In the second half of the XIX century, the number of troops in the Tobolsk province did not exceed three thousand soldiers and officers. Among the cities of Western Siberia, only Omsk could boast of a large number of military and Cossacks. In 1868, the Cossacks of Tobolsk, Surgut and Berezov were converted to the bourgeois class. Those who did not want to be listed as burghers had to move to the center of the Siberian Cossack army – Omsk.
In 1874, universal military service was introduced in Russia. From now on, military service has become the duty not only of the petty-bourgeois and peasant, but also of other estates. In the manifesto of January 1, 1874, Emperor Alexander II drew attention to such qualities of Russian soldiers as sacrifice and selflessness: "... love for the fatherland and self-sacrifice constitute the cherished, from generation to generation, passing property of all estates ...". The service life has also been reduced. From now on, it was 6 years, followed by 9 years of reserve, and upon reaching the age of forty, a person was enrolled in the militia.
In the first ten years after the introduction of the law on conscription, more than 27 thousand people were conscripted from the Tobolsk province. Most of the conscripts belonged to the category of peasants and burghers, fewer were merchants and commoners. Representatives of the indigenous population of Siberia were not conscripted into the army. Nobles served as officers.
A reserve infantry battalion was quartered in Tobolsk. Service in the very center of Siberia was tedious, but safe.
At the end of the XIX century, the battalion was commanded by Colonel Konstantin Stepanovich Krzhivoblotsky. His staff adjutant was Captain Anton Vladimirovich Stankevich. Company commanders, captains: Alexey Timofeevich Plotnikov, Stepan Nikolaevich Mameev, Pavel Petrovich Serebrennikov, Nikolai Artamonovich Lebedev and Staff Captain Leopold Gustavovich Berens.