The military forces consist of the national army and the militia (Opoltchenie).

The national army is divided into three levies: 1st, men from 20 to 30 years of age, and containing permanent cadres and a reserve; 2nd, men from 31 to 37 years; and 3rd, men from 38 to 45 years, with no constituted cadres in peace time.

The militia consists of men from 17 to 50 years of age not in the national army. No substitution or buying off is allowed. The annual contingent is usually about 20,500 conscripts, of whom 6,000 are generally unfit for service.

The peace effective is difficult to calculate, because, for economic reasons, it is usual to send down men before their proper date for release. The units are strongest in the spring, and from then gradually dwindle away until a company barely consists of more than 10 or 15 men. The army is a species of semi-militia.

The war effective, according to official tables, the accuracy of which must be accepted with caution, amounts to 8,110 officers, 331,900 men, 420 guns, and 39,070 horses. The number of actual combatants would be about 228,000, but a very large proportion are of the 2d and 3d levies, with little or no training.