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Foundation of the naval cadet corps 1752. The history of the naval cadet corps, when F.F. Ushakov. The history of the creation of the naval cadet corps
Perhaps the most difficult topic for me: HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS HEIR TSESAREVICH'S MARINE CADET CORPS. There are quite a lot of materials and documents related to the history of the Corps, and photographs constantly emerge from various sources: museums and private archives. I also picked up some interesting and rather rare pictures.
So, HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS HEIR TSESAREVICH'S MARINE CADET CORPS.
A Brief History of the Corps.
FOUNDATION: - 1701.
HOLIDAY: - 6th NOVEMBER ST. PAUL THE CONFESSOR.
Founded by Tsar Peter I in 1701 on January 14 in Moscow in the Sukharev Tower "School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences", to prepare young people for naval service.
On October 1, 1715, the School was transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and placed on the banks of the Neva in the house of Kisin, where the Winter Palace was later located, and was named the ACADEMY OF THE MARINE GUARDS.
In 1752, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna renamed the Academy into the Naval Noble Corps with three classes:
senior - cadets and two cadets.
In 1802, Emperor Alexander I reorganized the Marine Corps of the Nobility and called it the Marine Corps. In 1848, Emperor Nicholas I granted the corps the First Chief Vel. Book. General-Admiral Konstantin Nikolayevich and among the cadets was commissioned Vel. Book. Alexander Alexandrovich.
In 1867, Emperor Alexander II renamed the Naval Corps into the Naval School.
In 1891, Emperor Alexander III renamed again the Naval Cadet Corps.
In 1906, Emperor Nicholas II gave the Corps the name of the Naval Corps. After that, it was decided to transport the junior cadet classes from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol, where it was ordered to build a proper building on the Black Sea coast.
In 1914, the Marine Corps was granted a chief: Heir Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
In 1916, the Marine Corps was again renamed the Marine E.I.V. Heir to the Tsesarevich School.
In 1917, after the communist takeover on October 25, the Naval School ceased to exist.
In 1917, the Vladivostok Naval School was founded from the midshipmen and cadets of the Naval School and the midshipmen of the midshipmen classes who were on the voyage, which existed until 1920.
In 1919, in the south of Russia, occupied by the Volunteer Army, from the midshipmen and cadets of the Naval School was
formed by order of Gen. Denikin Sevastopol Cadet Corps, which existed until 1920.
In 1920, the Vladivostok Naval School and the Sevastopol Morokoy Corps merged into the Bizerte Naval Corps, which existed until 1925.
FORM: - marine, white epaulettes with a gold butt.
The cadets on white epaulettes have the stenciled monogram of the chief; midshipmen have cadet gold stripes along their shoulder straps and
false gold anchor. Black trousers and black uniforms with gold braid on the turn-down collars and on
sleeve cuffs. 
The midshipmen wear black leather belts, black naval broadswords with leather lanyards. The cadets and midshipmen have a black naval peakless cap with three white edgings, a cockade on the crown and a black ribbon with the gold inscription of the school. Black overcoats with white shoulder straps and black buttonholes. In winter, a blue galanka with narrow white shoulder straps. In summer, white navy shirts with blue collars.
The sergeant has an officer's naval black cap with three white piping and an officer's broadsword.
DIFFERENCE: - Guards ordinary banner.
Silver badge to be worn on the left side. 
PARKING: - Petrograd, Vasilyevsky Island.
FOUNDER OF THE MARINE CORPS: Imp. Peter the Great and Chief Assistant to Peter the Great in the creation and
to the leadership of the Russian fleet: - Gen.-Admiral gr. Apraksin.
Marine Corps pets:
ADMIRAL SPIRIDONOV, - a prominent participant in the battle of Chios.
Gr. ORLOV CHESMENSKY, - the winner of Chesma and Chioss.
Admiral Ushakov, Sinyavin, c. Heyden.
Admiral Lazarev, explorer of the Southern Arctic Ocean and creator of the Lazarev school, which gave famous victorious admirals: NAKHIMOV, KORNILOV, ISTOMIN, NOVOSILSKO-GO, BUTAKOV, LIKHACHEV, and other prominent admirals of the Russian fleet.
Vice Admiral 3. P. Rozhdestvensky.
Admiral Essen - Hero of Port Arthur.
Admiral KOLCHAK.
August Grandfather of Her Highness Princess Vera Konstantinovna, EIV Vel. Book. KONSTANTIN NIKOLAEVICH, - general-lieutenant. admiral and creator of the Russian steam armored fleet, which took third place in the world.
Rear Admiral Prince. V. V. Trubetskoy, - head of the Black Sea mine brigade.
Capital of the 1st rank V.P. Rusin, - head of the marine general. Headquarters, the closest employee of the Imp. Nicholas II to guide the actions of the fleets during the 1st World War.
Rear Admiral R. N. Viren, the last commander of the Pacific Squadron.
Rear Admiral N. N. Mashukov - Head of the Black Sea Fleet.
And many other maritime figures and heroes of the Russian Imperial. Fleet.
In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Marine Corps, this badge was issued for full-time ranks and cadets of the 3rd senior companies. 
Along with the military educational institutions of Russia in the late 18th - early 19th centuries, which produced officers for the ground forces, there was a cadet corps that trained naval officers.
It must be said that after the death of Peter I, the prestige of service in the navy fell sharply. The nobles preferred to enroll their sons, if not in the cadet corps, then as privates in the guards infantry or cavalry regiments, and not send them to the navy, where the service was much harder and more dangerous than in the ground forces. An important circumstance was the fact that the main force in the palace coups that followed the death of Peter I was the land and guard regiments, which had a certain influence on the supreme power, which the representatives of the fleet did not have.
In 1733, a special commission reviewed the state of the naval forces. The idea was expressed that “Russian subjects, and especially the gentry, avoid naval service as much as possible and try more to serve in the land army, since there they are more likely to have a chance to curry favor and receive ranks than in the fleet, where there are so many cases and so many vacancies can not be". The commission proposed a number of measures so that the nobles "would be more willing to serve in the naval service." In particular, it was recommended to transfer the nobles - natives of the Novgorod province from the land gentry cadet corps to the Naval Academy. The fact is that even Peter I ordered to recruit people from the Arkhangelsk and Novgorod provinces to the fleet, since, in his opinion, good sailors could be made of them faster.
The supreme power supported the commission, and 35 nobles - Novgorodians changed their beautiful cadet uniforms for the modest dresses of the midshipmen of the Naval Academy. (By the way, one of these "losers" was Ivan Loginovich Golenishchev - Kutuzov - the uncle of M.I. Kutuzov, later director of the Naval Cadet Corps). The commission also determined that the Naval Academy, like the Land Cadet Corps, should graduate officers, not non-commissioned officers, as was practiced until recently at the Naval Academy; and the financial allowance of the cadets was significantly higher than that of the poor "academicians", who, "looking at their own kind, found in the cadet corps, who, although not in such difficult sciences, but are in any contentment, remain uncouth."
In 1749, Prince Mikhail Beloselsky submitted a petition to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, in which, among other things, he wrote: “A midshipman should not be less in learning and, according to the regulations, learn all the sciences, like 6 or 7 years, and then have to join only non-commissioned officers, why and even more so, the courage to learn and the desire to serve can get cold and cool ... But since the sea service is laborious, there are very few hunters for it, and if I dare to convey - no one; although the academy consists of the nobility, it is very poor, almost does not have clothes and good food, and therefore, it is impossible to put hope in the future, according to their education, in high ranks. The current officers, who are almost all of the plant of the Emperor Peter I (for during the time of Empress Anna Ioannovna, almost all of the academy was transferred and consisted of a very small number of nobles), if in any way from now on they can soon be transferred from the lack of courage, then in the very in fact, it’s not without difficulty who will correct the naval service, because in the land of an officer at 3 years old you can get a good one, but it’s impossible to achieve a naval officer for less than 12 years ”(Naval Cadet Corps. Brief historical essay.)
All these numerous appeals eventually led to the fact that on December 15, 1752, the Naval Cadet Corps was created. It included pupils of the Naval Academy, nobles who studied at the Moscow Navigation School on the Sukharev Tower, at the Naval Artillery School and in the midshipman company. The building of the Naval Academy on Vasilyevsky Island and all its property was transferred to a new military educational institution. The staff of the corps was defined as 360 pupils, who in combat terms were divided into three companies, and in training into three classes (respectively, there were 120 people in each company and class). Pupils of the first, or graduation, class were called midshipmen, and the second and third cadets. From the second class, it was planned to select about 30 people for artillery cadets. With regard to practical training, it was prescribed that all midshipmen and artillery cadets of the second class be sent annually to warships of various squadrons.
The companies consisted of midshipmen, cadets of the second and third classes (40 people in all). From the best in academic performance and discipline, the midshipmen in each company were appointed captainarmus, ensign, furier, sergeants, corporals and corporals. The company was commanded by a captain of the 3rd rank, and besides him, the company had a captain-lieutenant, a non-commissioned lieutenant and an ensign, who was made from cadet non-commissioned officers. From each company, following the example of the Ground Cadet Corps, 13 grenadiers were determined, who differed from their comrades in uniform, ammunition and weapons. Each pupil had a gun and a cleaver on a belt belt with copper buckles, the second belt over the left shoulder was intended for a satchel bag. As a daily uniform, the cadets relied on a green frock coat with a white collar and cuffs or a white camisole. All their salaries were deducted for uniforms and food, and it was supposed to be 18 rubles a year for third-class cadets, 24 rubles for second-class cadets, and 30 rubles for midshipmen and corporals (but midshipmen were left 6 rubles a year for personal expenses - “for better difficult maritime service of courage and so that in training they prostrate more zealously").
According to the permanent staff of the Naval Cadet Corps, the teaching of mathematical and navigational sciences was conducted by a professor, two teachers and six apprentices with them, as well as six so-called "students of great astronomy" (of which apprentices were subsequently appointed). Artillery and fortification were taught by two teachers and two apprentices with them. Two teachers were also provided for "geography, genealogy and for teaching in calm and in rhetoric, history, politics, morality, heraldry and other gentry sciences." It is difficult to say how two teachers could cope with so many courses, and it is not clear what "other gentry sciences" are.
Cadets and midshipmen were taught three foreign languages - French, English and German, as well as drawing, dancing, fencing. The staff of the cadet corps also provided for a translator from the Latin language - to translate scientific technical literature, which was then published in the corps printing house. The printing house was "inherited" from the Naval Academy. It published materials not only for the needs of the corps, but also various books, manuals, maps commissioned by the Admiralty (by the way, the funds received by the printing house for completed orders went to the treasury of the corps).
The first director of the Naval Cadet Corps was a prominent scientist, hydrographer and geographer, captain 1st rank A.I. Nagaev.
Alexei Ivanovich was from a poor family, having inherited ten peasant households from his parents. At the age of eleven, he entered the Naval Academy, graduated from it as a midshipman, and three years later became a midshipman. He quickly rose in rank and by 1757 he was already a captain-commander. He sailed on the White, Baltic and Caspian Seas, commanded the frigates "Cavalier" and "Mercury", seriously engaged in the hydrography of the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Finland, compiled maps of the Kamchatka Sea and the American coast from Bering's expedition journals, developed and published "Atlas" for six years. Baltic Sea", was engaged in the compilation of the "Code of Maritime Signals". Having accepted the cadet corps and selecting teachers and officers, he himself reviewed textbooks, conducted classes with pupils, was engaged in the reconstruction of corps buildings and even the fact that he prepared for the future uniforms and food for the cadets. In 1760, Alexei Ivanovich Nagaev handed over his position to Captain 1st Rank A.M. Davydov.
The results of the final exams, which were scrupulously noted in special examination notebooks for each graduate, indicate that in the Naval Cadet Corps of that time, future naval officers received solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
The great merit of the teachers of the Naval Cadet Corps, many of whom transferred from the Naval Academy, is the great merit of the students excellently answering numerous and, I must say, not at all simple questions. We have already mentioned some of them. But I want to at least briefly talk about one more thing - Nikolai Gavrilovich Kurganov. As a student of the academy, in 1718 he already helped his teacher Bukharin to conduct classes and for this he received "2 rubles in addition to 5 rubles of a monthly salary." This Kurganov showed remarkable abilities not only in mathematical and navigational sciences, but also in foreign languages. He studied, for example, the French language so deeply that he translated from it the book “Geometric Elements, Physical Astronomy and Part of the Sea Lamp (pilots)”. In addition, he successfully mastered German and Latin, and read books on astronomy in Latin. Sent with Professor Grishin from the Academy of Sciences on an expedition for astronomical observations, he proved himself so well that the Academy officially asked the Naval Corps to transfer Kurganov to them "forever". However, the command of the Naval Cadet Corps did not want to part with the young scientist, appointing him "an apprentice in mathematical and navigational sciences with a salary of 180 rubles a year." In 1755, he presented to the Admiralty Board his “Universal Arithmetic, containing a solid doctrine, how to produce various arithmetic and algebraic calculations that belong to mathematics in the easiest way.” After a laudatory review of this work by Professor Popov, by decision of the Admiralties - collegiums, the book was published "for his cost, Kurganov" in 1757, partly replacing Leonty Magnitsky's "Arithmetic".
Major changes took place in the Naval Cadet Corps in 1761, when Lieutenant Commander Ivan Loginovich Golepishchev - Kutuzov was appointed there, since “he is still weak in health and cannot be in the campaign, but he can be with the corps, and the Collegium sees him to that for a capable one. Soon he received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank. At the presentation of the Admiralties - colleges on the appointment of a new director of the Naval Cadet Corps, Catherine II wrote: “Captain 2nd rank Golenishchev - Kutuzov to be in this corps until the decree instead of the captain of the 1st rank put in the state ... and the aforementioned Kutuzov from quartermaster Davydov Naval gentry cadet corps to accept".
Golenishchev - Kutuzov was born into the family of a lieutenant of the fleet and at the age of thirteen he was assigned to the Land Gentry Corps, from where, as already mentioned, he was also transferred to the Naval Academy.
In 1743 he was promoted to midshipman, and in 1746 to midshipman. For two years he served under the command of Nagaev, worked with him on the hydrography of the Gulf of Finland, as a ship commander he made transitions from Kronstadt to Arkhangelsk and back, then due to illness he was sent on a year's leave, after which he was assigned to the Naval Cadet Corps; in 1763 he received the rank of captain of the 1st rank, and the next year - major general and was officially approved as director of the Naval gentry cadet corps, quartermaster general of the fleet and member of the Admiralties - boards.
Golenishchev - Kutuzov, like Nagaev, an excellent sailor, unlike his former commander, was not an armchair scientist. Ivan Loginovich was excellently brought up, fluent in French and German, passionately loved Russian literature - famous scientists, artists, writers and poets gathered in his house. In a word, he was a secular person who used his knowledge, diplomatic skills, family ties, and the favor of Empress Catherine II to enhance the prestige of the naval service and improve the training of naval officers. If Nagaev once spent a lot of time and health on endless litigation with the Admiralty Board, then Ivan Loginovich became a member of this all-powerful naval management body and, having taken his rightful place there, he could calmly solve many problems that previously seemed simply insoluble.
To be continued...
Good and solid teaching is... the root, the seed, and the foundation...
Peter the Great
On May 1 (14), 1766, after graduating from the Naval Cadet Corps, Fedor Ushakov was awarded the first officer rank - the rank of midshipman. At the same time, the future illustrious admiral, the Holy Righteous Warrior Theodore Ushakov, swore allegiance to his native Fatherland - “I swear and promise ... to serve unhypocritically and faithfully, not sparing my stomach to the last drop of blood ...”. The whole further military life of Fedor Fedorovich became proof that he did not change this oath in any way.
It is known that in the Russian Navy, special attention has long been paid to traditions. “Tradition,” said Admiral Bubnov, “shows us how we should fulfill our duty to the Motherland, brings to life in our psychology the fear of covering ourselves with shame if we fail to be worthy of these traditions - witnesses of the past valor of our glorious ancestors” . The most important tradition in the Navy was taking the oath, one of the most solemn rituals. At all times, the essence of the oath has always remained the same - the requirements of military honor related to the performance of military duty, the promise to defend the Fatherland, not sparing one's strength and life itself.
In order to patriotically educate the younger generation, as well as cadets and cadets currently studying in various educational institutions in Russia and all sailors who take the military oath, it is proposed to celebrate an important historical date in the life of the Holy Righteous Warrior Fyodor Ushakov - 250 years since the beginning of military service to the Russian Fatherland. The name of the famous Admiral Fyodor Ushakov is forever inscribed in Russian history, and devotion to the Faith, Fatherland and military duty is an example for many generations of the Russian military. The idea was supported by the regional deputies Okladnikov A.B. and Bespalko V.A.
As part of the commemorative events on May 14, it is proposed to lay flowers at the monument to Admiral Ushakov in the city of Rybinsk and the village. Hopylevo. In agreement with Bishop Veniamin of Rybinsk and Danilov, hold a memorial prayer service. Place information about this memorable date in the media. To transfer information materials about this event to schools for familiarization in order to patriotic education. In the future, on the territory next to the Church of the Epiphany on the Island, lay a memorable oak alley - oak, a symbol of courage and stamina, splendor and power, the origin of the great from the small, is present on the coat of arms of the Ushakov family.
And also to consolidate the tradition of taking the oath in the homeland of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov by taking the oath by cadets of the Rybinsk branch of the Moscow State Academy of Water Transport in October.
Cadet (fr. - junior, minor) - this was the name in pre-revolutionary France of young noblemen who were determined for military service, young children of noble families, before they were promoted to the 1st officer rank.
The naval corps, from the first years of its existence, began to give the fleet valiant, educated officers. In addition to serving in the navy, the pupils of the corps brought considerable benefits to Russia in other areas of state activity, in shipbuilding, Russian artillery, and the development of engineering. Almost all outstanding sailors of the Russian fleet received their education in the Naval Corps. The combat exploits of the fleet have always prompted the students of the Naval Corps to improve their training, to strive to strengthen the glory of the fleet with their deeds. Within the walls of the corps, more than one generation of sailors have been trained, who glorified Russia with their exploits on the seas and oceans.
Let's not forget that the Naval Corps is the oldest Naval educational institution in Russia - the elder brother in the family of Russian cadet corps. After all, he traces his genealogy from the Navigation school, from the father of the Russian fleet - Peter the Great.
The legendary director of the cadet school - Golenishchev-Kutuzov, Ivan Logginovich. He himself was a graduate of the Naval gentry Corps and was promoted to midshipmen in 1743. On September 1, 1762, with the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, he was appointed director of the Naval Cadet Corps, serving in this position until his death, for which he earned the nickname "father of all Russian sailors." The famous Field Marshal M. I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, commander-in-chief of the Russian army during the Patriotic War of 1812, being a distant relative of Ivan Loginovich, was brought up in his house. I.L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov had a rich maritime practice and was well acquainted with the difficulties of maritime service, he saw shortcomings in the theoretical and practical training of graduates of the Naval Academy. Under him, the corps became one of the best naval schools in Europe at that time. More than 2,000 Russian naval officers passed through his hands. The heir to the throne, the future Emperor Paul I, at that time Admiral General of the Fleet, he personally taught marine sciences.
Notable Alumni:
Admiral Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin 6 08.1763-5 04.1831
In 1807, leading the Second Archipelago expedition of the Russian fleet, he won victories over the Turks in the battle of Athos and at the Dardanelles. Since 1825 he commanded the Baltic Fleet.
Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, 8 11.1770-12 08.1846
Russian navigator. Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky on the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva" made the first Russian round-the-world expedition.
Admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev 3 11.18. 1788-11 04. 1851
Russian naval commander and navigator, commander of the Black Sea Fleet and discoverer of Antarctica.
I would especially like to mention among the graduates of the Naval Cadet Corps the legendary admirals, heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, who laid down their lives for the glory of the Fatherland during the Crimean War.
Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov June 23, 1802 - June 30, 1855
Russian naval commander, admiral. On November 18 (November 30), 1853, he defeated the Turkish fleet in the battle of Sinop. Killed during the defense of Sevastopol
Vice Admiral Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov 1 02 1806 - 5 10 1854 G.
Hero of the Crimean War, died on Malakhov Kurgan on October 5 (17), 1854 during the bombardment of the city by Anglo-French troops.
Rear Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Istomin 9 02.1810-7 03.1855
Hero of the Crimean War, died during the defense of the Malakhov Kurgan in Sevastopol.
Among the graduates of the naval cadet corps were talented inventors:
Mozhaisky Alexander Fedorovich March 9, 1825 - March 20, 1890
Russian inventor, pioneer of our aviation, the first in the world to create a life-size aircraft capable of lifting a person into the air. On July 20, 1882, the aircraft, which he called the Firebird, took off. The propellers were turned by 10 and 20 hp steam engines.
Creation of the cadet corps.
Chronological table of the history of the Naval Cadet Corps
- 1701 School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences
- 1715 - Naval Guards Academy
- 1752 - Naval Gentry Corps
- 1802 - Naval Cadet Corps
- 1867 - Naval College
- 1891 - Naval Cadet Corps
- 1906 - Naval Corps
- 1914 - Marine E.I.V. Heir to the Tsesarevich Corps
- 1916 - Marine E.I.V. Tsarevich's heir School
On February 24, 1918, by order of the naval commissar of the Bolshevik government, L.D. Trotsky, it was closed and its pupils (3 cadet companies and the eldest - graduation) were disbanded.
The history of the creation of the Naval Cadet Corps dates back to the first years of the existence of the Russian regular fleet, founded by Peter I in 1696.
To staff the fleet with national command personnel, on January 14, 1701, the Imperial Decree of Peter the Great followed on the establishment in Moscow of a school of “mathematical and navigational, i.e. nautical cunning arts of teaching. The school was ordered to be under the jurisdiction of the Armory, and to recruit "voluntarily wanting, others even more with coercion."
From June 1701, the school was located in Moscow, in the Sretenskaya (Sukhareva) tower. It consisted of 200 students and trained specialists not only for the fleet, but also for the army, as well as for the civil civil service.
On October 1, 1715, the School was transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and located on the banks of the Neva in the house of Kisin, where the Winter Palace was later located and was named the Academy of the Naval Guard. Peter the Great personally oversaw the progress of the training of his "naval guard" and personally wrote a list of sciences, which was to be "taught to children." The school existed until 1752.
On December 15, 1752, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree, according to which the Naval Academy was transformed into the Naval Noble Cadet Corps. The children of the nobles of the closed midshipman company and the naval artillery school were transferred to the cadet corps, and the children of the raznochintsy were assigned to study in port workshops and to recruit a navigation company. Vasilyevsky Island, Minich's house, was chosen as the location of the building in St. Petersburg, which had to be significantly expanded.
The Naval Cadet Corps was staffed by pupils of noble origin. The staff strength was set at 360 people, in combat terms distributed into three companies, and in training - into three classes. Pupils of the senior class studied the highest maritime disciplines and were called midshipmen.
Pupils of the second class studied navigation and other disciplines and were called cadets. Pupils of the third grade passed trigonometry and other disciplines and were also called cadets.
The composition of the mouth was mixed. Each company consisted of a cadet class, 2nd and 3rd cadet classes. The company consisted of 40 midshipmen, 40 cadets of the second and 40 of the third class. The transition from class to class was carried out on the basis of academic performance and if there were vacancies in the corresponding classes. All midshipmen and cadets had guns and ammunition.
Upon admission to the corps, entrance exams were held, however, children of the ranks of the maritime department had the priority right for admission. The bulk of the pupils were preparing for military officer service, 30 people each. trained as naval gunners and surveyors. The corps was headed by the director and his assistant for the combat unit. In 1762, pupils for the first time received uniform uniforms, small arms and cold weapons (cleavers).
The teachers of the cadet corps possessed extensive knowledge in their time, pedagogical tact and energy. They put the scientific training of the pupils to an exceptional height, thanks to which the fleet received a large number of well-educated sailors, who later became known for their scientific research and participation in significant expeditions.
From 1753 to 1763 the corps released 340 warrant officers to the fleet and 7 constapels to naval artillery. Over 10 graduates of this time reached the rank of admiral. Many received the highest award for bravery in battle and were awarded the Order of St. George.
Oath - An oath promise before God and people
Taking the oath was a special tradition in the Navy.
The oath in the fleet was approved with the publication in April 1710 of the "Instructions and articles of the military, appropriate to the Russian fleet."
The text of the first oath read:
“God's mercy to Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, etc., etc.
We promise and swear to be faithful to both His Royal Majesty's decrees, and under the authority of His Majesty, generals, admirals, admiralty advisers, vice admirals, rear admirals, commandants, captains and other heads of His Majesty's highly mentioned over us delivered, decrees and orders to read and obediently and faithfully perform as honest and kind people should, and in other respects act according to the articles and institutions, composed for our service or henceforth composed.
In what way may the Lord God Almighty help us.”
The oath in the Imperial Russian Navy and Army was an oath, a promise before God and people. Not only the commander took the oath, but also the clergy.
The sailor took an oath, first of all, neither to people, nor to the state, but to the object of his faith, that is, to his God - the one whom he worshiped, the one from whom he expected help for himself, hoped, believed in patronage for himself. If a person was of the Orthodox confession, it means that he took the oath in the presence of an Orthodox priest. Since the oath was religious, for an Orthodox person it was taken before the Cross and the Gospel. Taking the oath was accompanied by a kiss on the cross, which, in fact, means an oath. The text of the oath ended with the words: "In commemoration of these words, I kiss the Cross and the Gospel of my Savior Jesus Christ." The taking of the oath ended with a solemn divine service and a parting word from the priest.
If the sailor was a Muslim, then the imam was called from the headquarters of the fleet, who came and took the oath from the Muslims. The text of the oath among Muslims was in their native language. The swearer held two fingers of his right hand on the Koran and repeated the words of the oath after the imam. At the end of the ritual, he kissed the Quran. The rabbi took the oath as a Jew. Jews took the oath in Russian or Yiddish. They took the oath on any day except Saturday or a religious holiday. They tried to perform the ritual in synagogues or in prayer schools in front of an open kivot (Oron ha kodesh) in the presence of two Jewish witnesses.
Catholic pastor - Catholics.
There were cases when representatives of the pagan peoples of Siberia and the North got into the fleet. When they took the oath, an amulet was sewn on, which had a meaning for these pagans, and on it these recruits took the oath.
And only if there was no corresponding clergyman, then the commander of the ship took the oath with the participation of the ship's priest and co-religionists.
In the Code of Military Regulations of 1869 it was written:
"The oath is an oath that a soldier takes before the face of God on the cross of the Savior and on his holy Gospel: to serve God and the Sovereign with faith and truth<...>, boldly and cheerfully go into battle for the Tsar, Holy Russia and the Orthodox Faith. The betrayer of the oath will have no mercy either in this world or at the Last Judgment of God.
Russian sailors have always considered the military oath to be sacred.
Violation of the oath was considered a great sin before God and people.
According to official statistics, there were practically no atheists in the Russian Armed Forces. The refusal of the sectarians to take the military oath means the rejection of the commandment of God, calling "to lay down your life for your friends."
Therefore, perjury in the Armed Forces was associated not only with state laws, but also with religious issues.
If you have broken the oath, it means that you are abandoned by your God and you are no longer a true believer, you have already become like Judas. Such an oath was of greater importance and greater power than the current oath, which has an exclusively secular state meaning.
It should be noted that today this tradition is being revived. In the Pacific Fleet, before taking the oath, a prayer service is performed. Believing sailors, like their great-grandfathers, take the oath before the St. Andrew's flag, the Holy Gospel and the Cross, and kiss them.
This is how the text of the oath sounded, which was taken in 1766 by a graduate of the Naval gentry cadet corps Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov: “Az, Fedor Ushakov, I promise and swear by Almighty God before His holy Gospel that I want and owe Her Imperial Majesty to my all-merciful Empress Empress Catherine Alekseevna Autocrat and Her Imperial Majesty to the most gracious Son, the Sovereign Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the rightful Heir to the All-Russian throne, serve faithfully and without hypocrisy and obey in everything, not sparing my life to the last drop of blood ... In what, may the Lord God Almighty help me! ".
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The cadet corps is one of the most significant phenomena in the history of military educational institutions in Russia, and in the history of Russian education as a whole. They were the initial step in the training of officers and civil servants. The significance of the pedagogical experience accumulated in the cadet corps goes far beyond the purely military sphere, since these educational institutions provided their pupils not only with a special military, but also with a broad civilian education. Cadets (fr. - junior, minor) were called in pre-revolutionary France young nobles who were determined for military service, young children of noble families before they were promoted to the 1st officer rank. The word "cadet" comes from the Gascon diminutive "capdet", derived from the Latin "capitelleum", which literally means "little captain" or "little head". In Russia, since the establishment of the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences by Peter I and until the closing of the last cadet corps in the fall of 1920, in different years there were a total of about fifty cadet corps or military educational institutions, similar in essence to the cadet corps. Outside of Russia, after the 1917 revolution, up to six Russian cadet corps functioned at various times. When in 1689 Peter I was proclaimed Emperor, one of his primary tasks was the creation in Russia of a permanent army with a competent command staff. Peter realized that by attracting foreigners to serve in the Russian army and sending young Russian nobles to study military affairs abroad, he would not completely solve the problem of training military personnel for the Russian army. The creation of a regular army armed with modern weapons made it necessary to train command staff in Russia itself to lead military units and units. Peter undertook a long journey through Europe and on June 3, 1698 he visited the cadet corps in the city of Dresden. The first cadet corps appeared in Prussia in 1653, when the first cadet school was established by the great elector for military service by noble children. Traveling abroad, Emperor Peter I understood more and more clearly that in his plans to build the Russian fleet, he could not do without the help of foreign specialists. Equally, the same thoughts came to him when he reflected that it was impossible to build a fleet and an army only using the services of foreign specialists. We need to create our own Russian school. The cadet corps seen in Dresden was land-based, and for Russia the priority was to create its own fleet, and therefore the first educational institution did not yet bear the name of the cadet corps. On January 14, 1701, the Decree “The Grand Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich indicated by His personal command to be Mathematical and Navigational, that is, nautical cunning sciences of teaching” was issued. |
In 1715, already in St. Petersburg, the Naval Academy or the Academy of the Marine Guard was established. In the Project of the Naval Academy, which was presented to Peter by its author, Baron Saint-Hilaire, the word cadet was first used, but due to the specificity of the sea and the French authorship, the title of cadet was not yet officially put into circulation.
On January 16, 1712, Peter I founded the first Russian Military Engineering School. On January 31, 1910, Emperor Nicholas II ordered: “Due to the succession established by historical data of the 2nd Cadet Corps from the Engineering School established by Emperor Peter I on January 16, 1712 in Moscow, to give seniority to the Second Cadet Corps from the day the named school was established, that is from January 16, 1712." This meant that the Second Cadet Corps officially became the successor to the Engineering School.
And already on June 29, 1731, the Decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna was adopted on the creation of the land gentry cadet corps, after which the word cadet and cadet corps appeared in all official documents.
Thus, we can say with complete historical certainty that the cadet corps in Russia have been counting down their time since 1701.
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Sretenka. View of the Sukharev Tower, late 19th century. |
empress Anna Ioannovna(1730-1740), responded to the proposal of the President of the Military Collegium Count B.K. Minich and the Russian Ambassador to Berlin, Count P.I. Yaguzhinsky to establish a cadet corps in Russia. The development of a draft regulation on the corps was entrusted to Count Munnich. The charters of the Prussian and Danish cadet corps were the basis of the first charter of the corps.
Based on the experience of Denmark and Prussia, the curriculum of the cadet corps, along with special military subjects, included the basics of the exact, natural and human sciences. Since the time of the Petrovsky Table of Ranks in tsarist Russia, there was no hard line between military and civil service. The transition from military to civilian service with the preservation or even an increase in rank was not something special. Accordingly, the system of training and education in the cadet corps was created taking into account these features, and the range of subjects taught there was quite wide. The corpus studied "Russian literature" (language and literature), history (including the history of Ancient Greece and Rome - a course that involved familiarizing students with the works of ancient authors not only in modern, French and German translations, but also in Latin) , heraldry and genealogy. Cadets were trained in horse riding, fencing, dancing, law, new and ancient languages. Throughout the existence of the cadet corps, the course of study and programs have changed periodically.
By the time of the establishment of the cadet corps in Russia, there was no pedagogical science as such, theoretical and practical developments in teaching most of the subjects defined for study in the cadet corps. There was also no training program for cadets, there were no textbooks. In St. Petersburg it was impossible to get most of the books and instruments necessary for the Cadets to study. We had to ask military engineers in Narva, Reval, Riga to send books, training equipment, rulers, compasses, various ammunition and other items necessary for the cadets to the cadet corps. There was no experience of teaching civil and military disciplines at the same time. Everything had to be done for the first time. That is why the system of training cadets, which suffered through suffering in the first years of the existence of the cadet corps, later went far beyond the scope of this educational institution and began to serve as a certain standard for the programs of the newly created cadet corps and other educational institutions.
The positions of the Chief Director and the Director of the Cadet Corps were established to lead the cadet corps of gentry. The chief director was to carry out general management of the cadet corps and the educational process and ensure the communication of the corps with the empress, who showed great interest in the corps, and the Governing Senate, which was directly related to the recruitment of cadets into the corps. The first Chief Directors of the corps were Count B.K. Munnich (1731), princes Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Ludwig of Hesse-Homburg (1741), princes V.A. Repnin (1745), B.G. Yusupov (1750), Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich (1759), Count I.I. Shuvalov (1762). The first director of the corps was Major General Luberas (1731-1734).
Researchers and historians who analyzed the activities of the cadet corps in the first years of its existence came to the conclusion that, despite some shortcomings in the organization of the educational process, the atmosphere of camaraderie, cohesion, simplicity of the situation and the often harsh regime of cadet life developed integral and persistent characters, rooted in most pupils a sense of honor and duty, firmly bound them with the spirit of friendship and mutual assistance that remained between comrades after graduation from the corps. Each of them recalled the cadet brotherhood with sincere gratitude and love.
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Gradually, through the efforts of the Chief Directors of the corps, the quality of training and education was brought into line with the high requirements that were laid down during its creation. Professors of the Academy of Sciences and teachers with university education began to be widely involved in teaching in the building. The selection of teachers and corps officers became more thorough.
From the first days of its existence, the corps was under close attention and guardianship of the reigning persons of Russia. None of the cadet corps was subjected to the introduction of such a number of innovations and such frequent adjustment of curricula as the 1st cadet corps. Each of the rulers of Russia sought to contribute to the education of the cadets, considering this as their highest good. The royal persons regularly visited the building, presented it with their portraits, ceremonial uniforms, and provided other signs of royal favor. Corps directors were appointed only with the consent of the empress or emperor.
In January 1798 Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich was appointed Chief Director of the 1st Cadet Corps. During the first 70 years of the existence of the 1st Cadet Corps, 3,300 pupils graduated from its walls, many of whom achieved outstanding achievements in the field of public service, science and art.
By the beginning of the emperor's reign Alexander I(1801-1825) in Russia there were four military educational institutions for the training of officers. Alexander I invited the nobility to think about creating provincial military schools at the expense of the nobles. On March 21, 1805, the "Plan of military education" developed with the direct participation of the emperor appears. In 1802, the Corps of Pages was established in St. Petersburg, which became the successor to the Court Boarding House, created by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. By decree of October 10, 1802, the Corps of Pages becomes a military educational institution of a closed type. The charter noted that “this corps is such a military establishment, where noble youth through education is prepared for military service by strict obedience, perfect subordination and strict coercion, but voluntary performance of their posts. The Corps of Pages is a privileged educational institution, the purpose of which is to provide the sons of honored parents who are destined for officer service, mainly in the guard troops, with both a general military education and upbringing appropriate to their purpose.
In 1810, the Corps of Pages was transferred to the building of the former Vorontsov Palace, where until 1801 the Chapter of the Order of Malta was located, which was patronized by Paul I. This fact of purely external continuity received an unexpected development in the system of education of pages. The white Maltese cross became its official sign: Maltese crosses were depicted on the corps banner, they were preserved in the interior decoration of the premises. The sign of the Corps of Pages was also executed in the form of a Maltese cross. It was received by graduates of the corps. In the building, in addition to the Orthodox Church, in memory of the former owners of the building, there was also a Catholic (Maltese) chapel - an unprecedented case in the history of military educational institutions in Russia. The testaments of the Knights of Malta, carved on the walls of the chapel, were taken by the pupils of the Corps of Pages as moral and ethical standards. They said: “You will believe everything that the church teaches”, “You will respect the weak and become his protector”, “You will love the country in which you were born”, “You will not retreat before the enemy”, “You you will wage a constant and merciless war with the infidels”, “You will not lie and remain true to this word”, “You will be generous and will do good to everyone”, “You will everywhere and everywhere be the champion of justice and goodness against injustice and evil.”
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In 1804, the Mining School, formed in October 1773 for the training of mining engineers, was transformed into the Mining Cadet Corps. There were preparatory and 8 classes in the building: four lower, two middle and two upper. Pupils of the four lower classes were called cadets, the next two were called conductors, and officers were trained in the upper classes. From the moment of its foundation, the Mountain Cadet Corps was under the jurisdiction of the Mining Department, although the general rules of conduct, training and education were borrowed from documents developed for the Cadet Corps. In 1833, the Mining Cadet Corps was renamed the Mining Institute, and the corps ceased to exist. It should be noted that not all Russian researchers classify the Mountain Cadet Corps as part of the system of cadet corps, perhaps, first of all, this was due to the subordination of the corps to the Mining Department, and not to Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich, who at that time assumed command of the cadet corps. At the same time, this institution, which has trained hundreds of experienced mining engineers, deserves to be put on a par with those military educational institutions that were established under Alexander I.
In 1812, in Finland, in the town of Gaapanyemi, Kuopio province, the Gaapanyem Topographic Corps was created, which played an important role in training military topographers for the Russian army, necessary for compiling geographical maps, conducting reconnaissance of the area, exploring navigable rivers, etc. Initially, there were 6 cadets and 10 officers in the corps. Four years later, the special nature of this institution changed, and with an increase in funds for its development, it begins to train young people, natives of Finland, for all branches of the Russian army. In May 1819, the topographic corps was transferred to the city of Friedrichshamn and began to be called the Finnish Cadet Corps. According to the staff, it was supposed to have 30 state-owned and 30 private pupils. The corps was disbanded in 1903.
Under Alexander I, the military principle laid down by Paul I continued to strengthen in the cadet corps. By this time, as the author of one of the most comprehensive studies of the history of the cadet corps, M.S. Lalaev, in the cadet corps, teams of educated officers were formed, recruited mainly from among the graduates of the same corps. Although most of them were more line officers than educators. Officers, as the cadets note, they rarely saw. The company commander appeared only on duty, company training or during executions. Strict discipline was maintained in the corps. Corporal punishment was widely used. Company commanders and other officers had the right to punish cadets with rods. According to one of the commanders of the cadet battalion, "it was a shame to give the grenadier less than a hundred rods." In the absence of the kind and constant influence of the officers-educators on their pupils, the inner life of the cadets gradually began to be determined by the cadets themselves. In the cadet milieu, their own notions of a sense of honor and duty are taking root, firmly binding classmates with the spirit of disinterested friendship not only within the walls of the corps, but also outside it for many years of life. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg and Moscow, each of them considered it his first duty to visit his corps. Pupils of different editions met each other like brothers.
Under Alexander I, the foundation was laid for the management system of military educational institutions in Russia from a single center. By decree of March 29, 1805, a special “Council on Military Educational Institutions” was established, the first task of which was to unify the entire system of upbringing and education in the cadet corps. The Emperor's brother Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich became the first chairman of the Council. The creation of the Council marked the beginning of the activities of a state body that was obliged to coordinate the preparation of curricula for military educational institutions, the publication of teaching aids and textbooks, and to monitor the quality of teaching and education in the cadet corps.
The greatest contribution to the creation and development of the Russian cadet corps was made by the Emperor Nicholas I(1825-1855). existed in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. military educational institutions far from satisfied the needs of the army in staffing it with officers. Military educational institutions, which developed separately from one another, did not have a reliable uniform organization, each institution was managed at the discretion of its immediate superior. Admission to the cadet corps was often carried out without clearly defined rules and in many cases depended directly on the director of the corps. There were no uniform programs, instructions and instructions for educational work. The experience of one educational institution served as an example for the newly created institution. For the period from 1800 to 1825. from the Page, 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps, 4845 officers were released into the troops, i.e. the average number of officers annually graduating was 200. According to Lalayev, the educational institutions listed above ensured the replacement of no more than a sixth of all officer vacancies that opened annually in the army. Junker schools first appeared in Russia only in the last year of the reign of Alexander I.
Under Nicholas I, the most rational system of cadet corps begins to take shape. Nicholas I decided "to give military educational institutions a new structure, to tie them together into one common branch of state administration, to direct the same thought towards the same goal." According to Nicholas I, by the time of his accession to the throne, the cadet corps had fulfilled their educational function, originally entrusted to them at the time of creation, and now they had to focus their attention on training exclusively officers.
On May 11, 1826, on May 11, 1826, a committee was formed under the chairmanship of engineer-general Opperman to develop a new regulation on military educational institutions. The committee was entrusted with the task of considering in detail the organization of the educational process and educational work in Russian military educational institutions and making its proposals for the further development of military education in Russia. The result of four years of work was the draft "General Regulations and Charter for military educational institutions." The purpose of all educational institutions was to prepare the sons of nobles for military service.
Nicholas I decided to return to the project presented by Platon Zubov to Alexander I in 1801. However, the practical implementation of P. Zubov's proposals took a slightly different direction. Zubov proposed the creation of 17 "military schools" - preparatory educational institutions, whose graduates, according to the established quotas, would be sent after graduation either to the cadet corps or to the university. Eight large schools were supposed to be created in Dorpat, Grodno, Volyn, Kyiv, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Vologda and Smolensk. Nine more were to appear in Tver, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Orel, Kharkov, Saratov, Orenburg and Tobolsk.
Nicholas I took the path of creating new cadet corps. On February 1, 1830, the emperor approves the "Regulations on the provincial cadet corps", on the basis of which cadet corps began to open both at the expense of the treasury and the local nobility. Initially, it was decided to establish corps in Novgorod, Tula, Tambov, Polotsk, Poltava and Elizavetgrad, each for 400 pupils. Children from nearby provinces could enter the cadet corps in these cities. At the same time, it was specifically determined which province was assigned to one or another corps.
By 1855, 17 cadet corps were opened, ten of which lasted until 1918-1919.
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| Nizhny Novgorod Count Arakcheev Cadet Corps |
The cadet corps, subordinated to the Chief Commander of military educational institutions, were divided into three military educational districts. To Petersburg district were included: Corps of Pages, School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers, Noble Regiment, 1st, 2nd, Pavlovsky, Novgorod Count Arakcheev, Finland, Alexander Minor Cadet Corps. To Moscow: 1st and 2nd Moscow, Alexandrinsky-Sirotsky, Orlovsky Bakhtin, Tula Alexandrovsky, Mikhailovsky Voronezh, Tambov, Orenburg Neplyuevsky and Siberian Cadet Corps. To Western: Polotsk, Petrovsky-Poltava, Alexander Brest, Unranked Vladimirsky Kyiv Cadet Corps.
In the era of Nicholas I, up to 6700 pupils were brought up in the cadet corps, 520 people graduated annually. In 1825-1856. 17653 officers were released from the cadet corps.
All the cadet corps of that time were boarding schools with a staff of 100 to 1000 pupils, divided into companies (grenadier, musketeer, unranked). Each company consisted of 100-120 cadets of approximately the same age and was directly subordinate to the company commander.
For the summer, the cadets were taken to the camp and lived in large tents, 50 people each. For the St. Petersburg cadet corps, the camp was located until 1829 in Krasnoye Selo, and then near Peterhof. Since 1832, the Moscow corps were encamped near the village of Kolomenskoye. The main camp occupations were drill exercises (company, battalion). During the camp, much attention was paid to excursions both near and far, various sports activities, the purpose of which was to improve the health of the cadets.
In the cadet corps, the teaching of mathematics was expanded so that those graduating into the artillery and engineering troops had sufficient general training. In 1834, the teaching of gymnastics was included in the programs for the first time. In the premises of the company, red boards were to be displayed to show the names of excellent students of the cadets and black for negligent or, as they liked to say then, "bad cadets." An attestation notebook was kept for each cadet, where the good and bad deeds of the cadets were entered, their characteristics and measures to correct bad inclinations.
The paramount place in the process of educating cadets belonged to the church, and even the whole way of life of the corps rested on the Orthodox calendar. Religious education, which was the basis of moral education, reaching the depths of the Cadet hearts, instilled in them not only love for God, but also a sense of duty, love for the great Motherland, respect for parents, devotion to the Sovereign, respect for elders.
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| House church in the Cadet Corps. 1890s |
Immediately after the laying of the first stone in the foundation of the building for the newly established corps, the construction of the corps Temple began. The date of completion of the construction of the Temple became one of the most revered holidays by the cadets.
The temples were richly decorated and had rare icons donated by members of the imperial family or local patrons.
For example, for a church Suvorov cadet corps, the iconostasis, which was under the army of A.V. Suvorov during her entry into Warsaw in 1794, and then - at the main headquarters of Emperor Alexander I during his campaigns abroad in 1813-1814.
Corpus church 1st Moscow Catherine II Cadet Corps, located in the Catherine Palace in Lefortovo, was famous for the fact that the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Empress Catherine II, adopted Orthodoxy in this church.
Nearly all cadets had an icon-blessing from the house at the head of the bed, in front of which they prayed every morning and at bedtime.
In 1831, in connection with the death of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich was appointed Chief of Military Educational Institutions, with the Council on Military Educational Institutions subordinate to him. In 1832, in order to further strengthen the control of the military department over the corps, the Directorate of Military Educational Institutions and the Headquarters for the Administration of Military Educational Institutions were created, later transformed into the General Staff. The powers of his chief were equated with the power of the minister. In the context of these transformations, the consistent tightening of disciplinary measures should also be considered: the pupils were under the vigilant control of educators. Their orders were non-negotiable. Exit from the gates of the corps for the cadet was possible only accompanied by a servant or relatives.
In 1836, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, the chief head of military educational institutions, introduced a new Charter of military educational institutions. In accordance with it, the cadet corps were divided into 2 classes. By 1862-1863, there were 12 cadet corps of the 1st class, and 5 cadet corps of the 2nd class. The 1st class included: Corps of Pages, School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers, Noble Regiment, 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps, 1st and 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps, Finland, Pavlovsk, Novgorod, Orlovsky, Voronezh , Polotsk, Brest, Petrovsky Poltava, Orenburg and Siberian cadet corps. As the cadet corps was included in the first class, special classes were established in it, after which the cadets were promoted to officers. The first special classes were created in the capital's cadet corps - in St. Petersburg: in the Page, 1st and 2nd Cadet, Pavlovsky, in Moscow: in the 1st Moscow, as well as Finland. At the end of the 40s of the XIX century, it was decided to establish special classes in the Orenburg Neplyuevsky, Siberian, Alexander Orphan, Konstantinovsky, Vladimir Kiev Cadet Corps. The directors of the cadet corps considered it an honor to have special classes in the corps, and after the corps gained strength and acquired a certain authority, they began to petition for the introduction of special classes in the corps.
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In the second class there were Alexandrovsky Minor, Alexandrinsky Orphan, Tula, Tambov, Vladimir Kyiv Cadet Corps. The cadets of these corps after 5 years of study entered the corps of the 1st class. The cadets of the provincial corps, who initially did not have special classes, were transferred to the Noble Regiment upon completion of the general classes, where, upon completion of the special classes, they were promoted to officers.
According to the unified curriculum introduced in 1836 for cadet corps of the 1st grade, all subjects were divided into three courses: preparatory (1 year), general (5 years), special (3 years). The preparatory classes taught the fundamentals of the Law of God, reading and writing in Russian, French and German, an elementary course in arithmetic, calligraphy and drawing; in general and special classes - the Law of God, Russian language and literature, French and German, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytical geometry, mechanics, natural history, physics, chemistry, Russian and general history, geography, jurisprudence, statistics, artillery, tactics, military topography, descriptive arts, gymnastics, fencing and dancing. Differential and integral equations were taught in special classes for students preparing for artillery and engineering schools. During summer camps and vacations, the senior cadets who remained in the corps were engaged in topographic work. A special literary magazine was published for reading, representing a collection of the best works of that time. There were no children's books at that time.
Each subject was assigned such a volume that all subjects, in accordance with their importance, constituted a coherent program of the course. The program was designed for the average cadet and was subject to mandatory assimilation. In addition to detailed programs, notes were drawn up; textbooks for these programs have been commissioned from professors and eminent teachers. More than 50 textbooks were compiled by the most famous teachers of that time. Graduate of the 2nd Cadet Corps, General M.I. Lelyukhin, recalling the way of life and customs in the corps in 1837-1845, wrote: “The mental development of the cadets was very limited, they learned a lot, but they completely mastered little, mainly due to shortcomings in mentors who could help the cadets in preparing lessons. The cadets had no shortage of things that made up clothing, the linen was good and in sufficient quantity, and finally, they fed quite well in the corps. I don’t remember that any of the former cadets treated the corps with a hostile feeling, on the contrary, love for the corps prevails in the memories of the officers, some kind of feeling related to it.
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Badge of the 1st Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg |
The creation of numerous cadet corps, according to Nicholas I, was explained not only by the need to give military training to future officers, but also by the desire to instill an appropriate morale in the future servants of the fatherland. For this purpose, in 1848, the Main Directorate of Military Educational Institutions, with the direct participation of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, compiled a “Manual for the Education of Pupils of Military Educational Institutions”, explaining the purpose of creating cadet corps. It read: “To provide the young military nobility with an education worthy of this rank, in order to strengthen the rules of piety and pure morality in these pupils and, having taught them everything that is necessary to know in the military rank predetermined for them, to make them able to serve the Sovereign with benefit and honor, and the well-being of their whole life to be based on an unwavering commitment to the Throne. A Christian, a loyal subject, a good Russian Son, a reliable comrade, a modest educated young man, a diligent, patient and efficient officer - these are the qualities with which students of military educational institutions should move from school to the ranks of the Imperial Army with a pure desire to repay the Sovereign for his honest deeds. service, an honest life and an honest death.
Emperor Alexander II(1855-1881), upon accession to the throne, assumed the title of Chief of the 1st Cadet Corps and ordered that the Headquarters of the Chief Head of Military Educational Institutions be called the Main Headquarters of His Imperial Majesty for Military Educational Institutions. Since 1863, at the suggestion of the Minister of War Milyutin, the reform of military educational institutions began in Russia. The cadet corps, already well-established by graduating a large number of worthy officers into the army, were abolished at the initiative of the Minister of War and turned into paramilitary gymnasiums, which, according to the internal routine and curriculum, were much closer to civilian secondary educational institutions. Special classes in the corps were also abolished, and the cadets of these classes were transferred to the newly established military schools: Pavlovsky, Konstantinovsky, Aleksandrovsky, Orenburg. This reform was perceived differently in public circles. Someone enthusiastically welcomed her, and someone sharply criticized. General V.G. von Bool, in his memoirs Memoirs of a Pedagogue, repeatedly emphasized that in the course of the reform many good qualities of the old cadet corps were undeservedly abandoned, that the reorganization was carried out too hastily. According to Milyutin's critics, when transforming the cadet corps into military gymnasiums, he saw only one side of general education, forgetting that the cadet corps prepared young people for service in the officer rank in the Russian army, and believed that civilian educators could replace officers, and the education of cadets in military gymnasiums will not suffer from this.
All the cadet corps that existed by that time were renamed military gymnasiums or disbanded. Military attributes were eliminated. The epaulettes have been removed from the cadets - their pride. Combat classes have been abolished, saluting has been cancelled. In the newly created general educational military educational institutions, instead of military discipline, correct, according to the then requirements of pedagogy, education was introduced under the guidance of educators, without the participation of non-commissioned officers from senior cadets.
Emperor Alexander III (1881-1894) to a certain extent had to eliminate those mistakes that were made by his predecessor in the field of military education, in the training of officers. On July 22, 1882, it was announced by the military department that, taking into account the merits of the former imperial cadet corps, whose pupils, “having glorified Russian weapons in memorable wars of the past and current centuries, valiantly labored in various fields of useful service to the Throne and Fatherland”, the emperor ordered all military gymnasiums to continue to be called cadet corps.
They had the right to enter the cadet corps (to the state account):
1. Sons of officers who have spent ten years in active military service or naval military service or who have orders for military merit. Sons of retired officers, military or naval doctors, military priests and persons who were or are in active educational service at the Military Educational Department, including assistants at departments and clinics, hospitals and academies, doctors of clinics for nervous and mental illnesses and Imperial Military Medical Academy. On a mandatory basis: a) orphans of the same persons who died in the service; b) the sons of the same persons and, in addition, class officials of all departments, if these persons and officials were killed in the war, died of wounds and shell shock received in the war, are or were under the auspices of the Alexander Committee for the Wounded, according to the first and second class.
2. Sons of those persons (other than officials of the Civil Office) who died suddenly or lost their mind or sight in the service.
3. Sons of holders of the Order of St. George of all degrees.
4. Sons of persons who participated in the battles and were awarded the Distinction of the Military Order or who are under the auspices of the Alexander Committee for the Wounded, in the first or second class.
5. Sons of ensigns, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers of the company of the Palace Grenadiers.
6. Minors who are listed as pages of the Supreme Court.
The sons and grandsons of persons (male and female) born in the Jewish faith were not eligible for admission to the cadet corps.
Restored in 1882 and subsequently founded, the cadet corps were secondary military educational institutions; they had only general education classes and preliminary preparation for military service was carried out. The corps had a military organization and were subdivided into companies. The entire administration consisted of the military. At the head of the corps was its director with the rank of major general or lieutenant general. Colonels were company commanders, and lieutenant colonels were appointed as educator officers in class departments.
The buildings taught: the Law of God, Russian, German and French, Russian and general history, geography, mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, analytical geometry, trigonometry, the application of algebra to geometry), cosmography, physics, chemistry, mechanics, zoology, botany, mineralogy, physiology, jurisprudence, drawing, projection drawing, drafting and calligraphy.
The system of extra-curricular activities was constantly expanding. The developers of the new programs tried to ensure the harmonious development of the individual in the cadet corps. Since 1905, military training provided for the full course of single and platoon training. Extra-curricular reading was introduced in French and German, a course in rhetoric. Famous artists and directors were invited to teach the rhetoric course. A section on various moral and philosophical systems is being introduced into the course of jurisprudence in senior grades, and the program of the foundations of scientific ethics has been expanded. The program of physical development included mandatory excursions and military campaigns lasting up to 5-7 days. For the duration of the campaigns, the cadets received dry rations, a bowler hat, and hiking boots. The equipment was completed by an overcoat rolled up, a rifle, a pouch, a duffel bag. During the campaigns, the cadets spent the night in tents in the field, each of the cadets performed some duties: who made a fire, who cooked food, who went to field guards.
In 1890 compulsory dance instruction was introduced in the cadet corps. It should be noted that in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. dances were already taught in the cadet corps, and at that time they to a certain extent replaced gymnastics. The system of dance teaching at that time was carefully developed by the "French dance school on the basis of the principles of beauty, grace and expressiveness of the human figure in rest and movement." At dance lessons, graceful manners, beauty and decency of gestures, gait, posture were studied.
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The educational part of the cadet corps was run by the class inspector and his assistant, both with higher education. Teachers were invited persons necessarily with higher education from both military and civilian ranks. Extra-curricular activities were also held in the buildings, of which drill training, shooting, gymnastics, fencing, swimming and dancing were obligatory, and not obligatory - singing, music, manual labor in various forms. At the end of their studies in the corps, the overwhelming majority of cadets were transferred to military schools - infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineering, and only a few entered universities and higher technical civilian educational institutions. When entering the civil civil service, cadets who completed the full course in the corps received the rank of class 14 - collegiate registrar.
In March 1900, after assuming the position of the Chief Head of Military Educational Institutions, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich issued orders aimed at:
abolition of corporal punishment;
Abolition of correctional military educational institutions with their transformation into normal military educational institutions;
Prohibition to expel cadets from the corps for accidental "youthful" illnesses;
Freedom of smoking in the senior company, with the device "smoking rooms".
Introduction to the service staff of special dental surgeries. Improvement in nutrition was envisaged, with the appointment of special nutrition for weak cadets, medical examinations were more frequent, and showers and foot baths in the washbasins were introduced. Increased company libraries. In addition to manual labor, courses in drawing and modeling were added.
One of the first directors of the cadet corps, who had a significant impact on the formation of the educational process in the cadet corps, was Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy, director of the Land Cadet Corps under Catherine II. How great the influence of the director of the cadet corps was, is evidenced by the fact that almost all of his proposals were unconditionally accepted by the empress and recommended for implementation in the practical life of the cadet corps.
Another director who had a significant impact on the education of the cadets of the 1st Cadet Corps was Count F.E. Anhalt (1786-1794). Adjutant General F.E. Anhalt proved himself a brave and courageous officer, but at the same time he was a zealous supporter of the pedagogy of the Enlightenment and sought to bring the beginning of camaraderie into the relationship between teachers and pupils. In the building, European and Russian periodicals were openly circulated, in the cadet lounge, books by outstanding thinkers of France were laid out on tables. On the boards installed in the same hall, the cadets could write down their thoughts on the books and articles they had read throughout the week. These records often became the subject of discussion. The corps theater flourished. However, the Anhalt system of "greenhouse education", according to a graduate of the cadet corps, writer and historian F.I. Glinka, caused psychological difficulties for graduates of the corps in the process of adapting to the realities of harsh reality.
Replaced F.E. Anhalt as director of the corps, the future field marshal M.I. Kutuzov began to revise the entire system of cadet education in order to adapt it to the real needs of military service. And the most interesting thing is that he received the go-ahead for the implementation of transformations in the corps from Catherine II. Discipline was tightened, those who disagreed with the views of the new director of the corps were asked to leave. For senior students, for the first time in the history of Russian military educational institutions, summer field camps were introduced. In the curriculum, tactics and military history, taught by M.I. Kutuzov. Classes in tactics were required to attend not only the cadets, but also officers.
One of the most respected directors of the Nizhny Novgorod Count Arakcheev of the cadet corps was Major General Pavel Petrovich Nosovich, who had to transfer the corps from Novgorod to Nizhny Novgorod. Nosovich graduated from the Novgorod Cadet Corps in 1846 (8th edition). Twenty years later, in 1866, he became the director of the corps and led it for eleven years until 1877. Nosovich’s leadership, according to the author of the essay on the corps Zvyagin K.S., “was distinguished by an enlightened, but firm character, deeply moral influence on all aspects of life of the cadet, with strict military discipline. The museum of the building kept a notebook of P.P. Nosovich, in which he made detailed notes on the successes and behavior of all his pupils without exception from 1866 to 1877. He managed the gymnasium, "giving full opportunity to develop those who wish, encouraging the pursuit of knowledge, filling the pupils' leisure with useful and healthy entertainment." Nosovich's reputation was so high that he was transferred from the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps to the post of director of the capital's 1st St. Petersburg Cadet Corps.
The director of the Naval Noble Cadet Corps in the reign of Catherine II was the captain of the 2nd rank I.L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, released from the land gentry corps in 1743 to midshipmen. General Krotkov, who wrote the history of the Naval Cadet Corps in 1901, described I.L. Kutuzova: “Smart, energetic Kutuzov did a lot of good for the education and upbringing of sailors. Knowing French and German, knowing Russian and foreign literature, Kutuzov, sailing on ships in his youth, got acquainted with both the difficulties of maritime service and the shortcomings of maritime theoretical and practical education that sailors received at the Naval Academy. Kutuzov cared about the benefits of the fleet even more than the direct duty of the director of the Naval Corps required. He is busy with the training of naval shipbuilders who know the theory of shipbuilding, the opening of special mathematical classes for future naval officers.
The director of the 2nd Emperor Peter the Great Cadet Corps, Major General Mellisino (1782-1797), based his activities on the pedagogical principles of I.I. Betsky, drew up a project for the transformation of the corps, according to which the general educational element was strengthened, the number of hours for studying foreign languages was increased.
The director's personal training played an important role in shaping the good feelings of the pupils. Director of the Khabarovsk Corps, Major General K.N. Grishkov had a great musical culture, a beautiful bass voice, and sang on the kliros of the corps church. He led two choirs - church and secular. Brilliant Drill B.V. Adamovich, director of the First Russian Corps, aroused in the cadets a passionate desire to imitate him.
The above examples of the influence of directors of cadet corps on the educational process and the life of cadets only to a small extent reflect the real picture of what could actually happen in cadet corps under this or that director. During the existence of the cadet corps, dozens of generals and colonels of the Russian army, who had different military and general training, education and characters, were in this position. The farther from the capital, the more independent in their decisions were the directors of the buildings. The Main Directorate of Military Educational Institutions in a special note “On the Director of the Corps” noted: “In the provincial corps, the Director of the Corps is a representative of high-ranking educational institutions in public opinion and occupies an outstanding position among the provincial administrative staff.
Before the revolution of 1917, the cadet corps, as the writer S. Dvigubsky, a graduate of the cadet corps, notes, “differing from each other in the color of shoulder straps, had exactly the same curriculum, upbringing, lifestyle and drill training. Of all the educational institutions in Russia, they were, without any doubt, the most characteristic both in their exceptional features and in the strong love that the Cadets had for their native corps. It is almost impossible to meet in the life of a former cadet who does not remember his corps kindly. In this regard, an example should be cited, mentioned by the authors of the study on the cadet corps of A.A. Popov and A.M. Plekhanov. A former graduate of the Corps of Pages in 1904, and in 1920, the King of Yugoslavia, Alexander I Karageorgievich, out of a sense of solidarity and mutual assistance, sheltered several cadet corps from Russia on the territory of Yugoslavia.
The cadet corps, with their commanding, teaching, educational and service personnel of high qualification, with excellent classrooms, laboratories, infirmaries, comfortable bedrooms, gymnasiums and beautiful uniforms, cost Russia very dearly. In the presence of 30 corps, their annual release was no more than 1600 new junkers, which could not fully satisfy the army's needs for officers. However, as S. Dvigubsky notes, “this number was completely enough to give leaven to the entire cadet mass and saturate it with the spirit that each cadet took out of the corps walls with him and which, imperceptibly for themselves, was penetrated through and through by those who were in the military schools came from civilian educational institutions. On this cadet yeast, the magnificent dough of the corps of officers of the Russian Imperial Army rose.
By 1917, 31 cadet corps were operating in Russia, including the Marine and Page Corps. The total number of cadets by 1917 exceeded 10 thousand people. By February 1917, the following cadet corps existed in Russia:
Founded by Anna Ioannovna:
First Cadet Corps- 1732 Chief - His Majesty, director - Major General Fedor Alekseevich Grigoriev.
Founded by Elizabeth Petrovna:
Naval Cadet Corps- 1752
Founded by Catherine II:
2nd Cadet Corps of Emperor Peter the Great- 1762, seniority from 1712, director - Major General Alexander Karlovich Lindeberger;
Shklov Noble School, later - the 1st Moscow Cadet Corps of Empress Catherine II- 1778, director - Lieutenant General Vladimir Valeryanovich Rimsky-Korsakov.
Founded by Alexander I:
Corps of Pages of His Imperial Majesty- 1802, director - Major General Vladimir Alexandrovich Schilder, seniority from 1742.
Founded by Nicholas I:
Nizhny Novgorod Count Arakcheev Cadet Corps- 1834, director - Lieutenant General Leonid Pavlovich Voishin-Murdas-Zhilinsky;
Polotsk Cadet Corps- 1835, director - Major General Modest Grigorievich Chigir;
Petrovsky-Poltava Cadet Corps- 1840, director - Colonel Nikolai Petrovich Popov;
Voronezh Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich Cadet Corps- 1845, director - Major General Mikhail Pavlovich Borodin;
Orlovsky Bakhtin Cadet Corps- 1843, director - Major General Robert Karlovich Luther;
Orenburg Neplyuevsky Cadet Corps- 1844, director - Major General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Puzanov;
1st Siberian Emperor Alexander I Cadet Corps- 1845, director - Major General Alexander Ardalenovich Medvedev;
2nd Moscow Emperor Nicholas I Cadet Corps- 1849, director - Colonel Vladimir Eduardovich Dankvart.
Founded by Emperor Alexander II:
Vladimir Kyiv Cadet Corps- 1857, director - Major General Evgeny Evstafievich Semagikevich.
Founded by Emperor Alexander III:
Emperor Alexander II Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Lieutenant General Alexander Tosifovich Malinovsky;
Simbirsk Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Karl Velyamovich Spiegel;
Tiflis Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Ivan Petrovich Tomkeev;
Pskov Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Vladimir Pavlovich Rodionov;
3rd Moscow Emperor Alexander II Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Valeryan Lukich Lobachevsky;
Nicholas Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Vladimir Viktorovich Kvadri;
Don Emperor Alexander II Cadet Corps- 1882, director - Major General Pavel Nikolaevich Lazarev-Stanischev;
2nd Orenburg Cadet Corps- 1887, director - Major General Vasily Vasilyevich Grigorov.
Founded by Emperor Nicholas II:
Yaroslavl Cadet Corps- 1896, director - Major General Iosif Anufrievich Latour;
Suvorov Cadet Corps- 1899, director - Major General Alexander Nikolaevich Vaulin;
Odessa Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Cadet Corps- 1899, director - Major General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Rodkevich;
Sumy Cadet Corps- 1900, director - Major General Andrei Mikhailovich Saranchov;
Khabarovsk Count Muravyov-Amursky Cadet Corps- 1900, director - Major General Konstantin Nikolaevich Grishkov;
Vladikavkaz Cadet Corps- 1900, director Major General Ivan Gavrilovich Soimonov;
Tashkent Heir to the Tsesarevich Cadet Corps- 1901, director - Colonel Vladimir Matveyevich Kokh;
Volsky Cadet Corps- 1908, director - Major General Pyotr Viktorovich Moralevsky;
Irkutsk Cadet Corps— 1913
After the February Revolution of 1917, the cadet corps were renamed military department gymnasiums without changing the curricula. In 1918, most of the cadet corps were closed. Some cadet corps existed on the territory of Russia until 1920.
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In the middle of the 18th century, there were three educational institutions in Russia that trained specialists for the fleet: the Moscow Navigation School, the Naval Academy and the Midshipman Company. Vice Admiral V. Ya. Rimsky-Korsakov proposed to leave one educational institution with an expanded program following the example of the Land Cadet Corps, but with the preservation of elements of higher education. After discussing his note by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on December 15 (26), at the base Maritime Academy was created Naval Cadet Gentry Corps for 360 students; navigation school and Midshipman company were abolished. The name indicated that the educational institution was intended for persons of noble origin.
46,561 rubles were allocated annually for the maintenance of the corps. For the premises, a house, the former Minikha, on Vasilyevsky Island, on the corner of the Bolshaya Neva embankment and the 12th line, was allotted.
In combat terms, students were divided into three companies, in training - into three classes. Pupils of the first graduating class were called midshipmen, the second and third - cadets.
In 1762, the Naval Cadet Noble Corps was renamed the Naval Cadet Corps. In 1771, all the buildings of the corps burned down, and he was transferred to Kronstadt. The Naval Cadet Corps was located in the building of the Italian Palace, where it remained until December 1796, after which it was returned to St. Petersburg.
19th century
20th century
On November 1, 1998, as a result of the merger of the Higher Naval School named after M.V. Frunze and the Higher Naval Diving School named after Leninsky Komsomol, was created.
XXI Century
The history of the Naval Cadet Corps is now continuing in three educational institutions: the Naval Corps of Peter the Great - the St.
Director of the Naval Cadet Corps
Notable pupils
Notes
Literature
- Belyavsky K.V. To the centenary of the Church of the Naval Cadet Corps. - St. Petersburg. , 1897.
- Belyavsky K.V. Essay history church Naval cadet corps. - St. Petersburg. , 1900.
- Veselago F. F. Essay on the history of the Naval Cadet Corps. - St. Petersburg. , 1852.
- Golenishchev-Kutuzov L.I. About the naval cadet corps. Additions to the article placed in Otechestvennye zapiski about military schools in the reign of Paul I. - St. Petersburg. , 1840.
- Korguev N. A. Overview of the transformations of the Naval Cadet Corps in 1852, with a list of graduate students 1753-1896 - St. Petersburg. , 1897.
- Krotkov A. S.
MARINE CADET CORPS
The metamorphosis of the policy of Paul I ultimately led to the economic and political backwardness of the country. All the zigzags and contradictions of Russian history also affected the state of the armed forces. The Russian fleet at the beginning of the new century, although it occupied the third place in the world in terms of numbers, second only to the English and French, consisted mainly of old sailing ships.
The fate of the fleet was decided by people alien to it, and the government, which did not take active steps to reorganize the naval forces, in essence, only pretended to be engaged in their transformation.
Ship sailings were now extremely rare. The time was peaceful, and high naval officials were saving on the fleet with might and main. It was believed that each campaign is associated with the cost of wear and tear of sails, spars and rigging, therefore it is cheaper for the state for ships not to sail, but to stand in the harbor.
Bureaucracy, fraud and embezzlement flourished in the fleet. It was a rather dark period in the history of the naval forces. The Russian historian of the fleet, General Feodosy Fedorovich Veselago, is forced to admit that the deeds of foreigners who occupied the highest command posts at the beginning of the 19th century "led our fleet to the saddest stagnation ..."
And yet, most of the Russian officers, graduates of the Naval Cadet Corps, tried to honestly serve Russia, including their participation in distant scientific expeditions and round-the-world voyages. Thanks to their perseverance and initiative, the Russian state in the first half of the 19th century took first place in the world in the study of oceans and seas. The materials of geographical, oceanographic and ethnographic discoveries of Russian sea expeditions have significantly enriched domestic and world science, and have made up many bright pages in the annals of the Russian fleet.
In the first half of the new century, Russian naval art also developed further. Despite the stagnant situation, Russian sailors won a number of significant victories in battles with the French fleet. The success of the operations was largely due to the talent and skill of the former graduate of the Naval Corps, Vice Admiral D.I. Senyavin, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean in August 1805. His squadron made the most difficult crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in winter in 38 days of navigation. Such a successful transition of Russian ships to the theater of operations was largely facilitated by the materials of the Archipelago expedition of the Baltic Fleet, carried out by another graduate of the Naval Corps, Admiral G.A. Spiridov.
The beginning of the 1800s was a time of active development and transformation of military educational institutions. New cadet corps appeared in the capital, and some unification took place in the previously existing military schools. The Naval Cadet Corps was renamed into the Naval Cadet Corps. As can be seen from the new name, the word "gentry" was excluded, but this change did not affect the principles of its collection. The naval corps was still formed exclusively by persons of noble origin.
The new staff of the corps provided for the training of 700 cadets and midshipmen, and the cost of maintaining it began to amount to about 500,000 rubles a year.
Instead of Admiral I.L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, Alexander I appointed Rear Admiral Pyotr Kondratievich Kartsov director of the Naval Cadet Corps. What kind of person was the new head of the oldest naval educational institution in the capital? Rear Admiral P.K Kartsov is a veteran of wars with the Turks, Swedes and French. He was brought up in the Naval gentry cadet corps, after graduating from it in 1766 he served in the Black Sea Fleet. His naval service began on the ship "Europe" under the command of Captain 1st Rank F.A. Klokachev. Michman P.K. Kartsov, as part of the Mediterranean squadron of Admiral Spiridov, participated in the famous Battle of Chesme. In 1775 he returned to Revel together with the squadron of Vice Admiral A.V. Elmanova. In 1788-1790, Peter Kondratievich, with the rank of captain of the II rank, already as the commander of the Izyaslav ship, took part in all the battles between the fleets during the war with the Swedes.
In 1798, Rear Admiral Kartsov, commander of a squadron fighting together with the naval unit of Vice Admiral M.K. Makarov and the British fleet in the German Sea. In 1799, a naval officer received a high honor - to fight with the French fleet in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Russian naval formation of Admiral F.F. Ushakov.
In 1801 Rear Admiral P.K. Kartsov was appointed a member of the Admiralty Board, and on May 2, 1802, director of the Naval Cadet Corps.
According to the testimony and reviews of contemporaries, Pyotr Kondratievich was considered a man “seemingly severe and dry in appearance, but who had an extremely kind heart and was fair to the point of selflessness. There were times when, defending the innocent, he risked his own career ... ”In 1819 he was promoted to the rank of full admiral and appointed a senator, and in 1822 a member of the State Council.
The creative tandem of the new director with the talented and extremely educated corps class inspector Platon Yakovlevich Gamaleya - a sailor, captain-commander, meteorologist, hydrologist, historian of the Russian fleet and full member of the St. . Admiral Kartsov turned out to be a rather energetic and enlightened teacher and administrator. During the 24 years of his leadership, more than 2,000 well-trained naval officers graduated from the corps.
Compared to the Kronstadt period of the Naval Corps in St. Petersburg, the effectiveness of teaching and the success of the pupils were several orders of magnitude higher. In 1804, the representative of the Main Commission, Admiral von Dezin, who was present at the final exams of midshipmen, was amazed and delighted with the answers of the students and drew the attention of the Minister of the Navy P.V. Chichagov. He, in turn, delighted with such high successes of future officers, did not fail to proudly report this to the emperor. Alexander I presented each of the 13 best graduates of the Naval Corps with the highest gift - the latest example of an English-made sextant. Valuable gifts were presented to the lucky ones by the Minister of Marine at a meeting of the Admiralty College simultaneously with officer patents and personal letters with the following content: “His Imperial Majesty, as a result of the testimony of the commission that examined you with other students of the Naval Cadet Corps, about your successes in higher mathematics and in the sciences to the Naval officer relating, most graciously favors you as a token of His Highest Favor with a sextant, which, with pleasure, forwarding at this, I hope that this Royal gift will serve as an encouragement to you to greater improvement in yourself in the art of a naval officer.
Subsequently, memorable imperial gifts to the best graduates became a good tradition in the Naval Cadet Corps. In those years, future admirals G.S. Shishmarev and A.P. Lazarev, the future Minister of Public Education, Admiral P.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, as well as excellent naval officers P.N. Bogdanov, S.Ya. Unkovsky, A.E. von Krieger, S.N. Bogdanov and others.
Witnesses of that distant era subsequently recalled "the great zeal" with which the best pupils of the Naval Corps mastered science at that time. Talented students in each class enjoyed not only the special respect of their comrades, but often shared their knowledge with other pupils, thus acting as voluntary tutors of the lagging behind.
The requirements for education in those days were quite high. The compulsory curriculum included differential and integral calculus with their applications to mechanics and higher geometry.
It was said that class inspector Platon Yakovlevich Gamaleya, a favorite of the cadets and midshipmen, while talking with the pupils, repeatedly repeated to them: “Love science, brothers, for science itself, and not in order to put on shoulder straps.” Midshipman Bestuzhev recalled that “... we impatiently waited to run to Platon Yakovlevich's class ... with such love and respectful respect we looked at this thin, hunched old man ... A fiery love for science, a quiet, even, meek disposition ... a shade of friendly fatherly love in an address to the Cadets. This is how high the pupils of the corps characterized and appreciated this outstanding remarkable person and teacher. He has the most active role in the transformation of the naval educational institution. He radically reorganized the organization of the educational process, on his initiative and with his personal participation, for the first time in the Marine Corps, refresher courses were organized for the teaching staff. For teachers P.Ya. Gamaleya and prominent specialists and scientists of the Academy of Sciences invited by him gave a special course of lectures on certain topical sections of maritime theory and practice.
Great are the merits of Platon Yakovlevich in replenishing and updating the fund of the library of the educational institution with new teaching aids and textbooks. During his work in the corps (1780-1808), he personally prepared and published "The Highest Theory of Naval Art", "Theory and Practice of Naval Navigation", "Experience of Naval Practice of the Captain-Commander of the Naval Cadet Corps, Inspector and Imperial Academy of Sciences Member Platon Gamaleya "(St. Petersburg, 1804).
He also compiled astronomical tables for navigation, published his own research on winds and other air phenomena, the fundamentals of the theory of achromatic pipes, the history of optics, and a number of other scientific articles and notes.
Unfortunately, due to a progressive eye disease, Gamaleya was forced to retire in 1808. For some time, the duties of class inspector in the Naval Cadet Corps were performed by Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, who was soon replaced by assistant P.Ya. Gamaleya - Mark Filippovich Gorkovenko, who continued the traditions and work of his enlightened boss.
In 1816, on the initiative and with the participation of Gorkovenko, a commission of experienced teachers of the corps developed textbooks on the basics of arithmetic, geometry and trigonometry specifically for teachers of cadet classes. Mark Filippovich himself not only introduced physics into the compulsory curriculum, but also took upon himself the lecturing on this subject. At his urgent request, the printing house again began to function in the corps, where textbooks and methodological literature for cadets and midshipmen were regularly published.
Pupils of the Naval Corps in the new century wore uniform black double-breasted tailcoats with tails and puffed copper smooth buttons, with black epaulettes, on which golden anchors were embroidered. Three gold anchors were also embroidered on the cuffs of the sleeves. Midshipmen and cadets outside the corps wore daggers and three-cornered hats. Uniform casual trousers made of black cloth were short, slightly below the knees and fastened around the leg with metal buckles. White stockings and black uniform boots with short tops were worn on their feet.
Outside the building and on holidays, the pupils wore long white cloth pants tucked into the tops of their boots. During the dances, boots were replaced by shoes with white metal buckles.
The day for the pupils began at the signal of the drum at half past six in the morning. Before breakfast, lunch and dinner, a prayer was usually read out loud by one of the midshipmen. At night, all the premises of the Naval Corps were lit with tallow candles and oil lamps.
Until 1808, on Sundays and public holidays, all cadets had their heads powdered with sifted bran. For this procedure, the pupils in turn approached the footman, who threw a sheet over each shoulder and powdered his hair with a large brush. The powder itself (bran) was always in abundance in a large wooden tub.
The classroom sessions lasted a total of 8 hours a day (each lesson lasted 2 hours). In addition to classroom lessons, the pupils were taught gymnastics lessons, gun techniques and dances. A professional ballet dancer, the Frenchman de Rossi, was specially invited to the Naval Corps to teach dance.
By decision of the director of the educational institution, supported by the leadership of the Naval Department, the most capable midshipmen aged 15 to 17 were sent as volunteers to the English and French fleets to study foreign experience. At different times, according to P.K. Kartsov, 30 midshipmen underwent foreign training. Among the trainees were Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (graduate of 1808), Ivan Ivanovich Kolokoltsev (graduate of 1809), Alexander Pavlovich Avinov, Andrei Mikhailovich Lazarev, Pavel Afanasyevich Dokhturov and Evgraf Nikolaevich Stanyukovich (graduates of 1804). The last four trained on Admiral Nelson's squadron and even took a direct part in the Battle of Trafalgar. Midshipman A.P. Avinov after this historic battle was captured by the Spaniards and spent several months in prison on the island of Palma. After being released from captivity, he continued to serve in the English fleet and participated in the bombardment of Boulogne.
In addition to internships in England and France, midshipmen at the beginning of the 19th century underwent regular sea practice on Russian warships that made long-distance foreign trips. Most of them had to participate in naval battles. Many were awarded military orders and medals for bravery and courage.
According to contemporaries, “the table in the Corps was good, but not luxurious. Rye bread, kvass, rolls were always of excellent quality, but the benefits to the housekeeper were not transferred at that time ... ”It was said that in the Marine Corps, pupils protested rather aggressively against the attempts of the administration to“ cut back ”dessert. Things sometimes reached a real pogrom. As D.I., who graduated from the corps in 1825, testifies Kuznetsov, “... if on November 6 they didn’t give apples on a temple holiday, then at night they broke windows, broke balusters on the galleries, so that they drove the repair of everything at a price more expensive than buying apples ...”
The administration of the Naval Cadet Corps contributed to the organization and development of sports and sports games in the educational institution. The curriculum then included fencing and gymnastics as a compulsory subject. In their free time, towns, ball games, and skating were encouraged.
In the summer, "teaching in the classroom" ended, vacations came. The cadets were sent home, and the midshipmen "went on a campaign" - on training navigation on hull training ships - the brig "Simeon and Anna", the frigates "Malaya" and "Urania", as well as on the ships of the regular Baltic Fleet. Some midshipmen were included in the teams of military ships sent on scientific expeditions. So, in the summer of 1817, with the teacher of the corps, Prince S.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, 17 midshipmen passed on the ship along the route of the northern Russian ports, visited Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Great news - "Phoenix" will go to Sweden and Denmark! From the Baltic squadron they chose the best ship according to their technical data, from the midshipmen they appointed the best dozen. Naturally, three of them were identified by the high patronage of the Minister of Marine, but the remaining nine got into the voyage thanks to their personal abilities and academic success. Among them are people who later entered the history of the naval forces, the history of Russia: the future hero of Sevastopol, Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, his friend, the outstanding hydrograph Mikhail Frantsevich Reinike, the future Decembrist Dmitry Irinarkhovich Zavalishin, Russian writer, lexicographer and ethnographer Vladimir Ivanovich Dal.
For a future naval officer, practice is often burdensome not with labor, but with a sense of great responsibility. On the ship, more clearly and sharply than anywhere else, the dependence of everyone on everyone and everyone on everyone is clear. This feeling was immediately imbued with the young midshipmen as soon as they got on board the handsome frigate under the command of senior officer Mordarii Vasilyevich Milyukov. Pupils of the Naval Corps diligently worked together with the sailors, there were officer watches. Milyukov trusted them, but at the same time he noticed the necessary attention and prudence. “Hurry without haste, show resourcefulness without recklessness,” he repeatedly repeated to the midshipmen. The senior officer loved dashing, youthfulness and a sense of risk in naval affairs.
All these qualities were demonstrated in abundance by his wards, they should not be urged, but held back from "insane courage." To the horror of Lieutenant Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, the corps educator, the midshipmen ran along the bulwark; swiftly, head down, they slid from the masts along the cables; they moved, balancing with their hands, from mast to mast, like fairground tightrope walkers. For Pavel Nakhimov, this acrobatics once nearly cost him his life. He broke down and was badly hurt. But the senior officer of the "Phoenix" reassured him with the old maxim: "He will heal before the wedding!" And sure enough, it survived. A year after the voyage, the midshipmen successfully passed their final exams. In February, according to tradition, they lit candles in the church of St. Nicholas of the Sea - they were promoted to midshipmen.
Now the midshipmen went on a voyage with great pleasure. It was considered a special chic to walk in a working sailor's robe smeared with resin and perform all types of ship work. During the campaign, the pupils drank tea with crackers with pleasure, and tea was served in a large tin bowl and scooped up with spoons, like soup. Mikhail Bestuzhev recalled in his memoirs that “... it’s brave to run along the yard, not holding on to the fox-alcohol, go down headfirst along one of the tackles from the top of the mast; sailing on a boat in a fresh wind, not taking reefs and scooping water on board - for this the senior midshipmen called the newcomer "comrade".
The regime of the Naval Cadet Corps still remained harsh, however, now the degree of this severity largely depended on the director, class inspector and educator officers. Some of them did not like corporal punishment, limited themselves to conversations with the Cadets, delved into all their needs. Others, on the contrary, had a reputation for being strict and fond of corporal punishment.
Pupil of the Marine Corps V.I. Dal later recalled with bitterness the days of his stay in it: "We lived according to a sad proverb - our back, and your will."
In the official "Essay on the history of the Naval Cadet Corps", published by the highest command during the studies of pupils P. Nakhimov, V. Dahl, M. Reinike and D Zavalishin, it was mentioned that "any officer could, as he pleases, use this right immoderately." In the corps, an accurate account of blows was kept, the parents of flogged cadets were even taken money for the rods spent on educating their undisciplined undergrowths.
Vladimir Ivanovich Dal wrote that “the annals of the corps preserved an amusing story: the priest ordered the cadet to read a passage from the Holy Scripture three times, and the cadet was flogged three times for reading incorrectly. The first time they flogged for absent-mindedness, the second - for disobedience, the third - for stubbornness. Then the priest himself looked into the book - there was a typo!
But the most interesting thing is that for 5 years of Vladimir Dahl's teachings they have never been flogged. He said about himself that he was a chubby boy - obedient, meek, but in no way cowardly. 10 years after the end of the corps, Vladimir Ivanovich proved this on the battlefields.
An interesting detail in the activities of the educational institution. It turns out that until the autumn of 1804 in the Naval Cadet Corps there was a so-called "juvenile", or "reserve", department of children under 10-12 years old. Information about the situation and living conditions of the cadets of the "reserve company" is beautifully presented in the memoirs recorded from the words of a 90-year-old veteran of the fleet, retired Major General Karl Frantsevich de Livron (Naval collection. 1890. No. 5). This is how he described his stay in the “juvenile department” of the Naval Cadet Corps: “On February 15, 1803, I was appointed to the Naval Corps along with my older brother, in excess of the set, with the highest permission of Emperor Alexander I, at the request of the Minister of the Navy P.V. Chichagov. We were both given 500 rubles in banknotes for uniforms. Since my brother was seven and a half, and I was only five and a half years old, we were both placed in the juvenile department, where they were brought up separately from the cadets of large companies in a special room of the corps. Although we had no communication with other companies of the corps, the pupils of the older companies still visited us, and, as the smallest of all in years and height, I was often carried in my arms around the companies.
The head of our department was a middle-aged Englishwoman Sara Karlovna Tizdel, a strict woman, but at the same time kind. The servants were also female. There were about 40 cadets in this department at the age of 6 to 12 in my time. The department had its own classes and special teachers, separate from the other four companies; we also had our own canteen, but the uniform was the same as the cadets of other companies.
Mrs. Tizdel, who spoke good Russian, made us take turns reading aloud prayers in English, which was generally in great use in this department.
The nurse on duty (there were 5 in all) woke us up every day at 6 o'clock in the morning, after which, having washed and dressed, we stood at the front in our dining room, and one of the cadets (in turn) read aloud the "Lord's Prayer" in English. Breakfast consisted of a mug of fresh milk and a half-white roll. Classes began at 7 o'clock and continued until 11 o'clock, with 10-minute breaks; we were taught to read and write in Russian and English. The teachers of the Russian language were Maxim Tikhonovich Zarubin and our beloved Alexei Fedorovich Tikhonov; the latter punished with a ruler on the hands when the hands were stained with ink. The English teacher was Ilya Prokhorovich Zhdanov, whose mother was a natural Englishwoman; from him we memorized, among other things, extracts from the Psalms of David in English. Classes were placed where the office of the Naval School is now. Until 12 o'clock rest was given, after which we went to dinner. The dinner consisted of two well-prepared courses, and on holidays there was also a cake. From 2 to 6 hours we again studied in the classroom with a 15-minute break. After that, they again gave a mug of milk with a roll. At 8 o'clock they had dinner, and at 9 o'clock they went to bed, which was preceded by a general washing of hands.
On Saturdays and Sundays we were sent home; those who had no parents or relatives remained; my father's messenger came for me and my brother. My mother, letting us go back to the corps, gave each of us 2 grosz, for which we jointly bought ourselves twice a week a large bale with a thick layer of honey in the middle, which we divided equally among ourselves. I remember how, because of this capital, I got it from one of my comrades, by the name of Terpigorev; he raffled woolen gloves and, handing me a ticket, wrote down 2 pennies on me. It so happened that several times in a row they forgot to give me this money at home; This terribly annoyed Terpigorev, who considered me his debtor, for which I was severely beaten by him, until I finally brought back the unfortunate two pennies.
My brother and I had a red chest with a padlock (other cadets had similar ones and were placed under everyone's bed), where we kept notebooks, books, pens and other things; inside, on the lid of our chest, there was a pasted popular print depicting a peasant wedding; we often, having opened a chest, dismantled things in it; various delicacies brought from home were immediately hidden. There were no classes outside the classes, that is, nothing was assigned.
In the autumn of the following year, 1804, the juvenile department was abolished and the cadets were divided into companies, without any attention to age and knowledge, so my brother and I were transferred to the second company under the command of the naval artillery, Captain III rank Boris Eremeevich Strukgov. Although my brother and I ended up in the same company, we were in different classes, and my brother left the corps before me three years.”
For several years, in addition to the "juvenile" cadet company, the Naval Cadet Corps housed the Teacher's Gymnasium, which then accepted senior officer children. The main task of this educational institution was to train teachers for public schools, tutors for private educational institutions and tutors for closed boarding schools. Graduates of the Teacher's Gymnasium subsequently played a significant role in the formation and development of a nationwide system of public education. The first 50 pupils were housed in the lower floor of the building of the Naval Corps (under the sleeping quarters of the first company). Gymnasium students were trained in the main subjects of the school general education program (mathematics, literature, chemistry, physics, astronomy and foreign languages). From 1801 until the closure of the educational institution in 1825, Ivan Vasilievich Kuznetsov, an excellent teacher and administrator, was the director of the Teacher's Gymnasium. The conditions for keeping students in the gymnasium were somewhat worse compared to the Marine Corps. Their training period was 3 years.
In 1816, the School of Naval Engineers (40 people) transferred from Kronstadt was placed in the building of the Naval Cadet Corps, it was located there until 1826. Cadets-shipbuilders were also located on the first floor of the main building under the dining room.
Both educational institutions existed autonomously and conducted classes in strict accordance with the curricula and targets approved for them. True, some academic disciplines were studied jointly, in general classes. Pupils of the Teachers' Gymnasium and the School of Naval Engineers dined in the common dining room together with the cadets. According to contemporaries, "the pupils of these two educational institutions always studied with great zeal."
In 1810, on the Bolshaya Neva, opposite the building of the Naval Corps (where the monument to Admiral Kruzenshtern is now erected), at the initiative of the director, a bathhouse was built where senior midshipmen were taught to swim. At that time, the retired Italian sailor Cobri, a skilled swimmer and teacher, was a swimming teacher in the Marine Corps at that time. Once the ability to stay on the water perfectly saved him from the shipwreck of an English merchant ship, on which he then served as a cabin boy. Cobri sailed to one of the islands of the Pacific Ocean and was captured by the local natives, who, as a sign of respect for the European, covered his entire body with colorful tattoos.
On days when Cobrey practiced with the midshipmen and demonstrated his swimming skills to them, a crowd of onlookers usually gathered on the embankment. The audience looked with surprise and admiration at the overseas drawings on the body of the Italian sailor.
On April 22, 1811, the uniform of the pupils of the Naval Corps changed somewhat. Now, instead of a triangular uniform hat, cadets and midshipmen had to wear a shako. At the same time, an order was issued on the mandatory training of pupils in "marching and gun techniques." To do this, several non-commissioned officers of naval regiments were sent to the corps.
In 1812, at the beginning of the war with Napoleon, on the basis of the highest command, the pupils of all the capital's cadet corps were evacuated to Finland. The Naval Cadet Corps received an official order to be located in Sveaborg.
In order to reduce the number of pupils of the corps, they decided on an additional and early release of midshipmen from the educational institution. Thus, in May and September, 2 times more officers were sent to the fleet than previously planned.
All the Cadets who had relatives in St. Petersburg were sent home. The pupils who remained in the Naval Corps were distributed among four court yachts and on the hull training brig. The ships delivered them to Kronstadt, and from there, on the ships of Admiral Theta's squadron "Borey" and "Northern Star", along with the corps property, the pupils arrived in Sveaborg. They were placed in departmental buildings on the island of Gustav-Sverd. True, after 4 months the cadets and midshipmen returned to St. Petersburg and continued their studies at the Naval Corps on Vasilyevsky Island.
On the night of June 12, 1812, a half-million French army invaded Russia. The entire Russian people rose to defend the Fatherland. The Baltic sailors played a significant role in the fight against the enemy. The Navy promptly carried out the transportation of the expeditionary force from Finland to Revel. This made it possible to thwart the plan of the French - to strike at the coastal flank of the Russian army.
The Baltic Fleet and graduates of the Naval Corps participated in the defense of Riga. The sailors of the Guards naval crew fought heroically near Vitebsk during the offensive of the Napoleonic troops on Moscow. In the famous Battle of Borodino, the artillery of the Guards Naval Crew distinguished itself. And finally, the Baltic sailors triumphantly entered Paris.
A graduate of the Naval gentry cadet corps, Admiral A.S. Shishkov with the army of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov reached the borders of France. It was his high point. The religious and patriotic ideas of the sailor and the scientist then became widespread and popular. He became the author of almost all the famous royal manifestos, rescripts and orders for the army. His appeals made a strong impression on his compatriots. The pretentiousness of the syllable, typical for those times, disappeared in them, and the call to defend the Fatherland, desired by all, sounded.
In the order of the emperor for the armies, the text of which was prepared by Admiral Shishkov, the words sounded inviting: “I do not need to remind the leaders, generals and our soldiers of their duty and courage. Since ancient times, the loud victories of the blood of the Slavs have been flowing in them. Warriors, you defend faith, Fatherland and freedom! I'm with you. On the beginner God!
In the imperial rescript drawn up by the admiral to Count Saltykov, the phrase that went down in history solemnly sounded: “I will not lay down my arms until not a single enemy remains in my kingdom!”
Admiral Shishkov became the main intercessor to the tsar for the construction of the memorial Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in gratitude for the granted victory over Napoleon. The old sailor believed that “... the Providence of God, with the help of faith and the spirit of the people, saved us. Thanks to Him and the monument belongs to Him.” On a commemorative medal in honor of the laying of the majestic temple, blown up in the 20s of the 20th century by the descendants of Russian heroes, then they knocked out: “Not to us, not to us, but to Your name ...”
As already mentioned, in the terrible year of 1812, the Naval Cadet Corps held two early graduations of midshipmen. Officers were required. The navy was replenished with 134 midshipmen and 19 artillery constapels, who took an active part in the Patriotic War with Napoleonic France.
In addition to direct participation in the battles, graduates of the Naval Corps as part of sapper units and pontoon teams built bridges, established crossings, and laid roads.
In the early spring of March 28, 1812, a lean visitor with thin expressive features appeared in the reception room of the director of the Naval Cadet Corps. The chief doctor of the Nikolaev port and medical inspector of the Black Sea Fleet, Johann Christian Dale (Ivan Matveyevich Dal), "from the nobles of the Russian nation" arrived with a request to be sent to an elite educational institution for his sons Vladimir and Karl. The family of an official of the Maritime Department and his wife Yulia Khristoforovna, nee Freitag, had seven children. Their upbringing was mainly carried out by their mother, who taught the boys foreign languages, accustomed them to order, honesty and responsibility in business.
The future Russian writer, ethnographer, connoisseur and patriot of the Russian word Vladimir Ivanovich Dal did not dream of becoming a sailor in his childhood and, having entered the Marine Corps, he only fulfilled the will of his father.
Home education turned out to be quite enough for admission to the corps. True, soon after that the war with Napoleonic France began, which became the reason that Vladimir Dahl was officially enrolled much later - on August 1, 1815. From the memoirs of a comrade in the corps midshipman A.A. Domashenko follows that Vladimir Dal immediately drew attention to himself with his intelligence and remarkable diligence. At the same time, he was known as a great joker and lover of practical jokes. Dahl was never lost, was resourceful in his decisions and answers.
Studying in the Naval Corps was easy for Dahl. He has always been one of the capable and well-performing pupils. However, in the corps he was constantly oppressed by drill, humiliation and frequent conflicts with teachers and educator officers. The very first training voyages of cadet Dahl showed that he chronically cannot stand pitching. On the ship he was literally exhausted by seasickness. Before being released from the corps, midshipman Dahl, among the best pupils, participated in a long sea passage on the Phoenix brig along the route St. Petersburg - Rochensalm - Sveaborg - Riga - Revel - Stockholm - Karlskrona - Copenhagen - Kronstadt. The campaign turned out to be interesting, but seasickness did not leave him alone throughout the entire route of the brig. Having passed the final exams in 1819, midshipman Vladimir Dal began to serve in the Black Sea Fleet. In 1821 he makes his first attempt to retire. Having received his report with a request for resignation, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral A.S. Greig ironically informed the Minister of the Navy, Admiral I.I. Traversay: "This is a charming young man who only repeats that his health does not allow him to continue his naval service, because he is unable to overcome the illness caused to him by bad weather." Resignation denied. The exhausting naval service continued, and in the attestation sheet of the young midshipman, ship commanders regularly noted: "Good in position and behavior" or even "Very good."
Only after 5 years V.I. Dahl managed to retire and enter the Derpt Medical Institute.
In the spring of 1825, the director of the Naval Cadet Corps, Admiral Pyotr Kondratievich Kartsov, retired at the age of 75 for health reasons. Over the 25-year period of his leadership, the corps produced more than 2,000 well-trained officers, some of whom later became famous naval commanders, admirals and commanders of ships famous in naval battles.
The "Kartsovo period" of the Naval Corps has become the subject of rather heated debate among naval historians. The opinions of experts about him were divided, but the majority unanimously believed that the "Kartsovsky period" of corps management ended with the former "old system", or rather, the "old order" of educating future officers of the fleet. In the corps under him, the atmosphere and conditions have always dominated, allowing the pupils to form independence in themselves, strengthen their will and, ultimately, become brave people, capable of not getting lost in the most difficult conditions, under any circumstances, and always make the only right decision.
"Kartsovo education" had another important practical meaning - to develop in future officers a sense of friendship, a quality that has always distinguished Russian sailors from their foreign colleagues. Graduated from the corps in 1822 P.A. Belyaev recalled that in his time, “the Cadets were friends and strongly at enmity with each other. Our friendship was perfect…” Vladimir Bronevsky, a graduate of 1802, testified in his memoirs that “naval officers, with the exception of a few, were brought up in the Naval Corps, as in a single cradle, through habit and the same needs from infancy, they are connected by bonds of friendship.”
Marine Corps graduate P.P. Svinin, a participant in the sea passage in 1806-1808 on the frigate "Rafail", in his "Memoirs on the Navy" describes the scene of a meeting of Russian officers in Boco di Cataro: "... unable to describe that unfeigned joy when meeting with a friend, comrade childhood, that triumph of friendship, which is characteristic of them alone ... They are ready to suffer and die one for the other; they have a common purse, a common work, a common honor and glory, a common benefit and views. Neither malice nor envy is able to break their ties.
In March 1825, Vice-Admiral Pyotr Mikhailovich Rozhnov, a military officer, hero of the Swedish and Turkish wars, commander (in 1819 and 1820) of the squadrons of the Black Sea Fleet, was appointed the new director of the Naval Cadet Corps. Prior to his appointment to the corps, he served as naval commander and director of the Revel port.
Rozhnov dramatically changed the life of the cadets. He considered it morally harmful to keep adult midshipmen with juvenile cadets together. He re-planned the building premises and placed pupils of different age groups separately from each other.
To accommodate the junior cadets united into one-fifth separate company, the administration specially rented a residential building at the corner of the 9th line of Vasilyevsky Island and Bolshoy Prospekt Gardemarins and senior cadets were part of the remaining four companies. For their rational placement in the building, the Teachers' Gymnasium and the Shipbuilding School had to be removed from the main building. Pupils of the Shipbuilding School, by order of the Admiralty Board, were quartered in the building of the Admiralty.
The cadets of the fifth (junior) company now lived practically isolated from the rest of the pupils and saw them only during lunch and dinner in the dining room. For them, by order of the new director, the appropriate composition of teachers and educator officers was specially selected.
The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the complete defeat of Napoleon's army. After the end of hostilities, Russian nobles, and mainly officers, participants in the Patriotic War of 1812, formed political societies that opposed autocracy and serfdom. Members of the Southern and Northern secret societies were preparing a military coup by the forces of the army, without the participation of the people, in order to then abolish serfdom in Russia and establish a regime of a unitary republic or a constitutional monarchy with a federal structure. The Northern Political Society also included the best representatives of the imperial fleet - recent students of the Naval Cadet Corps.
The interregnum after the death of Alexander I caused a premature action of the noble revolutionaries.
At 11 a.m. on December 14, 1825, the first insurgent Moscow Life Guards Regiment led by A. and M. Bestuzhevs came in full strength to Senate Square and lined up in a square near the monument to Peter I. Later, the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment and the Guards Regiment joined him. naval crew. Several dozen naval officers and more than a thousand sailors took part in the uprising.
Pupil of the Naval Cadet Corps N.A. Engelhardt recalled in his memoirs that “On November 25, 1825, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the cadets were lined up and taken to the church, where they learned about the death of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich. We were read the Manifesto on the accession to the throne of Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich. The corps swore an oath to him.
On the afternoon of December 14, 1825, the Cadets heard gunfire on Senate Square. We took a secondary oath to Nikolai Pavlovich. From the windows of the cadet corps, platoons of the cavalry guard regiment were visible, escorting the rebels who fled across Vasilyevsky Island. Emperor Nicholas I
A memorable historical event. Solemn oath of students of the most elite military educational institution to the new Emperor of Russia, Nicholas I, under the gun salute of the guards artillery, shooting rebellious naval officers with grapeshot, who just a few years ago graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps.
After the brutal suppression of the uprising, 32 naval officers were involved in the investigation, 28 of whom were graduates of the corps of the pre-war period. Some of them already occupied quite high positions in the fleet, were considered excellent specialists and heroes of the Patriotic War.
Lieutenant Anton Petrovich Arbuzov, who graduated from the Naval Corps in 1815, the company commander of the Guards crew, was sentenced to hard labor for life for systematic agitation among the sailors.
In the history of the Decembrist movement, the only case is known when four brothers, graduates of the Naval Corps, became participants in the uprising. These are Nikolai, Alexander, Mikhail and Pyotr Bestuzhevs. They grew up in a wonderful family. Their father, Alexander Fedoseevich Bestuzhev, was a leading figure of his time, in the darkest period of the reign of Paul I, in 1798, he publishes together with the writer-educator I.P. Panin's free-thinking and clearly anti-serfdom "St. Petersburg Journal", which openly condemned the privileges of the nobility and promoted the ideas of Radishchev.
The fate of the Decembrists Bestuzhevs was tragic. Naval officer Pyotr Bestuzhev was transferred as a private to the active army in the Caucasus. He was wounded during the storming of Akhaltsikhe, then fell ill with a mental disorder and in 1840 was placed in a mental hospital, where he soon died.
Nikolai and Mikhail Bestuzhev spent 14 years in prison. Captain-Lieutenant Nikolai Bestuzhev is an experienced naval officer, a man of rare talents and inexhaustible creative energy. After graduating from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1809, he was left with him as a teacher. He taught a course in naval art, marine evolution, physics, supervised marine practice. On the day of the uprising, he went to Senate Square at the head of the Guards naval crew.
His brother, Lieutenant Mikhail Alexandrovich Bestuzhev, who recently (in 1817) graduated from the corps, together with his brother Alexander and D.A. Shchepin-Rostovsky led the Moscow regiment to the square. For participation in the uprising, he was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor.
Alexander Bestuzhev, who in June 1837 was transferred to the Caucasus to the active army, was seriously wounded in the battle near Adler and died, hacked up by the highlanders. Karl Bryullov, who was friends with Alexander, upon learning of his death, wrote: “My God! What a loss in one year. Pushkin and Alexander Bestuzhev…”
A participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, a graduate of the Naval Cadet Corps of gentry in 1799, a member of the Northern Secret Society, retired lieutenant colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Shteingel, the author of memoirs about the Naval Cadet Corps, was sentenced by the court to 20 years hard labor.
Captain - Lieutenant Dmitry Alexandrovich Shchepin-Rostovsky, a graduate of the 1816 corps, led the Moscow regiment to Senate Square on the day of the uprising, for which he was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in Siberia.
A close friend of Peter Stepanovich Nakhimov, Lieutenant Dmitry Irinarkhovich Zavalishin, after graduating from the Naval Corps in 1819, tried to create a branch of a secret society in the province. Sentenced to 20 years hard labor.
Lieutenant Mikhail Karlovich Küchelbecker, having graduated from the corps in 1815, sailed on the ships of the Baltic Fleet. On the day of the uprising, he was on Senate Square in the ranks of the Guards Naval Crew. Exiled to hard labor for 20 years.
Lieutenant Konstantin Petrovich Torson; released from the corps as midshipman in 1809. Expedition member F.F. Bellingshausen to the coast of Antarctica. Member of the Northern Secret Society. Sentenced to 20 years hard labor.
The midshipmen brothers Belyaevs (Alexander - graduated from the corps in 1818, and Peter - graduated from the corps in 1822) entered the Senate Square in the ranks of the Guards naval crew. Both were sentenced to 12 years hard labor.
In June 1826, the commander of the squadron of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral R.V. Crown was forced to fulfill an extremely unpleasant order of the emperor for himself - to conduct a public ceremonial of "civil execution" - the demotion "to the rank and file" of naval officers-Decembrists. Army officers-Decembrists were demoted earlier, in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress. For the sailors, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich personally developed the ceremonial of their demolition.
General I.I. Dibich informed the Chief of the Main Naval Staff in advance that the emperor ordered "to take from the fortress under proper naval guard on the eve of very early all the criminals, of whom the Minister of Justice will submit a list." The Decembrists were to be delivered to Kronstadt on the flagship "Prince Vladimir" and demoted there on July 13 according to the rites of naval service. Foreseeing the possibility of a contrary wind and a delay in the delivery of convicted officers, the sovereign ordered a special steamer to be taken to tow the prisoner's yacht.
The commander of the squadron of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Kroun, was ordered “as soon as they see the yacht from the fortress, raise a black flag on the cruise-bram-topmast of the Vladimir with a cannon shot. After that, one senior officer, one lieutenant, one midshipman and several sailors should arrive on the flagship from each warship. When the condemned board the ship, the verdict of the court must be read to them. Then, over their heads, a previously sawn sword should be broken, epaulettes should be torn off, which, together with the uniform, should be thrown overboard.
Late in the evening of July 12, the convicts were taken out of the Peter and Paul Fortress to the Neva and put into a prisoner's yacht with barred windows.
