| Serbian Hussar Regiment — III — | |
|---|---|
 Serbian hussar in service for the Russian Empire, the 18th century | |
| Active | 1723—1783 |
| Country |  Russian Empire |
| Size | 5,000 (in 1727) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| First commander | Jovan Albanez |
The Serbian Hussar Regiment was a military unit of the Russian Imperial Army which predominantly consisted of Serbian colonists to Russia. This cavalry unit was in service from 1723 to 1783.
Due to Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–1711), the position of Serbian militiamen in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy was endangered. In 1704 the first Serbian attempts were made to offer their services to the Russian Empire in the latter's struggle against the Ottomans. Before the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War (1710–11) Russian Emperor Peter the Great invited Serbian militiamen and Serbs in general to join the Russian forces. During this period, a small group of Serbs, including Jovan Albanez, emigrated to Russia. A small Serb unit commanded by then-Captain [1] Albanez distinguished itself in the Pruth River Campaign (1710–11), [2] so Peter the Great decided to expand this unit and turn it into a separate Serbian Hussar Regiment. [3]
In 1723, Peter the Great sent Albanez to the Pomorišje and Potisje regions of the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy to recruit additional Serbian militiamen. [4] The invitation letter carried by Albanez was signed by Peter the Great on 23 October 1723. [5] Every military men who emigrated to Russia with his wife and children would be granted arable land, while those who emigrated with larger numbers of people were promised additional privileges. Albanez was quite successful with recruitment. [6] On 5 May 1724, Albanez reported from Serbia that he had recruited ten officers, including one colonel. [5] According to some sources, 459 Serbs emigrated to Russia in 1724, and 600 in 1725. A detailed list of the military unit commanded by Albanez was made in 1726. [5]
In 1724, a military unit known as the Serb Command (Serbian : Српска команда), consisting of Serbian colonists, was established and put under the command of the Kiev garrison. Between 1724 and 1729, the Serbian Hussar Regiment was expanded and completed its organisational structure. [7] In 1727 this military unit had 459 Serb hussars [8] when it was established as a separate regiment, Serb Hussar Regiment, by the decision of Empress Anna. [2] [9] It was also known as the Old Serbian Hussar Regiment. [10] Its first commander was Major Jovan Albanez; members of the command staff included Captain Jovan Stojanov, Captain Georgije Marjanović, Captain Teodor Petrov, and Lieutenant Stefan Vitković (later promoted to brigadier). [4]
The large-scale recruitment of Serbs from Austria was opposed by Austria and only smaller groups of Serbs continued to emigrate to Russia and enlist to serve in this regiment. To reach the planned strength of the regiment, several hundred Ukrainian Cossacks were transferred to it. The Serbian Hussar Regiment served as a role model for the establishment of three additional regiments (Hungarian, Georgian, and Moldavian) in the 1740s and two more (Bulgarian and Macedonian) during the Seven Years' War. [11]
Until 1734, the regiment did not have a permanent garrison, although it had been established with the primary intention of securing the Ukrainian front line. Between 1729 and 1731, the regiment was assigned to the Russian infantry corps in the southern provinces of Persia. In 1732 the regiment returned from Persia and from 1733 to 1734 participated in the War of the Polish Succession. [12] When the regiment participated in the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), it numbered between 500 and 800 soldiers. [13]
Peter Tekeli (1720–1792) was a Russian general-in-chief of Serb origin. He achieved the highest rank among the Serbs who served in the Imperial Russian Army. He was born in a noble family of military tradition, whose men were officers of the Austrian army in the Military Frontier. Prior to his emigration to Russia in 1748, he fought as a young officer in the War of the Austrian Succession. Characterized by both courage and military cunning, he made a splendid career in Russia. He participated in the Seven Years' War, the first Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), and the second Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). Under his command, Zaporozhian Cossacks were disbanded and subjugated to the Imperial authority in 1775, without spilling a single drop of blood, for which he received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky from Empress Catherine the Great. He retired in 1790, and died two years later in his mansion at Novomirgorod.
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Jovan Šević or Ivan Šević was an 18th-century military officer of Serb origin. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Serb militia forces in the Pomorišje region, then in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy. When it became obvious that privileges granted to Serb militiamen would be reduced or completely revoked after Pomorišje and Potisje lost their frontier status, Šević left Habsburg military service in 1750 and moved to Russia. At the end of 1752, he led the second wave of colonists who migrated from Pomorišje, Potisje and Slavonia to the Russian Empire where they settled the newly established administrative region of Slavo-Serbia at the beginning of 1753. To enable him to recruit more of his fellow officers, Šević was promoted to the rank of General by the Russian Empress, Elizabeth. He commanded a Serb Hussar Regiment consisting of the colonists he brought to Russia. After Šević's death, Slavo-Serbia was disestablished, and many of his descendants became notable military officers in the Russian Imperial Army. Over time, all the Serb colonists became assimilated. Miloš Crnjanski described the migration led by Šević in his most notable work, the novel Migrations.
Jovan Albanez or Ivan Albanez c. 1732) was a military officer of Montenegrin Serb origin who led the first group of colonists from the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy to the Russian Empire in the first half of the 18th century.
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У Молдави над Прутом је у руској* војсци учествовао и капетан Јован Албанез, по Орфелину родом Србин из Подгорице.24) Он је командовао над једним омањим оделењем војника, које су сви у армији називали малоруским ...
За остварување на оваа цел Јован „Албанез" бил испратен во Унгарија да врбува граничари и имал доста успех
... јединица, која је иначе била позната или по имену свог команданта или као Српска команда, 1727. године преформирана у Српски хусарски пук.