Makedonskiy Regiment - A Macedonian Hussar Regiment in the Russian Empire

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 In 1759-1760 the Russian Empire set up three new hussar regiments: the "Yellow Regiment" (Želtiy), the "Bulgarian Regiment" (Bolgarskiy) and the "Macedonian Regiment" (Makedonskiy). All in all, the latter was named in Russian: Македонский гусарский полевий полкь.


In the work “Preseljenitsi iz Makedonije u Rusko Tsarstvo sredinom 18. veka” by Milka Zdraveva we find somewhat more precise data about the Macedonians who joined the Russian hussar regiment or about the inhabitants of "New Serbia".

The author presents data on several members of the regiments in "New Serbia", and these are said to have called themselves Macedonians. 

New Serbia, also Slavonoserbia, was a Serbian military administrative area in the Russian Empire, in southern Ukraine. This "zone" was founded in 1752 by the Empress of Russia Elisabeth.

In the regiment of the Serbian Ivan Shević, 74 people declared that they were descended from the Macedonian nation. According to the Russian author Kabuzanov, there were 2,225 people in New Serbia in 1754, of them 124 were Macedonians.

In 1759 the Macedonian hussar regiment was founded. The commander of the regiment was Aleksiy Kostjurin, and the commander in chief of all regiments was Jovan Horvat.

According to the data from 1765-1769 of a total of 271 merchants who were registered in the Greek Nezin Brotherhood, 54 declared that they came from the "Macedonian Province", mainly from Kostur (Kastoria), Solun (Thessaloniki), Voden ( Edessa), Skopje and Strumica.

"Private" of the Macedonian Hussar Regiment, from 1776 to 1783.

The Macedonian regiment was disbanded in 1773. There is no record of how many Macedonians from the regiment stayed in Russia. The residents of New Serbia were completely assimilated by the Russian population.

However, the author notes that there are a number of localities in the Ukrainian toponymy which, according to her, clearly indicate Macedonian immigrants: Makedonov, Makedonvka, Makedoni, Skopievka, Kumanovo, Mala Kratovka or Novi Polog are the names of some of these localities.

Hundreds of Macedonians listed with names and ages in the Ukrainian archive

One of the most important testimonies from the hussar camp is a list of soldiers in the URSR Ukrainian archive. According to the document with archive number 1413, 6/1756.

There hussars are listed who refer to themselves as Macedonians. Listed by age, arrival date, nationality, status (married, children or single) and more.


For example, in the 18th century some of the Macedonians were named: Georgi Petrov, Panajot Konstjantin, Anton Dobrinov, Todor Vasilev or Ivan Angelov ...


The structure of the Macedonian Hussar Regiment

The Makedonskiy Regiment was set up on May 10, 1759 by General Horvat to reinforce the Russian light cavalry. It initially consisted of 10 companies with 100 soldiers each for an effective combat strength of 1,044 men. More precisely, the regiment consisted of:

Executives:

  • 1 Colonel
  • 1 lieutenant colonel
  • 1 major major

Troops:

  • 1 regimental quartermaster
  • 1 adjutant
  • 1 auditor
  • 1 commissioner
  • 1 warehouse manager
  • 1 pastor
  • 1 doctor
  • 3 surgeons
  • 1 employee
  • 1 conductor
  • 1 drummer
  • 20 trumpeters

10 companies in total:
  • 7 captains
  • 3 lieutenant captains
  • 10 lieutenants
  • 10 NCOs
  • 10 security officers
  • 10 quartermasters
  • 40 corporals
  • 10 clerks
  • 1000 soldiers

Other forces:
  • 7 blacksmiths
  • 3 farriers
  • 24 coachmen
  • 1044 horses (not including cargo horses)


The coat of arms of the Macedonian Hussar Regiment


The coat of arms of the Macedonian hussar regiment was approved in 1776: "In a red field a silver shield with various ornaments and underneath two crossing, wooden lances with gold dots."



Activities of the Regiment:


During the Seven Years' War the regiment was under the command of Lieutenant General Ivan Horvat in the period 1759 and 1760.

In 1760 the regiment was billeted in Little Russia (Malorussia).

In 1761 the regiment was attached to the reserve of Lieutenant General Vasilij Ivanovic Suvorov in the Shirvanskiy Infantry and 14 Third Battalions. The regiment did not serve at the front.

There is evidence that part of the regiment, or perhaps the whole regiment, took part in a battle for the defense of a warehouses in Kobylin on September 14, and probably the next day in Gostyń.

At the end of October the regiment operated under Dvilke with the Nizegorodskij dragoons, Malorussian Cossacks and Mashlikin Cossacks; in defense of the line of communication with Poznań.

Uniform of the Macedonian Hussar Regiment


Since the Macedonian regiment was rather short-lived, no picture or contemporary drawing of the uniform of the Macedonian hussars has been transmitted directly.

Using Russian literature, history enthusiasts in Russia have compiled data in order to visually bring the individual regiments to life.

Moldavian Uniform - Macedonian Uniform - Hungarian Uniform


Regarding the uniform of the Macedonian regiment (#15), it is almost astonishing that the main colors of the uniform match the current national colors of the Macedonians: red and yellow.

According to Russian literature it is generally assumed that the following color combinations made up the Macedonian uniform (deviating from the picture from uniforma-army.ru):

  • Dolman (jacket, coat): yellow / red
  • Pelisse (overgarment): black / yellow
  • Pants: yellow
  • Cape: white
  • Kolpak (cap): black, decoration in yellow
  • Belt and belt buckle: black / yellow
  • Bag: black
  • Cords on the coat: black / yellow
  • Officer boots: yellow - on parades

Literature: 

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