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{{Short description|Regiment of young boys under Peter the Great}}
The '''toy army of [[Peter I of Russia|Peter I]]''' ({{langx|ru|Потешные войска, Poteshnye voiska}}, literally ''amusement forces'' or ''fun forces'') was initially called ''Petrovskiy polk'', Peter's regiment ({{langx|ru|Петровский полк}}) and was a collection of young Peter's playmates, noblemen's sons and attendants of [[Alexis of Russia|his father Aleksei]]'s court.<ref name=stone>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbR62llvLh0C&q=poteshnye+voiska&pg=RA1-PA46 |title=A Military History of Russia: From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya|author1-link=David R. Stone |author=David R. Stone |year=2006 |publisher=Praeger Security International |isbn=0-275-98502-4 }}</ref>
[[File:History of Peter I (Krekshin) - Troops at Kolomenskoe and Kozhukhovo.jpg|thumb|400px|Military exercises of the toy army]]
In 1682, when [[Peter the Great|Peter]] with his mother, [[Natalia Naryshkina]], relocated to the royal lodge in [[Preobrazhenskoye District|Preobrazhenskoye]], he gradually formed a miniature army, ostensibly to school himself in the modern art of war. Besides fellow children, the servants and retainers were also enlisted, with 25-year-old [[Sergei Bukhvostov]] recorded in 1683 as the 'first Russian soldier'. Initially, the "play soldiers" were organized as a 100 men strong '''Company of Bombardiers'''.<ref name=konstam>{{cite book |title= Peter the Great's Army (1): Infantry |last=Konstam |first= Angus|author-link= Angus Konstam|year=1993 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|location=London|isbn= 1-85532-315-X|chapter=The 'Poteshnyi' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dRQYK9l92MC&q=poteshna&pg=PA10
 |access-date=2011-03-23}}</ref>{{rp|10–11}}

The boys played war, and as they grew, their games became more [[Military exercise|complex and realistic]]. Professional military advice was sought, and foreign officers were hired as instructors, eventually becoming part of the permanent officer corps of the ''Poteshnyi''. By 1685 the ''Poteshnyi'' numbered 300 and were quartered in specially built barracks near Preobrazhenskoye and as their numbers increased, a second similarly sized group was barracked in a neighboring village, [[Semyonovsky (rural locality)|Semenovskoe]]. With further drafts of [[Streltsy]] volunteers, the ''Poteshnyi'' were organized into the '''Preobrazhensky''' and the '''Semenovsky''' companies in 1687. At this stage both companies included artillery and cavalry components.<ref name=konstam />{{rp|10–11}}

During the [[1689 coup attempt]] by [[Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia|regent Sophia Alekseyevna]], the ''Poteshnyi'' had been part of the units supporting young Peter, along with most of the [[Streltsy]], and leading members of [[Boyar|Russian nobility]].<ref name=konstam />{{rp|10–11}}

The companies were being expanded and on 25 April 1695 officially became [[Preobrazhensky Regiment|Preobrazhensky]] and [[Semenovsky Regiment]]s of the Guard.<ref name=konstam />{{rp|11–12}}  These regiments became the beginnings of the [[Russian Imperial Guard]].  As Peter matured, the regiments did as well, and Peter participated fully in the army, joining its ranks as a [[Bombardier (rank)|bombardier]],<ref name=konstam />{{rp|10–11}} and rising up to [[colonel]] and head of the regiments.<ref name=schuyler>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/petergreatemper04schugoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/petergreatemper04schugoog/page/n158 107] |quote=peter preobrazhensky. |title=Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: A Study of Historical Biography |author=Eugene Schuyler |publisher=Trow's Printing and Bookbinding, New York| year=1880}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://history.scps.ru/petr/dirin01.htm P. Dirin Потешные полки Петра Великого {{in lang|ru}}]

[[Category:Military history of Russia]]
[[Category:Russian Imperial Guard]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1683]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Peter the Great]]
[[Category:1683 establishments in Russia]]


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