Orderly: How one soldier managed to replace all servants
Orderlies are soldiers in the Russian Army, who held the position of permanent servants to officers. They were appointed forcibly, often from among the soldiers least fit for military service: lame, bow-legged, frail. It was impossible to refuse, as this was also a form of fulfilling military duty.
The range of duties of an orderly was unusually broad and not specified: from shining boots and cleaning to running errands, guarding property, helping with the housework and caring for children. In fact, an orderly even replaced household servants – the footman, the cook, the maid and even the nanny. At the same time, he had to obey not only his officer, but also his wife and children. Therefore, near-family relationships often developed between him and the owners. Orderlies identified themselves with the family, saying: "We are getting married" or "our Olya has a fever."
An officer of the Russian army, a lieutenant with his orderly
Orderlies were unpaid servants for officers. They received an allowance from the treasury (for provisions, uniforms, etc.), but lived in the officer's apartment. Any monetary rewards from officers were optional and depended on their will. And this was a significant disadvantage of their position. Therefore, by the end of the 19th century, the institution of orderlies increasingly caused discontent among soldiers and, after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, it was completely abolished.
Pavel Andreevich Fedotov. Officer and orderly. 1850
One of the most famous orderlies in Russian history is considered to be Prokhor Dubasov or simply ‘Proshka’. He served under great Russian commander Alexander Suvorov for more than 30 years. His duties included waking up his master, even if he did not want to get up, not letting him eat too much and, generally, taking care of the commander's health in every possible way. However, once he still managed to make one major mistake – he forgot to remove a needle that broke off in the heel in the general's sock or boot after repairing it. The field surgeon was unable to remove the tip and Suvorov had to limp for the rest of his life.
