Tsar Nicholas I of Russia issues the "Statute on Conscription Duty" on this day (August 26 on the then Russian calendar). Jewish boys aged 12 and up are conscripted, sent to distant military schools for 6 years, followed by 25 years of military service at the far reaches of the Russian empire. Although a key aim is to wean them away from their Jewish roots and identity by complete separation from Judaism and immersion in the deeply religious Russian Orthodox military, upon completion of their 31 years of service veterans of Jewish origin are not granted land as their Christian comrades are. Under the law, Jewish communities are required to provide 4 times more draftees then non-Jewish communities.
