Opelchenie

Militia are often poorly equipped and trained, but are ideal for maintaining public order.

Men in the militia rarely expect to be sent into battle. It is their lot to act as reserves, or local law enforcers. As a result, if they do find themselves on a battlefield, they should be expected to run away, and not handle their weaponry with any great proficiency. Militia may appear useless, then, but they are cheap to maintain and as plentiful as any bureaucrat could want.

In 1806, despite previous unfortunate experiences with disgruntled peasants, the Russian state recruited 600,000 serfs into the “opelchenie”, a militia. Training was basic, and weaponry similarly simple: the opelchenie were given pikes. After the French invasion of 1812 the opelchenie was no longer limited to serfs, and another 200,000 recruits joined in a national wave of patriotism. Some of this new cohort of serfs brought their own pitchforks and shovels as weapons.