slow restoration of military potential that had decreased during the Time of Troubles. Serving Tatars, like other categories of serving peoples, served mainly in “halves,” moving in shifts among frontier cities and districts cities where troops were stationed in case of an attack by the Crimean Tatars, Nogais, or Poles. The analysis of the sources here allows us to determine the approximate number of serving Tatars, the range of their combat missions, and the list of Tatar serving corporations. According to such documents,strengths ranging from 2204 to 2947 Tatars appear in military service at the same time, and their number increases over time. By the Smolensk War of 1632–1634, the consequences of the Time of Troubles had not yet been surmounted. For this reason, many serving peoples could not go into service because of poverty, or they deserted because of it. Owing to this, it is difficult to determine the exact number of serving Tatars who took part in the war; apparently, some city corporations of Tatars did not participate in it although they were listed in the military estimates. Military operations were reduced mainly to the siege of Smolensk by the Russian army, followed by the Polish attack on the city. The serving Tatars, like the boyar children, were engaged in the searching out and capture of “tongues” (prisoners of war). The Tatars who remained in their district cities and at home, like other serving peoples, were mobilized into a new army in the autumn of 1633. However, it did not have time to help the siege contingent at Smolensk which capitulated in February 1634, suffering significant losses. The scientific novelty of our research is that it for the first time in historiography, this work examines in detail the participation of the serving Tatars in the military activities of the Russian Kingdom in 1618–1634 and makes a number of conclusions about their contribution to the defense of the Moscow state.