Unlawful Acts Committed by Russian Army Soldiers Against Peasants of the Podilia Governorate in the 19th Century

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of this inquiry arises from the need to continue a comprehensive and in-depth examination of
aspects related to the causes (motives), consequences, and the social response of both local communities and authorities to
the criminal aggression of soldiers toward peasants and their property. Such analysis allows for a deeper understanding of the
foundations of military policy, the attitude toward the rule of law, and the level of legal awareness not only among soldiers but
the broader society of the described period.
Scientific novelty. Firstly, as a result of the continuation of the study of archival materials from the imperial judicial institutions in Podolia in the 19th century, primarily from the State Archive of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, new information and documents
have been found and processed, which open up new aspects of their activities or complement those discovered in previous
years. This allows for a more detailed understanding of the motivations and mentality of criminals in uniform. Secondly, in light
of the events of the ongoing full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, clear historical parallels can be drawn between the occupation
policies of the Russian Empire in the 19th century and the current Russian Federation in the 21st century. Therefore, with a high
degree of certainty, one can confirm and predict the behavior of Russian soldiers in the occupied territories, who, under the
slogans of the «Russian World,» are committing genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Methodology. The study employs the method of systematization which helped organize the information and present the
material in a logical sequence, allowing for a detailed analysis of the events and phenomena under investigation. The structural-systematic method enabled the identification of the research object and its examination within the framework of rational knowledge, avoiding biased interpretations of empirical material (legislative acts, normative documents from provincial
authorities, memoirs of participants, statistical data). The dialectical method of studying historical processes allowed for the
consideration of the identified issues in their development and contradictions. Given the need to uncover the properties and
manifestations of the studied process as a historical reality and to determine the role of specific representatives of military
command, regional and provincial administration, and local government apparatus in societal changes, the biographical and
historical-genetic methods were used. The retrospective method enabled distancing from the present and gradually immersing
in the realities of life in Podolia during the outlined period, identifying its features and patterns of development.
Conclusion. Criminal aggression against the civilian population by soldiers of the Russian Empire’s army in the 19th
century is a predictable phenomenon caused by the societal worldview, mentality of the moscovites, and the very structure
(essence) of the armed forces of moscovy-russia throughout the imperial period, a legacy later taken up by the Soviet and
Putin’s armies. As archival documents show that this army was composed of criminals, thieves, and looters, whose existence
was shaped by the harsh treatment they received from the officer corps, drill practices, and years of difficult living and eating
conditions. The unwillingness of some soldiers to adapt to physical abuse and poverty led to psychological resistance and
rejection of the serfdom-based system of the imperial army, which manifested in criminal aggression toward the civilian population. This same russian army continues to exist in the 21st century, carefully preserving and propagating the traditions of its ancestors. Feeling impunity, its soldiers in occupied or annexed territories behave as occupiers, always serving as thoughtless instruments of imperial policy.