Mikhailenok O.M. Army of the Russian Empire: from the Great reforms to October 1917. In: October revolution and modernity. Socio-political lessons: [monograph] ...

Abstract

The сhapter notes that for domestic political science of particular interest is the appeal to the study of those periods in the history of Russia, when there was a sharp change in the foundations of statehood, changed the social system, political regime, reformed state institutions, including the armed forces, the military organization as a whole. Scientific analysis of the military policy of the state, the political role of the armed forces at sharp turns in the history of the Russian state provides extensive material for reflection, generalization, theoretical and practical conclusions that allow deeper reveal the role of this institution in the political system of society. This helps to better understand not only the social and state nature of the Russian armed forces, but also to determine their place and importance in modern political processes. The reform of the army can be effective if it is carried out in a comprehensive manner, i.e. all components of the military organization, the army, the state and society, the type of social relations in the country are taken into account. There can not be a strong army in a society and a state in crisis, but, on the contrary, the army, if properly reformed, can be an important tool for establishing the relationship between the state, society and citizens, an indispensable means of civil formation and socialization of citizens, to achieve consensus among different segments of society on a patriotic basis. It is concluded that the political behavior of the armed forces in the transition periods of the development of statehood is due to a number of factors: their place in state and public life, social composition, the specifics of the political regime, the presence or absence of civil society, the level of political culture, etc. This actualizes a holistic, comprehensive analysis of this system of relationships and, therefore, requires the creation of an independent direction in the domestic political science, whose task, I think, is to identify trends, reveal patterns, explore universal features and specific features of the relationship between society, the state and the armed forces.