Russian Imperial Guard

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Imperial Guard Лейб-гвардия
Leib Guards reception at the Constantine Palace
Active	1683–1917
Country	Russian Empire
Allegiance	Emperor of Russia  Russian Empire
Branch	Imperial Russian Army
Type	Army aviation Artillery Cavalry Horse artillery Imperial guard Infantry
Size	Division

Russian Armed Forces
Ministry of Defence
Staff
General Staff of the Armed Forces
Services (vid)
Russian Ground Forces Russian Aerospace Forces Russian Navy
Independent troops (rod)
Strategic Rocket Forces Russian Airborne Forces
Special operations force (sof)
Special Operations Forces
Other troops
Logistical Support
Military districts
Leningrad Military District Moscow Military District Southern Military District Central Military District Eastern Military District
History of the Russian military
Military history of Russia History of Russian military ranks Military ranks of the Soviet Union
v t e

The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (Russian: Лейб-гвардия Leyb-gvardiya, from German Leib "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as counterintelligence to prevent sabotage of important imperial palace, personal guards of the Emperor of Russia and imperial family, public security in capital, and spearheading attacks on the battlefield. Peter the Great founded the first such units in 1683, to replace the politically motivated Streltsy. The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become an elite corps of all branches within the Imperial Army rather than Household troops in direct attendance on the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the Imperial family and the bulk of the regiments of the Imperial Guard were stationed in and around Saint Petersburg in peacetime. The Imperial Guard was disbanded in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.