Society of Supporters of Military Knowledge

a military-science society in the Russian Army that aimed to disseminate “military and general knowledge” to officers of the army and navy.

The society was formed in December 1896 in St. Petersburg by officers of the 2nd Guards Infantry Division and was headed by General E. M. Bibikov and Captain E. F. Novitskii. The regulations of the society were approved in 1898. In 15 years the society held 330 meetings attended by about 70,000 people. The subjects discussed at these meetings included the art of war, the history of wars, military technology, and military psychology. The society had chapters in Warsaw, Riga, Minsk, and other cities. It published Vestnik obshchestva revnitelei voennykh znanii (Journal of the Society of Supporters of Military Knowledge, 1899–1914, nos. 1–273) and the journal Obshchestvo revnitelei voennykh znanii (Society of Supporters of Military Knowledge, 1906–13, nos. 1–31), both in St. Petersburg. The society discontinued its activity in 1914 upon the outbreak of World War I.