This volume explores the military aspects of Russian society and the 'service state' from its fifteenth-century origins unitl its obsolescence in the age of mass conscription and mechanized warfare. The author examines the complex interplay of military and civilian elements in Russia's administration; the social and economic impact of the armed forces; the way officers and men were recruited and the conditions in which they worked; and the development of opposition to military dominance. Focusing on the human rather than the technical aspects of military history, this book offers a rare picture of the inner life of the armed forces and of the Russian political and social system under the tsars.