Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the introduction of military settlements in Russia on the institution of military cantonists, particularly with regard to their education and military training. Additionally, the research seeks to identify the distinctive features of autocratic policy in the sphere of army reserve training during the period of functioning military settlements in various regions of the country. The complexity and multifactorial nature of their history necessitated additional analysis of both individual periods of their existence and specific regions of their deployment. The research methodology was based on the principal parameters of the contemporary historical paradigm, including structural anthropology, the «linguistic turn», the «global» and «structural» methodologies of the Annales School, microhistory, the incorporation of components from related and humanities disciplines, methods of verification, and the problem-chronological method. The primary source base of the study consists of materials from several collections of the Russian State Military Historical Archive, as well as certain published sources. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the attempt to adapt materials related to the stated topic to the existing historiographical problem of the functioning of the institution of military settlements. An interdisciplinary approach was applied, which made it possible to identify specific features of the functioning of the educational system within military settlements. Based on the processing and analysis of data from various sources, the key aspects of the history of the formation of the school system for cantonists in military settlements were elucidated. Further development was achieved in the study of the time and circumstances surrounding the establishment of the system of school education for military cantonists in different regions of the country. On the basis of the analysis of sources, the following conclusions can be drawn. During the specified period, the formation of special training units, initiated as early as 1808, continued. At this time, the procedure for assigning cantonists to service in army units was altered. With the introduction of military settlements, a portion of cantonists was assigned to settlement troops. Prior to the subordination of military cantonists to Count A. A. Arakcheev, their inclusion in settlement troops had been insignificant. From 1824 onward, the situation changed considerably: annually, no fewer than 25% of the cantonists assigned to military service were directed to reinforce settlement troops. Throughout this period, the government repeatedly attempted to improve the living conditions of soldiers’ children housed in cantonist departments. However, these efforts were not achieved through increasing staff positions, expanding the number of departments, or raising allocations, but rather through reducing the number of cantonists enrolled in these educational institutions. Keywords: cantonists, primary military education, school, military settlements, О. A. Arakcheev.</jats:p>