“Your Excellency needs only to wish it”: Awards and Promotion Culture in the Army of Catherine II

Abstract

In the 1790s, Prince Nikolai Repnin sent one of his favorites, a major, to Count Aleksandr Suvorov, the rising star in Catherine's army, with a recommendation letter to promote him to colonelcy. Suvorov met the major with extreme courtesy but at the same time tried to test his worthiness, his wit, and his ability to think on the spot. Suvorov was trying to see if the major was one of the "don't-knowers" (nemoguznaiki), a word of his own invention that he used to describe the people unable to stand up to the onslaught of his bizarre questions. Suvorov tried hard but he could not fault the major as a don't-knower. On the questions of how many stars were in the sky or how many fish were in the sea the major steadily supplied astronomical numbers. Finally Suvorov asked, "What is the difference between Prince Repnin and me?" The question was a difficult and sensitive one, but the major did not lose his nerve and replied: "The difference is that Prince Repnin wants to promote me to colonel, but he cannot, and Your Excellency needs only to wish it." Suvorov was satisfied with this witty reply and the major received his promotion. 1 This story sheds interesting light on the meaning of merit, promotions, and awards, which still remain an unexplored part of military culture in eighteenth-century Russia. 2