"Bread Poverty" as a Factor of Destabilization in the Olonets "New Order" Regiments in the 1660s
The article examines the problems of the food supply system of the Russian army during the Russo-Polish War of 1654-1667. An attempt is made to reveal the degree of dependence of the increased scale of desertion among soldiers in the Olonets «new order» regiments from the supply crisis of the early 1660s. The study applies a historical and genetic method, as well asa comparative method. The author argues that the maximum aggravation of relations between soldiers and the command in 1662 was largely due to the negative consequences of the monetary reform of the middle of the 17th century and the late payment of bread and monetary salaries. Moreover, inconsistent government policy on the soldiers of Olonetsky Uyezd provoked a sharp increase in the number of soldiers desertingfrom the army. The measures taken by the authorities to suppress the impoverishment of the soldiers came to failure. The fight against desertion took various forms, but it was also not possible to stop desertion from the regiments.