Cantonist: Encyclopedia II - Cantonist - Cantonists in Russia

Cantonist - Cantonists in Russia

Cantonists (Russian language: Кантонисты) were sons of Russian private soldiers who from 1805 were educated in special "canton schools" (Кантонистские школы) for future military service (the schools were called garrison schools in the 18th century); after 1827 the term was applied also to Jewish boys, who were drafted to military service at the age of twelve and placed for their military education in cantonist schools of distant provinces. Like other conscripts, they were forced to serve in the Russian army for 25 years or more, according to the law signed by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia on August 26 (September 7 new style), 1827. A disproportionate number of Jewish minors under 18 years of age, and sometimes much younger, were placed in such preparatory military training establishments. Even though boys as young as eight were frequently taken, the 25-year term officially commenced at the age of 18.

The vast majority of Jews entered the Russian Empire as an unwelcome side effect of the territories acquired as a result of the Partitions of Poland of the 1790s; their civil rights were severely restricted (see Pale of Settlement) and most lacked knowledge of the official Russian language. Before 1827, Jews were doubly taxed in lieu of being obligated to serve in the army, but the Cantonist law did not alleviate this burden.

The Cantonist institutions existed before 1827 in order to prepare Christian boys whose fathers were in the army for prospective service, but the new law redesigned them to affect Jews. One of the goals behind the compulsory military service was to strip Jewish boys of their religious and national identity. An official policy was to encourage their conversion to the state religion of Orthodox Christianity and Jewish boys were frequently forcefully baptized. As kosher food was unavailable, the boys were faced with the choice of going against the halakha or starving. Since the traditional Jewish society of the time was patriarchal, removing a family backbone was designed to hit both families and communities.

Strict quotas were imposed on kahals and the leaders were forced to turn against their own communities. As the wealthy and the guild members were not obligated or bribed their way out, the policy deeply sharpened social tensions. The practice of informers and kidnappers (Russian: "ловчики", lovchiki, Yiddish: "khapers") proliferated, as many potential conscripts preferred to run away rather than voluntarily submit to the virtual death sentence to which the long conscription period sometimes amounted. In the case of unfulfilled quotas, younger boys were taken. Their fate was described by Yiddish and Russian literature classics.

While being convoyed to his Siberian exile at Vyatka, Alexander Herzen met a unit of emaciated Jewish Cantonists, some 8 years old, who were marching to Perm and then to Kazan. Their officer complained that a third had already died ("Беда да и только, треть осталась на дороге" -- "Былое и думы", My Past and Thoughts, end of Chapter 13).

The policy was abolished in 1855, with the death of Nicholas I. It is estimated that between 30,000 to 70,000 Jewish boys served as the cantonists; most never returned to their homes. After 25-year conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live outside the Pale of Settlement as useful Jews.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cantonists in Russia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki