The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (Russian: Лейб-гвардия pronounced "leyb-gvardiya", from German Leib, meaning body; cf Body Guards) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia. Peter the Great founded the first such units following the Prussian practice in the 1690s, to replace the politically-motivated Streltsy.
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The final composition of the Russian Imperial Guard at the beginning of 1914 was:
Guards Corps St. Petersburg District. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Millionaya. (Guards units not part of the Guards Corps were the Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment and Guards Field Gendarme Squadron.)
Plus the following were part of the 23rd Army Corps, Warsaw Military District. Headquarters, Warsaw, Poland.
Every soldier and officer of the Guard had the style of the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии ...), for example: Colonel of the Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардии полковник). It is a misconception that the monarch himself functioned as the commander of the Leib Guard regiments, so only he and some members of royal family could hold a title of Colonel (Polkovnik) of the Guards, but in fact there were many guards officers in the rank of colonel.
Commissioned officers enjoyed a two-grade elevation in the Table of Ranks over regular army officers; this later changed to a one-grade elevation -- first for the New Guards then for the rest of the Leib Guard. Following the abolition of the rank of Major in 1884, most grades below VII shifted one position upwards, effectively returning to those of the Old Guards.
| Grade, Old Guards | Grade, New Guards | Category | Infantry | Cavalry, Cossacks until 1891 | Cossacks (since 1891) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | V | Staff Officers | Colonel (Полковник) | ||
| V | VI | Junior Colonel (Подполковник) (until 1798); | |||
| VI | VII | Premier Major, Second Major (Премьер-майор, секунд-майор) (until 1798) | |||
| VII | VIII | Ober-Officers | Captain (Капитан) | Rittmeister (Ротмистр) | Yesaul (Есаул) |
| VIII | IX | Staff-Captain (Штабс-капитан) | Staff-Rittmeister (Штабс-ротмистр) | Junior Yesaul (Подъесаул) | |
| IX | X | Poruchik (Поручик) | Sotnik (Сотник) | ||
| X | XI | Junior Poruchik (Подпоручик) | Khorunzhiy (Хорунжий) | ||
| XI | XII | Praporshchik (Прапорщик) | Cornet (Корнет) | ||
| XII | XIII | Under-Officers | Feldwebel (Фельдфебель) | ||
| XIII | XIV | Sergeant (Сержант) Feldwebel (1800-1884) | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | Junior Khorunzhiy (Подхорунжий) | |
| XIV | |||||
| Junior Praporshchik (Подпрапорщик); Senior Unteroffizier (Старший унтер-офицер) since 1800 | Wachtmeister (Вахмистр) | ||||
| Unteroffizier (Унтер-офицер) | Uryadnik (Урядник) | ||||
| Gefreiter (Ефрейтор) | Prikazny (Приказный) | ||||
| Privates | Musketeer, Fusilier, Grenadier etc. (Мушкетер, фузилер, гренадер и т.д.) | Dragoon, Hussar, Cuirassier, Cossack etc. (Драгун, гусар, кирасир, казак и т.д.) | Cossack (Казак) | ||