Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment

The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (Семёновский лейб-гвардии полк, Semyonovsky leyb-gvardii polk) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its name now becoming the 1st Semyonovsky Independent Rifle Regiment (1-й отдельный стрелковый Семёновский полк). The history of the regiment dates back to 1683 when it was formed as a company of the toy army of Peter the Great. It took its name from a village called ru (part of the present-day Sokolniki District), where it was initially stationed. In 1700, the troops became the Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment. From 1723, the regiment was quartered in St. Petersburg. During the Great Northern War, the regiment fought in the Battle of Narva on 30 November 1700. The Russian guard (Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments) firmly defended themselves from the Swedes and avoided a defeat. For their bravery, the Swedish king Charles XII agreed to allow them to keep their weapons; the Russian guard regiments marched with standards unfurled, drums rolling and in possession of their weapons. For their prowess, all soldiers of the Semyonovsky regiment wore red stockings from 1700 to 1740, as "in that battle, they stood knee-deep in blood". In the battle, the regiment lost 17 officers (including the commander, podpolkovnik Cunningham) and 454 enlisted personnel. Major Yakov Lobanov-Rostovsky was judged and condemned to death for his flight from the battlefield, but subsequently pardoned. In 1702, a squad of the regiment took part in the 13-hour storming of the fortress of Nöteborg. For that, all of its members received a silver medal. The commander of the squad, podpolkovnik Mikhail Golitsyn, was for his actions promoted to the rank of guards colonel. In 1703, the regiment excelled in the siege of Nyenschantz and the capture of the Swedish fleet at the mouth of the Neva River.