His Majesty's Own Escort
Under the Reign of Nicholas I

The basis of His Majesty's Own Escort was the Life-Guards Caucasian-Mountain platoon (half-squadron since April 30, 1830), formed in 1828. It consisted of princes and uzdens (the noble title of the highlanders) of the Great and Lesser Kabardia, Chechens, Kumyks, mirzas and uzdens (noble people) of the Tokhtamysh and Sablinsky Nogais, called Dzhambulukovsky, Edisansky, Karanogay, Turkmen and Sablinsky people. The first commander of the platoon was Cavalry Captain (rittmeister) Sultan-Azamat-Giray, a descendant of the Crimean khans. His pistol is introduced at the exhibition.

Although mainly political reasons lied at the core of the half-squadron's foundation, it also participated in combat activities (the Polish—Russian War of 1830–1831), having established itself as a formation with high combat capabilities. This is the first time weapons and specific uniforms of the half-squadron soldiers, borrowed from the Kabardians and the Circassians, are presented so broadly. A set of protective equipment for a squire of the Life-Guards Caucasian-Mountain half-squadron (a "half-helmet", chain mail, and elbow pieces) made in Tula, was provided by the Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps.

Another unique exhibit (provided by The State Hermitage Museum) is an officer's Circassian coat of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich (the future Emperor Alexander II). It was a part of the uniform of the Life-Guards Caucasian Line Cossack troupe, which was another unit that became part of His Majesty's Own Escort in 1832. There were other units that became a part of this elite formation. In 1836, a squad of Lezghins, and in 1839, a squad of Muslims, including the "Transcaucasian Tatars" (Azerbaijanis), joined the formation. The exhibition introduces samples of uniforms, weapons, picturesque graphic and sculptural images of the ranks of these squads.