History of the cadet movement in Russia.

"In the name of the Fatherland and honor"

January 27" href="/text/category/27_yanvarya/" rel="bookmark"> January 27, 1701, when Emperor Peter the Great signed a decree on the organization of the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences in Moscow. not only to a single navigation and engineering, but to artillery and citizenship for the benefit.

Peter the Great, who turned Russia onto the path of apprenticeship with the West, was well aware that he and all Russians and the Fatherland could not exist without an Army and Navy that would meet the requirements of the times. Creating a new armed force for Russia, he, first of all, formed a system for training command personnel: for the infantry units, officers were trained by the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments; for the cavalry - the life regiment, which at first was the St. Petersburg Dragoon, and then became the Kronstadt Dragoon Regiment; for artillery, engineering formations and naval crews - schools deliberately established in Moscow and St. Petersburg: Navigatskaya (1701), 2 artillery (1712 and 1721) and 3 engineering (1712, 1719 and 1721). by the end of the reign of Peter Alekseevich, the Naval Academy was separated from the Navigation School, and the engineering schools were merged.

Among the students of the school, it was prescribed "to elect those who want voluntarily, others even more so with coercion." Children of all classes were accepted here, with the exception of serfs. The term of study at school was unlimited. Some comprehended science in 4 years, others - 13 years. There were no transfer exams. From class to class, students were transferred as they learned, and therefore their age varied greatly - from 15 to 33 years. The richest or most capable were sent to practice abroad. Upon their return, they were subjected to a rigorous examination. Sometimes Peter himself was the examiner.

Both regiments and schools trained officers not only in the sciences, but also in combat practice - out of 25 years of Peter's reign in the 18th century, only two years were peaceful, so there was no shortage of hostilities.

Unfortunately, under the closest successors of Peter, military construction, and with it the training of command personnel, fell into decay.

With the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the history of the cadet corps begins - forms of education of military youth borrowed from the West to serve the Tsar and the Fatherland in officer ranks.

In 1731, he signed the Decree on the establishment of the "Corps of Cadets of Gentry Children". She sends out an invitation to the nobility in the cities to bring their sons to St. Petersburg for placement in the opening educational institution.

Kutuzov introduces tactics into the number of subjects of a special course. He teaches it himself, having previously developed a methodology appropriate to the circumstances, and instructs the pupils to make diagrams and drawings; creates a tactical class.

The main result of the leadership in the Land Cadet Corps is that he breathed a new spirit into the life of the educational institution; the concept of personal honor is increasingly associated by pupils not with a fast-moving career, but with serving the Fatherland.

Emperor Nicholas I made the greatest contribution to the creation and development of Russian cadet corps. Firstly, he expanded the space for the existence of cadet corps - nine of the newly created ones were formed in the province, which, as you know, has always been more conservative than the capitals. Secondly, he tied the local nobility to the care of the buildings. Thirdly, in 1831, the junior sovereign brother, Feldzeugmeister General the Great, was appointed the chief head of military educational institutions. In total, during the reign of Nicholas I, 17 new cadet corps were formed, ten of which lasted until the October Revolution.

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, approximately the same age, and was directly subordinate to the company commander. An unranked company was supposed to be for newly enrolled juvenile pupils. The cadet company consisted of four departments of 25-30 pupils in the department. 4 junior officers were the closest educators of the cadets. To maintain strict order to help them, sergeant majors and non-commissioned officers were assigned to all companies from among the best senior cadets, who not only looked after the squads and companies entrusted to them, but also had the right to punish the cadets. The director had the closest assistants: for the combat and educational part - the battalion commander and junior staff officer, and for the educational part - the class inspector and his assistant, for the economic part - the chief of police and other persons. For the summer, the cadets were taken to the camp and lived in large tents, 50 people each.

bad cadets. For each cadet, an attestation notebook was kept, where the good and bad deeds of the cadets were entered, their characteristics and measures to correct bad inclinations.

Veliky introduced unified programs for the study of sciences into the cadet corps, which was not at that time either in gymnasiums or universities.

Emperor Alexander II, who, being the Heir, for six years served as Chief Head of military educational institutions, having replaced his uncle, the Great, who died prematurely, transformed the cadet corps into military gymnasiums. The army lost from the innovation. The only benefit from it was that training courses for educators of military gymnasiums appeared, created at the 2nd Cadet Corps. They will fully justify their existence in the reign of Emperor Alexander III and after, when combat officers go to study for them, choosing the troublesome service of a cadet educator at the behest of the soul and the recommendation of regimental officer meetings.

Emperor Alexander III, 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. In 1882, he restored the cadet corps, and also converted military gymnasiums established during the Milyutin ministry - Simbirsk, Polotsk, Tiflis, 3rd and 4th Moscow, 3rd Petersburg into corps. The cadet corps of the Donskoy and the 2nd Orenburg were formed.

The time of the last reign for the cadet corps is the completion of the process that began under Emperor Alexander III: they finally become national military educational institutions, the borrowed form of educating youth turns out to be only our national phenomenon by that time. And most importantly: this time is the era of the Great. The Grand Duke was absolutely convinced that children develop most harmoniously in the society of their peers in the joint study of science, comprehension of culture, including precepts and traditions, mastering skills in crafts and military affairs. From his point of view, cadet corps, under certain conditions, can fully and better than other educational institutions solve the problems of harmonious education.

Graduates of the cadet corps were the pride not only of Russia, but, one might say, of the entire earthly civilization. The cadets were field marshals Rumyantsev and Kutuzov, naval commanders Bellingshausen and Ushakov, Krusenstern, Nakhimov, Lazarev, poet Sumarokov, diplomat and poet Tyutchev, composers Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, doctor Sechenov, artist Vereshchagin, writers Radishchev, Dostoevsky, Kuprin, Leskov, Dal, founder of the Russian theater Volkov.

With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks in 1917, the history of the cadet corps did not end. They, along with units of the Russian Army, evacuated in 1920. general baron, ended up in a foreign land. Without giving in to despair, without losing heart or complaining, the Cadets went through the torments of emigre life, preserving and continuing the traditions of their upbringing and education.

During the Great Patriotic War in 1 years, the first Suvorov and Nakhimov schools appeared in Russia, the prototypes of which were the cadet corps. It is noteworthy that among their teachers were former teachers of the cadet corps, and among the officers - educators - pupils of these educational institutions. In the difficult military autumn of 1943. The first 11 schools were opened in 1944. - 6 more, then another and another. They accepted "children of soldiers of the Red Army, partisans of the Patriotic War, as well as children of Soviet and party workers, workers and collective farmers who died at the hands of the German invaders." Over the years of their activity, Suvorov schools have trained tens of thousands of future cadets of higher military schools (now - military institutes and universities), and now it is difficult to find a military unit, wherever their military duty is performed by their pupils. Hundreds of them earned high general ranks, dozens became Heroes of the Soviet Union and Heroes of Russia. Now there are 7 Suvorov schools in the Russian Federation.

In modern Russia, the traditions of cadet education are being revived again. The first cadet corps were created in modern Russia in 1991. in Novocherkassk and in 1992. in Novosibirsk. Since 1993, the first cadet corps of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and other educational institutions have been organized, which train pupils in various directions. In the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation by the beginning of 2003, 14 legally legalized, having charters and other regulatory documentation, educational and material base of cadet corps were created.

Mikhail Kutuzov was also once a cadet © wikimedia commons

“Cadres are brought up from youth, as honor is cherished from youth,” - this principle formed the basis of the system of cadet education that appeared in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 18th century. Later, in the 20th century, during the terrible Civil War, the Cadets would be called the banner and conscience of the Russian army.

Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Admirals Fyodor Ushakov and Ivan Kruzenshtern, designer of the first aircraft, Rear Admiral Alexander Mozhaisky, pilot Pyotr Nesterov (the first in the world to complete the "dead loop"), famous traveler Nikolai Przhevalsky, great composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Skryabin, Sergey Rachmaninov - what unites these and many other of our outstanding compatriots? All of them at different times were cadets of the Russian Empire.

The word "cadet" comes from the Gascon diminutive "capdet", which means "little captain" or "little head". The role played by the "little captains" in the history of Russia is difficult to overestimate: of course, not all of them became professional soldiers, but many promoted domestic art, science and culture for the benefit of the Fatherland. And very many graduates of the cadet corps are forever inscribed in the golden pages of Russian history.

“Good and solid teaching is for all the benefit of the fatherland, like the root, seed and foundation”

The cadet corps, in fact, became a response to the demands put forward by the new time, the time of the revolutionary transformations of Peter the Great. Having entered a new stage of development, it was vital for the state to create a privileged caste of the military, entire dynasties that respect the traditions of their own country, know its historical and cultural heritage and have a clear civil patriotic position. Just as during the life of the reformer tsar, special schools were created for the children of the clergy, digital schools for the children of the townspeople and raznochintsy, and garrison schools for soldiers' children, closed schools for children of the nobility also began to appear.

Khabarovsk. Cadet Corps. © Photobank lori.ru

Back in 1701, Peter I founded the "School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences", a little later, special engineering and artillery schools appeared. But there were still not enough educated and well-trained personnel for a huge army, and therefore Empress Anna Ioannovna, who ascended the throne in January 1730, reacted vividly to the proposal of the President of the Military Collegium, Count Munnich, and the Russian Ambassador in Berlin, Count Yaguzhinsky, to establish a cadet corps in Russia.

The project was initially based on the statutes of the Prussian and Danish cadet corps, and in 1731 classes were opened in St. Petersburg, called the "Knight's Academy". But already in the same 1731, the Empress issued a decree on the establishment of the "Corps of Cadets of the Gentry". This decree said: “I order the establishment of schools so that all the children of the service fathers have reliable food, study, who has an inclination for what sciences. So that over time, not only could they be useful to the state, but they could also earn a living for themselves with those sciences.

Among the “useful crafts for the Fatherland”, Anna Ioannovna attributed not only military affairs, but also “different sciences: reading and writing, the law of God, arithmetic and geometry, geography and history, the ability to ride horses, dances, foreign languages ​​and so on.”

On February 17, 1732, the opening of the first cadet corps in Russia took place. On that day, there were already 56 pupils in the ranks, but soon the number of cadets was increased to 300; other cadet corps began to open.

Uniform of a cadet of the land gentry cadet corps (1793) © wikimedia commons

At the same time, not everything went smoothly and smoothly - and primarily because in Russia at that time there was no pedagogical science as such, theoretical and practical developments, elementary - textbooks. Books, ammunition, mathematical instruments (especially compasses) had to be ordered from Narva, Reval and Riga. There were also not enough teachers who could teach students the subjects included in the program. The first teachers were generally accepted into the service without a thorough check - as long as the applicant had his own housing not far from the building.

The more aristocratic the school, the more severe the order

From the very beginning, the Cadet Corps was under the closest attention of the first persons of the Russian Empire. The rulers of the country, as well as the highest command of the army and prominent statesmen, regularly visited the cadets, made their own amendments to the curriculum, and even took exams. So, Catherine II became the "chief of the corps", and since the time of Alexander I, the presence of the offspring of the royal dynasties at summer camps has generally become commonplace.

Under Nicholas I, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich and his brothers, Grand Dukes Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail Nikolaevich, studied in the corps.

Under Nicholas I, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich studied in the corps © wikimedia commons

At the same time, not only children from noble noble families, but also children of ordinary staff officers could get into such a privileged educational institution. Boys from poor families and those whose fathers were wounded or killed in the war had advantages. For all its closeness and elitism, this school was not distinguished by the snobbery that is so inherent in modern "aristocratic" schools for little nouveau riches.

You can draw such conclusions by studying the rules of the corpus:
- Upon admission, parents were required to sign a signature stating that they would voluntarily send the child to an institution for at least fifteen years and “they would not even take temporary leave.”
- All cadets lived together on the territory of the corps, under the supervision of educators. One captain with a lieutenant was always constantly with the cadets.
- In the rooms, the cadets were accommodated by 6-7 people, of which one was appointed senior.

Cadets of the 1st Cadet Corps of the Napoleonic Wars era © wikimedia commons

- In the process of studying, the cadets were strictly guided by the schedule of classes.
- The guards were obliged to instill in the cadets "courtesy, decent obedience, the ability to command and fight against lies and other obscene vices."
- In addition to basic studies, the cadets were trained in drill, they participated in parades, carried out guard duty; passed public exams in the presence of the empress or ministers, generals.

In a word, training in the corps could not be called simple and easy, and the cadets themselves could not be called “major boys”. For example, they all worked in turning and carpentry workshops: it was believed that the future officer must be able to do everything. Extra-curricular hours were also loaded to the limit - the cadets went in for sports, fencing, dressage, dancing, foreign languages, singing, music, recitation, and participated in theatrical performances.

Pupils from the highlanders of the 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps. 1855 © wikimedia commons

The most important attention was paid to instilling in the future officer the necessary moral qualities: for example, in the cadet corps "hazing", lies and snitching were strictly prohibited. Senior cadets were required to take care of the younger ones and help them in their studies. For laziness and indifference, the offspring of even the most noble family could easily be expelled from school. Diligent students were encouraged to go to the theater, to city fairs, folk festivals and "for pies" in officer families.

Lieutenant General Ivan Ivanovich Betsky, an associate of Catherine II, in the new charter of the cadet corps he wrote, briefly and succinctly described the goals and objectives of such education:
a) make a person healthy and able to endure military labor;
b) adorn the heart and mind with deeds and sciences that are necessary for a civil judge and a warrior;
c) raise a healthy, flexible and strong baby, instill in his soul calmness, firmness and fearlessness.

Lieutenant General Ivan Betsky is the author of the Charter of the Cadet Corps © wikimedia commons

The lieutenant general also formulated two rules, absolutely necessary from his point of view, for the education of “new people”. Firstly, to accept children no older than six years into the corps (at this age, in his opinion, it is still possible to free the child from the vices borrowed by him in the family), and, secondly, the non-stop stay of the pupil in the corps for 15 years with rare visits with relatives established by the authorities under the supervision of educators. This is again necessary to isolate "from the harmful influence of the old breed."

“Stepped from the earthly formation into the heavenly formation”

For more than two centuries, the pupils of the cadet corps were the color of the nation, and honorably carried out the order of Peter the Great "to look for someone to be at sea during the battle." They met the October Revolution of 1917 with the same sacrifice and devotion to their duty. At that time, thirty cadet corps were opened in Russia, as well as cadet schools. And not a single cadet corps out of thirty, and not a single cadet officer school, changed their oath.

When demonstrations of the “liberated proletariat” moved past the cadet corps in St. Petersburg in February 1917, the cadets opened their windows and sang the hymn of old Russia at the windows, risking being torn to pieces by an uncontrollable crowd. In Moscow, the cadets and cadets, with a small number of officers, seized the Kremlin and bravely defended it. They had no allies, they were alone, and with the pride of the doomed they defended what was the main symbol of their beliefs.

One of the cadets of the early 20th century © Photobank lori.ru

Junkers and Cadets poured into the White Army, and quickly became a tangible threat to the Bolsheviks. A contemporary of those tragic events writes: “They spoke in a bass voice to appear older. They were exhausted under the weight of a soldier's infantry rifle. They made huge transitions not provided for by any charters. They drowned in the rivers, froze in the snow, resignedly starved, experienced the despair of hopelessness. The word "cadet" has become the most hated and most violent symbol for the revolutionaries."

In the end, General Wrangel, in order to save the surviving cadets, created a new cadet corps in the Crimea and gathered there the young men who fought from all fronts. The boys again sat down at their desks, but already scorched by the war - only the Knights of St. George on this course turned out to be more than forty people. After the White Army was defeated, the emigrants created several cadet corps in Serbia and France. This is the only case when a military establishment of one country existed on the territory of another state. The Cadet movement abroad is another page in our history that everyone needs to know.

Cadets © Photobank lori.ru

During the Soviet era, Suvorov and Nakhimov schools were opened. The creation of such schools was the call of the times and became a significant page in the history of the Russian army and navy. But the revival of the cadet corps with their unique experience in educating a citizen and a patriot became possible only after 1991.

On February 28, Russia celebrates 280 years since the opening of the first cadet corps. The etymology of the word cadet has its roots in the dialect of the native Gascons. The Latin "kapitellium", meaning literally "little captain", was transformed into "kapdet", and in Russian it already sounded in its modern expression.

The first cadet corps appeared in Prussia. The establishment of a school for the military service of noble children was approved by the great Elector in 1653. This was followed by the spread of this kind of educational institutions throughout Europe. In 1716, a cadet company was established, headed by the four-year-old Friedrich, later nicknamed the Great. The monarch paid special attention to the military education of the heir and, as is known from, not in vain. Before the appearance of the cadet corps in Russia, noble children served in the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky guards regiments, and only then entered the army. The nobles also studied in the schools of mathematical, navigational and engineering sciences created in the time of Peter the Great. Garrison educational institutions were created for soldiers' children.

The powerful German Munnich brought the idea of ​​forming a cadet corps to Russia. Pavel Yaguzhinsky, respected by the empress, also insisted on its establishment. At the end of February, according to the new style of 1732, Munnich proposed to Anna Ioannovna a project for a new school for noble sons, arguing the need for such an institution with the objective need of the time. All students were required to wear military uniforms, as well as observe the strictest discipline and study diligently. Major General Grigoriev was appointed director of the Cadet Corps. The project was based on the arrangement of Prussian cadet institutions.

Elizaveta Petrovna issued a decree on the creation of the Naval Cadet Corps in order to restore the former power of Petrovsky. Catherine the Great organized the second corps named after Peter the Great, as well as the first Moscow Cadet Corps. More than fifty different institutions for cadets have been opened in the past 280 years. Each of them developed its charter, individual form and educational program. After graduation, students could not only receive a high officer rank, but were also admitted to higher educational institutions without tests. Graduates were ranked among the elite youth and formed an active intelligentsia in the country's society. Many talented writers studied in these institutions and tenderly recalled the years of their youth in their work.

At first, the management of cadet educational institutions was carried out solely by the director, on whom the training program, the daily routine of the pupils, and their daily duties depended to a greater extent. A change in leadership could lead to the transformation of the entire institution and even a change in academic disciplines.

In 1734, in the first cadet corps, named Shlyakhetsky, the position of chief professor was established, who monitored the quality of education and identified the abilities of each of the students in order to further recommend them to a particular position. The structure of the educational institution consisted of two hundred companies of the corps, to which the boys were assigned. In rooms with modest furnishings, seven and at best six cadets lived at once, one of whom acted for the elder and was responsible for order and discipline. An officer of noble origin, trained in literacy and other sciences, was constantly with the children. In addition to military and civil sciences, the cadets were taught the rules of etiquette. Teachers considered it their duty to eradicate vices among students and were engaged in their diversified development. Three times a year private examinations were held and once in the presence of the empress or high officials. The duration of training was 5, and sometimes 6 years.

The formation of the educational process and certain rules took almost ten years. The first generation of cadets were of various ages and often could not read or write. Many of the students did not want to study. Some outright refused to attend classes, while others pretended to be sick and feigned for months. As a result, in 1737 the Empress signed a decree that cadets who had not mastered the program before the age of 16 should be sent to serve as sailors. The threat of being enrolled in the same category with the rootless and poorly educated sailors did its job, and the vast majority of students began to pass the exams successfully. Interestingly, Alexander 1 ordered that not only noble children, but also members of the imperial family, including the crown princes, be enrolled in the cadet corps. Already during his reign, the institutions in question have established themselves as elite. It was believed that the education received by the cadet is universal, versatile and very deep.

In 1752, Catherine the Great established the Naval Cadet Corps by imperial decree. Strictly speaking, the decision to create it belonged to Peter 3, but the formation was postponed due to the palace coup and the coming to the throne of the blessed German. Ten years later, Catherine established the Artillery and Engineering Cadet Corps of the nobility on the basis of Peter's noble schools. The educated empress also approved the new cadet charter in 1766. The following changes were introduced in the draft of the new document:
admission to the cadet corps was allowed for children no older than six years;
the cadet was obliged to stay permanently within the walls of the institution for 15 years, only occasionally short-term visits with relatives were allowed;
in the management system, in addition to unity of command in the person of the director, collegial elements were also introduced in the form of a council;
Cadets were divided into three age groups, each of which lived and studied separately.

The changes had a beneficial effect on the quality of education, which was confirmed by the special confidence in its level from the imperial court. When the cadets reached the age of 14, they were distributed in two directions: military or civilian. Graduates who brilliantly passed the exam were promoted to the rank of lieutenant, the rest became cornets and ensigns. If the performance of the cadet was at a low level, he was awarded the rank of non-commissioned officer. During the period of enlightened absolutism in Russia, many talented historians, researchers and writers emerged who held the position of directors of cadet corps. Among them were such glorious names as Musin-Pushkin.

In 1792, the Shklov noble school, founded at the expense of the nobleman Zorich for poor noble families, was transformed into a cadet corps. In 1806, a corps of cadets was opened in Smolensk, which in 1824 was transferred to Moscow and renamed Moscow.

Pavel I also contributed to the development of the educational institutions in question. Back in 1798, on his orders, the Military Orphanage was created, in which it is supposed to train noble children from impoverished families and soldiers' sons. Pupils from different walks of life were required to be taught separately. In 1829, Emperor Alexander ordered to transform the institution into the Pavlovsk Corps of Cadets, and in 1863 it ceased to exist. Renames and transformations continued. Pavel brought drill and a Prussian view of military discipline into the atmosphere of the cadets, but immediately after the coup, the policy towards the cadet corps changed. Alexander turned out to be a successor to the ideas of his great grandmother, and during his reign the number of institutions for the training of officers increased from four to seventeen. Among the graduates of the cadet corps were Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, Mellisino, Miloradovich, Sumarokov, Kamensky and a number of other well-known and glorious personalities.

The Page Cadet Corps, which acquired this status in 1804, was of an elitist character. The boarding house was founded in 1742. Examinations for graduates were taken by the emperor himself, and the children and grandchildren of full generals or knights of artillery enjoyed the right to enroll. Among the best cadets of the Page Corps was the Decembrist Pestel.

In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the cadet corps of Finland, Kalisz, and the Noble Regiment, later renamed the Konstantinovsky Cadet Corps, were created.
In 1810, in order to improve the social status of teachers, military benefits were introduced for them. Teachers were given the benefits of one rank, and salaries were raised significantly. Corporal punishment was widely used in the corps, mostly the rod. Gradually, such a phenomenon as “old cadets” develops among the students.
The fragmentation of buildings, gymnasiums and other military educational institutions was eliminated in 1832. Alexander I created the General Staff, which coordinated the entire system of military education.

A new reform of military education took place under Nicholas I. All academic institutions were classified into:
ordinary cadet corps;
Corps of Pages;
Corps Naval and Artillery and Engineering Schools.
In addition, seventeen more corps were created in various parts of the country, which were managed from the district center. In total, three military educational districts Moscow, Western and St. Petersburg were created throughout the country. In 1841, the authorities paid special attention to the life and food of the pupils. Funding has been increased and standards have been revised.

Contributed to the development of military education and Alexander III. His policy was notable for toughening the living conditions of the cadets and was aimed at preparing future officers for the harsh army reality. Attention was paid to cleanliness and discipline. Structural transformations of the system were again undertaken, and the appointment of teachers to the corps became strictly monitored. Only an officer could work as a cadet teacher, and all military educational institutions began to be called corps. All cadet corps were considered secondary educational institutions, and the program provided only a general education level.

By the turning point of 1917, the Russian Empire had forty cadet institutions. However, the Bolsheviks saw them as a threat to the Soviet regime and during the period from 1917 to 1918 the corps were liquidated. Only in wartime in 1943 did the Nakhimov and Suvorov schools appear to train new officers with a reliable ideological orientation. The first graduation came in the middle of 1950, and since the first students were taken on the principle of orphanhood, it became necessary to develop a procedure for admission to schools. Since 1950, not only boys orphaned during the war years, but also children from 11 years old from complete families began to be enrolled in institutions. For admission, the child had to have four elementary grades of education and be healthy.

Since 1960, a new reform has taken place, as a result of which the age of applicants has increased to 15-16 years, and the period of study has been reduced to 2 years. The Soviet system of military education has produced brilliant results. Of the graduates in a short period of time, 65 people became Heroes of the USSR, Russia or Socialist Labor, more than 1000 received the rank of general, a huge number of talented scientific and engineering workers, military commanders and other honored citizens of the country stood out.

The modern system of cadet education is fragmented. Many educational institutions operate on the basis of a variety of documents, belong to different departments. In addition to the newly emerged ones, the Nakhimov and Suvorov schools are successfully operating. The goal of modern cadet education is the formation of a full-fledged, harmoniously developed personality who can think. The program is aimed at developing in the cadet the desire to serve his Fatherland, as well as the development of high moral principles and patriotic views in it. Today in Russia there are more than 200 educational institutions that call themselves cadet.

The creation of the party was the result of the merger in 1905 of two illegal organizations - the Union of Zemstvo-Constitutionalists and the Union of Liberation. The party included aristocrats, nobles with progressive views and simply the most highly educated and intelligent people of their time. Among the party leaders were Prince Shakhovskoy and the brother-princes Dolgorukov, representatives of the royal dynasty and one of the largest landowners in Russia. The history of the creation of the party is inextricably linked with the name of its leader P.N. Milyukov, a prominent public figure who later became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government of Kerensky.

The process of uniting the erudite liberal zemstvo landowners and the passionate leaders of the left-wing intelligentsia was extremely difficult. The figure of Milyukov, who had gone through political emigration, was almost the only one who suited the representatives of both unions. According to eyewitnesses, Milyukov had a unique gift for persuasion and knew how to unmistakably find a compromise in disputes. The highest party body of the party was the Central Committee, whose members were elected at congresses. The Central Committee consisted of the Moscow and St. Petersburg departments. At the same time, the St. Petersburg branch was responsible for developing the party program and bills. The Moscow department was in charge of publishing activities and the organization of propaganda work.

Program

The main idea of ​​the Cadets program was the introduction and development in Russia of liberal values ​​and solutions implemented in the European democratic model of the state. The Cadets proposed the introduction of an 8-hour working day, freedom of speech, assembly, press and religion, universal compulsory and free primary education, inviolability of the person and home. The party advocated the independence of the judiciary and an increase in the area of ​​land plots for peasants, but at the same time defended the principles of social organization based on a constitutional monarchy. That is, in fact, the Cadets were the quintessence of liberal ideas that existed at that time in the Russian Empire.

In 1917, after the February Revolution, the Cadets became one of the ruling parties. Party members entered the cabinet. In the same years there was a change in political course. The abdication of the tsar forced the Cadets to join the supporters. But their positions among the workers and peasants were weak, and their ideas were almost unknown to ordinary people. This was one of the reasons for the overthrow of the Provisional Government.

The conflict of political ideas within the party and the unsuccessful opposition to the Bolsheviks inexorably led the Cadets to a split, which happened in 1921 at a congress in exile in Paris. The party broke up into two currents, one of which was headed by Milyukov, the other by Gessen and Kaminka. At this stage, the history of the party of constitutional democrats of Russia ended.

The Constitutional Democratic Party, also called the Kadets Party, was founded in 1905 and was a left-wing trend of liberalism. It was also called the "Professional Party" for the high level of education of its members. The Cadets proposed empires and constitutional solutions that were implemented in European states. However, in Russia they turned out to be unclaimed.

The Cadets Party advocated the non-violent development of the state, parliamentarism and liberalization. In education there was a provision on the equality of all citizens, regardless of nationality, class, gender and religion. The Cadet Party also advocated the abolition of restrictions for different classes and nationalities, the right to inviolability of the person, freedom of movement, conscience, speech, assembly, press and religion.

The best for Russia, the party of Cadets considered a parliamentary form of government based on universal suffrage with open and secret voting. The democratization of local self-government and the expansion of its powers were also what the Cadets wanted. The party advocated the independence of the judiciary and an increase in the area of ​​land allotments for peasants at the expense of specific, state, office and monastic lands, as well as by buying out private lands of landlords at their real estimated value. The list of priorities also included: freedom of strikes and workers' unions, an eight-hour working day, the development of industrial legislation, universal compulsory and free, as well as full autonomy for Poland and Finland. The leader of the party of cadets P.N. Milyukov subsequently became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government.

In 1906, a clause was added to the program that the country should become a parliamentary and constitutional monarchy. The highest party body of the Cadets was the Central Committee, which was elected at congresses. It was subdivided into Moscow and St. Petersburg departments. The St. Petersburg Central Committee was engaged in work on the party program and the submission of various bills to the Duma. There was publishing work at the Moscow Central Committee, as well as the organization of agitation. The composition of the Central Committee most of all consisted of representatives of the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia, as well as landlords with liberal views.

In 1917, after the party of the Cadets happened, it turned from an opposition structure into a ruling political entity. Its representatives occupied leading positions in the Provisional Government. From the idea, the party quickly moved to the slogans of democracy, and after the February Revolution, this party began to actively strengthen its position among the clergy, students and intelligentsia. Among the working class and the majority of the peasants, her position remained weak, which later became one of the reasons that the Provisional Government could not stay in power for a long time.

In 1921, at a party congress in Paris, the party split into two groups. The new "democratic" branch was under the leadership of Milyukov, and the part that remained in its former positions was headed by Kaminka and Gessen. Since that time, the Cadets, as a single political party, ceased to exist.