“Government servants” (batmen) in the families of Russian officers in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries
Based on a wide range of sources, the article analyzes the status and place of government servants (batmen) in the Russian officers’ families. Attention is drawn to the fact that despite the significant percentage of soldiers serving as batmen (constant messengers), the social status of this group of military personnel of the tsarist army has not yet become the subject of special research. The study describes the evolution of entitlement of the lower ranks, who served to the tsar and the Motherland, employed by the officers. The requirements presented to this contingent, the forms of the allowance they receive, the degree of involvement in the life of the officer’s family are determined. It is concluded that the reduction of the number of batmen that occurred in 1909, despite the monetary compensation, became a serious material problem for the officers. On the other hand, by the beginning of the XX century, a gigantic percentage of batmen in the army did not consort either with the tasks facing the country's armed forces or with the increased level of self-awareness of soldiers, extremely dissatisfied with the use of "defenders of the Motherland" as free servants.