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“Your Excellency needs only to wish it”: Awards and Promotion Culture in the Army of Catherine II
Author(s) -
MIAKINKOV EUGENE
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the russian review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1467-9434
pISSN - 0036-0341
DOI - 10.1111/russ.12085
Subject(s) - promotion (chess) , meritocracy , bureaucracy , meaning (existential) , artillery , reign , set (abstract data type) , articulation (sociology) , wish , political science , sociology , management , public relations , law , epistemology , history , philosophy , politics , economics , archaeology , computer science , anthropology , programming language
This article explores the meaning of merit in the military culture in the Age of Catherine the Great. What was the promotion culture based on in Catherine's Russia? How was it exercised? How was it reinforced? What was the importance of professionalism in gaining promotions? And how was it legislated within the cultural and bureaucratic framework? My research suggests that, despite occasional nods to favoritism and patronage, the machinery of merit kept steadily humming in the background. As a matter of fact, Catherine's reign left behind a significant amount of evidence that points to the gradual development of meritocracy and articulation of merit in the military culture. To document merit, verify its existence, and analyze it, this article examines a unique set of documents–letters of recommendation–that have not yet been fully utilized by any systematic research.