 The People's Militia is of the type known as "national troops" such as the Dnieper Cossacks, or German Landwehr, and although often translated as the "people's militia", "home guard", "people-in-arms", "national popular
army", "civilian reserves", "popular levy", "People's Volunteer Army", "national guard...the factory regiments", "bataillons ouvriers", "all men fit to bear arms from their 21st year", like "British Local Defence Volunteers", "a hastily mustered militia, the opolchenie", "a reserve force", "Opolchenie (a kind of "Landsturm")", "home guard militia", "volunteer militia", "territorial army", or "temporary militias composed of mostly peasant 'volunteers'" its members never belonged to an organised military force, but were in all cases selectively accepted from a body of volunteers during a national emergency.The People's Militia features prominently in early Russian history, for example in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" when it refers to the entire force led on a campaign.It was used for political purposes when the Grand Duchy of Moscow assumed the leading role in the 16th-century Russia.