Thirty years ago, this book began as a study of tactical innovations in the Russian imperial army during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Gradually, the work covered the broader topic of institutional transformation over a long period of time, from D. A. Milyutin's reforms to the outbreak of World War I. As a result, a book appeared that became a deliberate continuation of the works of both Russian and Soviet scientists (for example, A.M. Zayonchkovsky, L. G. Beskrovny, P. A. Zayonchkovsky) and Western (John S. Curtis, John L. Kip and Dietrich Bayrau).