Development and settlement of Western Siberia initially associated with the military and colonizing needs of the Russian state led to the formation on the territory of a large contingent of the military. Individuals on active military service of the lower ranks were less than half the number of the military class. They were mainly engaged in direct service and support for the army. The soldiers lived in the harsh and poor environment. Deprivation of army life pushed the soldiers to reproduce rural society in some form. Therefore, in the life of a soldier a very important role was played by the soldier’s gang, usually a platoon of 20–30 people with an elected leader. The occupations of the retired soldiers, who formed a significant part of the urban population of the region in 1860–1880‑s, were in many ways similar to the occupations of the majority of citizens, burghers, and peasants. The similarity of life conditions of the retired soldiers and their families with tradesmen, craftsmen and urbanized peasants led to the fact that in the beginning of XX century the remains of the military class merged with the main mass of civilians.