Russian revolution dates the Napoleonic Wars Russia had a vast contingent of cavalry to call upon, thanks partly to the enormous area that they had to cover, and to the large numbers of cavalry their old enemies the Ottomans could put in the field. Of these the cuirassiers were the heaviest, as in all armies of the time, and their status was correspondingly high.

Although the box makes no mention of dates these figures are easy to put into a time frame. First the tall helmet, made of black leather and with a tall ‘brush’ crest, was introduced in 1808. However all these men wear a cuirass, and while it may seem surprising, Russian cuirassiers had for a long time worn no cuirass, but from 1812 this item was issued, so combined with the style of helmet we can say that these men are for the period c. 1812 to the end of the Wars. In 1812 most of the cuirassiers had their carbines taken away from them. Only 16 men in each squadron retained them as they acted as flankers, protecting the sides of the formation. However all the figures in this set possess carbines, which looks wrong when they are all placed together.