The senseless military drill characteristic of the time of Nicholas I was frequently criticised in the literature and visual art of the mid-19th century. Alexei Ustinov s painting is a vivid example of the satirical attitude toward "Mars mania" in Russian society. The name of the painting is borrowed from Alexander Herzen''s story Doctor Krupov, first published in a censored version in 1847 in the magazine Sovremennik.

In one of his articles, the famous nineteenth century art critic Vladimir Stasov writes about this picture: "A couple of years ago during an exhibition of rare things in St Petersburg they refused to show an excellent painting by Ustinov ... where he portrays an officer from long ago preparing for the mounting of the guard, who, deep in thought about the task in hand, marches up and down the room holding his pipe, watched by his adoring family. Ustinov who, like Fedotov, died in poverty and grief-stricken, was more a dilettante than an artist, but in any case his talent never had the chance to develop fully; yet this noteworthy picture contains so much truth and humour that our public would probably take to it and give the poor artist the respect he deserved, even if somewhat belatedly." Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 35.