Leib Guard (Rossyiah)
The Leib Guard (Russian: Лейб-гвардия; Leyb-gvardiya), commmonly known as Russian Imperial Guard, is a military command serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia and, from 1917 onwards, the Tsar of Russia. Emperor Peter I founded the first such units following the Prussian practice in 1683. The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become an elite corps of all branches within the Imperial Army. Following the Russian Civil War, the Leib Guard returned to the duty of protecting the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the Imperial family and the bulk of the regiments of the Imperial Guard are stationed in and around Saint Petersburg and Moscow in peacetime.
Mission
The Leib Guard is a federal government agency concerned with the tasks related to the protection of the Tsar of Russia, the Imperial Family and several high-ranking state officials, mandated by the relevant law, as well as certain imperial properties.
The main principles of the implementation of the protection of the Tsar of Russia, of the Imperial Family and of the protected state officials are the principles of observance of human rights and freedoms, centralized leadership, interaction of state security agencies, continuity, a combination of public and private methods of activity, accountability and supervision.
According to the Regulation on the Leib Guard, its main tasks are:
- Ensuring the safety of the Tsar in the places of their permanent and temporary stay and on the routes;
- Forecasting and identifying threats to the vital interests of the Tsar, implementing a set of measures to prevent this threat;
- Prevention, detection and suppression of illegal encroachments on the Tsar and protected objects;
- Prevention, detection and suppression of crimes and other offenses at protected facilities, in places of permanent and temporary residence of the Tsar and on their routes;
- Protection of protected objects;
- Participation in the fight against terrorism;
- Organization and maintenance of operation, safety, improvement of special communications and information provided by and to the Tsar;
- Participation in the development and implementation of measures to ensure the information security of Russia, to counter technical intelligence and to protect information constituting a state secret.
History
Peter the Great first established the two senior units of the eventual Imperial Guard, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky infantry regiments. Later, Anna of Russia formed the Izmaylovsky Regiment, recruited from her native Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The Izmaylovsky Regiment became the official palace guards during Anna's reign.
The term "Leib" was first introduced by Elizabeth of Russia during her formation of the Leib Company made up of the grenadiers. The Imperial Guard played a key role in suppressing the 1905 Revolution, most particularly at Saint Petersburg on Sunday, 22 (O.S. 9) January 1905 (Bloody Sunday). The Semyonovsky Regiment subsequently repressed widespread disturbances in Moscow. However, a full battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment mutinied in June 1906.
Russian Revolution of 1917
During the February Revolution of 1917, the garrison of Petrograd included 99,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard. These were reserve battalions, made up of a mixture of new recruits and veterans from the regiments of the Imperial Guard serving at the front. Generally still recruited from rural districts, the rank and file of the Guards were reliable instruments of Tsarist rule. The overall morale and leadership of the Saint Petersburg troops was high.
When Nicholas II moved from Petrograd to the Moscow Kremlin in early 1919, his protection was entrusted to the Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment, under the command of the Commandant of the Kremlin Garrison. In September 1918, the Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment left for the fronts of the Civil War, and they were replaced by the officer cadets of the Life-Guards 1st His Majesty's Rifle Regiment that were redeployed into the Kremlin for this purpose.
Nicholas II
In January 1925, as Nicholas II consolidated his power after the Russian Civil War, the remnants of the Imperial Guard were reorganized. Several units were disbanded, while other were integrated in the Imperial Russian Army.
In October 1935, a Special Purpose Battalion was created to replace the 1st His Majesty's Rifle Regiment on Kremlin guard duties. The 1st His Majesty's Rifle Regiment was assigned to the Imperial Russian Army. On 8 April 1936, in accordance with Order No. 122 for the Moscow Kremlin Garrison, the Special Purpose Battalion revived the designation of the Life-Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. The following day also Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment, Life-Guards Izmailovsky Regiment and Life-Guards Pavlovsky Regiment were reestablished. These three later Regiments found place in the 1st Guards Division.
Alexei II
When the Great Patriotic War began in 1941, the surviving units of the Leib Guard were made responsible for defending the Kremlin, where the Ministry of War and General Staff were located. On 25 June 1941, the Commandant of the Garrison ordered the defences to be reinforced: the 1st Guards Division was transferred to the Kremlin Garrison and was redesignated 1st Leib Guard Division. In 1942–1943 four Battalions of snipers from the Kremlin Garrison were sent to the Western and Volkhov Fronts. On 23 February 1944 the Kremlin Garrison was decorated with the Order of St. George. Three battalions from the Leib Guard took part in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 on Red Square.
In 1946 the Leib Guard was again downsized. Only the Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment was kept as Leib Guard, while the Ministry of State Security assumed the duty to provide security to important State leaders. On 10 April 1949, the 465th Special Commandant's Company, by order of the General Staff, was enlarged to an enhanced-battalion size and became the Life-Guards Egersky Regiment.
In 1952 the Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment was reorganized into the Separate Special Purpose Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment. On 29 November 1956, by order of the Council of Ministers, the 1st Independent Honour Guard Company and the Military Band of the Honour Guard were raised, both under the supervision of the Office of the Kremlin Garrison. On 1 December, they received the name of Life-Guards Finliandsky Regiment.
In 1957, the State Security Service lost all protection and security duties and the Leib Guard was reformed on six infantry regiments: Life-Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment, Life-Guards Izmailovsky Regiment, Life-Guards Egersky Regiment, Life-Guards Pavlovsky Regiment and Life-Guards Finliandsky Regiment.
On 9 May 1965 the Leib Guard was decorated with the Order of the Fatherland for its military achievements during the Great Patriotic War as 1st Leib Guard Division. On 8 May 1967 the Life-Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment took part in the unveiling ceremony of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden.
Alexander IV
In 1980 several servicemen from the Life-Guards Izmailovsky Regiment took part in the 1980 Olympic opening ceremony wearing civilian formal dress escorting the Olympic Flag. The regiment's Special Duties Company took part in Exercise Zapad-81 the following year as part of the Russian Armed Forces contingent, and received the Medal "For Courage in a Fire" for its fire fighting efforts that year when a fire broke out in the Moscow Oblast. The regiment took part in the 1985 World Festival of Youth and Students and in the 1987 commemorations of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.
Since 1997 the Leib Guard has resumed guard duties on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its Eternal Flame, keeping alive the legacy of those who served on the war fronts.
On 2 September 2002, on the basis of the 11th Cavalry Regiment, the His Majesty's Lancers were reestablished.
On 7 May 2006 the regiment gained a new regimental color, modeled on the traditional ones. These are worn in addition to modern style dress uniforms. Both types of uniform are in dark green with medium blue piping, but the shoulder boards in the historical full dress is different, even through the ranks are just the same, while only officers wear epaulettes in the latter. When in modern dress uniforms, they wear blue berets or peaked caps, but wear the shako, gorgets and tall period boots with the historical full dress, carrying the SKS rifle or sabres in both cases. This is also the case of the Regiment's Presidential Band, which wears white uniforms similar to those by the Imperial Guard bands of the late 19th century. In 2006, an amateur theater was created within the Life-Guards Izmailovsky Regiment.
Kyrill II
In March 2017, the Leib Guard received the right to seize land plots for state needs (to which any object can be attributed), in June it became possible to restrict traffic on highways, use airports, sea and river ports free of charge and protect the data of protected officials.
Organization
The Leib Guard is organized into services and units. The traditional units are kept alive and each operates a specific area of responsibility.
- Commander
- Life-Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment: Tsar's personal security service
- Life-Guards Semyonovsky Regiment: Security Service
- Life-Guards Izmailovsky Regiment: Kremlin Regiment
- Life-Guards Egersky Regiment: Honour Guard Regiment
- His Majesty's Lancers: Honour Guard Cavalry
- His Majesty's Guards Convoy Unit: Transit security
- 1st Life-Guards Artillery Brigade: Special Communications Service
- 2nd Life-Guards Artillery Brigade: Engineering Support Service
- Administrative service
- King Frederick-William III's Life-Guards Petrograd Regiment: Security service in Petrograd
- Life-Guards Grenadier Regiment: Security service in Sochi
- Life-Guards Pavlovsky Regiment: Security service in Tbilisi
- Life-Guards Finliandsky Regiment: Security service in Helsinki
- Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment: Security service in Riga
- Life-Guards Volinsky Regiment: Security service in Astana
- His Majesty's Life-Guards Cossack Regiment: Security service in Crimea
- Emperor of Austria's Life-Guards Kexgolmsky Regiment: Security service in Tashkent
- Life-Guards Moscow Regiment: Units at official residences
- 3rd Life-Guards Artillery Brigade: Office of Special Communications and Information
- Life-Guards Hussar Regiment: Intelligence department
- Educational and research institutions
- Public Relations Center
Life-Guards Hussar Regiment
The Life-Guards Hussar Regiment is the intelligence branch of Tsar's personal security service. The Life-Guards Hussar Regiment is responsible for analyzing information collected about the security threats to the life of the president. The Department mixes several selected intelligence experts from the Military Intelligence, Internal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence into one branch.