4th Imperial Family Guards Rifle Regiment (Russian Empire)

The 4th Guards Rifle Regiment, officially known as 4th (Imperial Family) Life Guards Rifle Regiment was a infantry unit of the Imperial Russian Army. The regiment was first formed by order of Emperor Nicholas I as a reserve unit formed by members from the St Petersburg Area. The unit was disbanded in 1918 following the October Revolution.

History
On 25 October 1854 Emperor Nicholas I ordered a regiment to be formed if the army was mobilised. This regiment was to be known as The Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Family, and was finally embodied by 21 July 1855. After formation, the regiment recruited mostly from the following provinces; Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, and Vologda. This regiment was used as a reserve unit based in St Petersburg as a result of the [War#Baltic theatre|fear of a British invasion], during the Crimean War. In 1956 following the demobilisation of the Guard Corps, the regiment was disbanded, but was ordered to be formed during mobilisation yet remain disbanded in peacetime. The regiment was as a result reduced to battalion size and renamed as the Life Guard Infantry Battalion of the Imperial Family. After being reduced, the battalion was based in Gatchina, just outside of St Petersburg.