By order of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the establishment of the gentry corps was held in St. Petersburg. The year 1732 was the first academic period in it. The corresponding decree was issued in 1731, June 29. Let us further consider what was the gentry corps.
Year 1732
At the initial stages of the work, teachers were accepted without testing. Starting from 1736, the best pupils began to be involved in teaching. The gentry corps was opened in 1732, February 17. On this day, the institution took 56 pupils. In June, there were already 352. They were all divided into three companies. In 1734, on June 8, the first graduation took place. The first land gentry building was located in the house of the favorite Peter the Great Menshikov. Overseers, teachers, some officers and a priest were supposed to live in the same building. In 1752, the Maritime Gentry Corps was formed on the basis of the Academy
Appointment
The establishment of the gentry corps was necessary for training not only military, but also general educational disciplines. He trained both soldiers and civilian officials. This was the first Russian gentry corps significantly different from European ones. At the initial stages, various transformations and changes were carried out. A significant contribution to the institution was made by I. I. Betskoy and M. I. Kutuzov.
General education sciences
Among the subjects taught in the gentry corps were:
- geography;
- history;
- artillery;
- maths;
- fencing;
- fortification;
- horseback riding;
- Latin, German, French;
- rhetoric;
- grammar;
- calligraphy;
- heraldry;
- dancing;
- morality and others.
In addition, provided for daily classes on "soldier's exertion" - the repeated repetition of a certain skill. However, it was subsequently established to conduct them once a week so that they do not interfere with the assimilation of other disciplines. The children of the nobles who learned to write and read were accepted into the corps, therefore it was called the gentry, i.e., the noble. The age of the pupils was from 13 to 18 years.
Training organization
The land gentry corps was divided into two companies. Each had 100 pupils. In the rooms lived 6-7 people. One of them was appointed as "Commander in Comrade" (senior). In addition, duty officers were appointed throughout the corps (lieutenant and captain). They were forbidden to leave the building. The establishment of the gentry corps was accompanied by certain difficulties. It had a training system developed by Minich. It should be noted that she was far from perfect. Teachers very rarely explained this or that material. Mostly they required memorization of sections. The same thing applied to independent work. The educational process was boring and monotonous, not arousing interest among students. However, there have been attempts to diversify the activities by introducing visual elements. To teach the pupils to foreign languages, the cadet, for whom German, for example, was their native, was placed in a room next to a Russian nobleman. Pupils were divided into groups of disciplines that they studied. The entire course included 4 classes: 1st was senior, and 4th was junior. Training in 1-3 cl. lasted 5-6 years. A graduate, depending on the class in which he studied, was assigned a military rank or civil rank.
Moral education
The opening of the gentry corps took place after the time of Peter the Great. Most of the teachers and overseers remembered the rules imposed by the emperor. Accordingly, they were transferred to the gentry (noble) corps. The pupils were treated as "lower ranks." The requirements that were presented to them, in fact, did not differ from those that were established for the soldiers. Pupils were also punished for violations of the rules and orders. This situation continued until the Land gentry cadet corps was headed by I. I. Betskoy.
Short biography of the new leader
I. I. Betskoy was the illegitimate son of Trubetskoy - a prince who was captured by the Swedes during the Northern War. According to the tradition that existed in that era, the father gave the child a part of his surname. Along with this, the son of the famous prince received an excellent education and a great fortune. Betsky’s military career began in Denmark. However, later he moved to Russia. In Moscow, Betskoy founded the First Orphanage. From that moment began his activity as a teacher. Catherine II with great approval approached his idea of educating people of the "new breed". By the time he was appointed head of the gentry corps, Betsky already had quite a lot of pedagogical experience and formed views. In addition to the Orphanage, he was the director of the Commercial School and the Institute of Noble Maidens. Catherine strongly supported his endeavors, believing that noble children should be educated accordingly, to prepare them for public and military service.
New stage of work
Betskoy headed the gentry cadet corps in 1765, March 7. Already in 1766, he drew up the Charter. In accordance with the new document, companies were liquidated. According to the Charter, 5 ages were introduced. In each of them there were 5 departments at which children of both noblemen and commoners studied. The latter was supposed to train teachers. On an equal footing, they had to study with the cadets. So Betskoi tried to a certain extent to bring the different estates closer, in order to avoid disagreements between them in the future.
Juvenile department
Boys 5-6 years old began to be admitted to the gentry corps. At each established age, they had to study for 3 years, but they graduated at the age of 20. Moreover, during the 15 years of stay in the institution, parents were forbidden to demand the return of the child. Nevertheless, there were a large number of people wishing to give their offspring to education. The fact is that the nobles of that time did not recognize either the Academy of Sciences, or the Greco-Latin Academy, or any other educational institution. They considered them unworthy of their children. However, Betskoy began to give preference to those boys whose parents were injured or died in the war, as well as impoverished and could not at their own expense give a decent education to the child. It is worth noting that this principle of admission of pupils was retained subsequently. The first (youngest) age was under the supervision of prison guards. They walked with the boys, took care of their health, accustomed to several foreign languages, instilled good manners in children. A priest and a clerk were also present in this department. In addition to the church service itself, they taught according to the Law of God. There were also teachers of Russian language, dance and painting in the department. Young pupils occupied a separate building.
Second age
It included children 9-12 years old. The pupils were under the supervision of male tutors. They should not have been hard on children. Their responsibilities included teaching children to self-service themselves, instilling "a love of virtue and well-being." Teachers and tutors were required to note the children's abilities, their inclinations and inclinations. Observation was to be carried out both during lessons and during rest periods. This was necessary for the subsequent determination of the sphere in which one or another child could be involved. In addition to disciplines, the study of which was started at a young age, children 9-12 years old were taught history, chronology, geography, geometry and arithmetic, mythology, Old Slavonic.
Children 12-15 years old
The organization of this department did not differ much from the previous one. According to Betsky’s plan, the cadets at this age were to perfect the disciplines whose study had begun earlier. In addition, they were taught Latin, the basics of civil and military architecture, accounting. In the third branch, general education was completed.
4th and 5th ages
In these departments, the study and life of students was changing. From the age of 15, officers watched the children. They had to ensure that the pupils did not spend time in idleness. They were required to deal firmly with the cadets, but not instilling fear in them. The command of the 4th and 5th divisions was carried out by the lieutenant colonel. Captains - his assistants - trained students in military disciplines. Among them were fortification, defense and siege of fortresses, artillery, charters. Drill training was conducted by non-commissioned officers. Since 1775, chemistry and physics were introduced as compulsory subjects. For their study, special rooms were equipped. In addition, attention was paid to jurisprudence and civil architecture, knowledge of German, Latin (or Italian) and French was deepened. Pupils also engaged in horse riding, fencing.
Theater art
Teachers of recitation were invited to the gentry corps. Among them were Russian artists (Smelters, for example), and foreigners. It is worth noting that theatrical art in the institution was especially popular. It even formed the Society of Literature Lovers. Its organizer was Alexander Sumarokov, who graduated from the Artillery Engineering Gentry Corps in 1740. After a while he became a major writer. One of the founders of a professional Russian theater, Fedor Volkov, was also a pupil of the corps and was a member of the Sumarokov Society.
Exams
They were held every 4 months. At the end of the year was the final exam. It was held publicly in the presence of the Empress herself or ministers, generals, clergy, civilian noblemen. Subsequently, the order was changed. So, they began to conduct only 2 annual public exams - in mid-March and September. It was attended by one of the senators, some professors and teachers. For each discipline, the maximum and minimum number of points was established - from 1/8 to 128. For example, for the “Russian letter” the pupil could receive from 1/8 to 2, for grammar - from 1 to 96, arithmetic - from 1 to 32 and etc. After passing all the items, the points were added up. According to the result, the best pupils were determined. They were awarded medals, various books, drawing instruments. All achievements and awards are entered in the form. They were taken into account when distributing at the end of training.
Interesting Facts
A "talking wall" was created in the gentry corps. Various aphorisms and thoughts of the ancients were written on it. After graduation, Count Anhalt, walking with the pupils in the park, explained the meaning of what was written, discussed with the cadets, striving to ensure that they not only remembered, but also understood the meaning of the sayings. The institution also collected a large library of foreign and domestic literature. The building had its own botanical garden. It was attended by plants not only from Russia, but also from a number of other countries. Of particular importance in upbringing were the personal conversations of the boss with the youths. The well-performing pupils of Betskaya, and subsequently Anhalt, were invited to their home for tea. Young cadets visited Catherine II.
Learning disadvantages
It is worth noting that for 15 years the pupils were practically in greenhouse conditions. As a result, they actually turned out to be divorced from reality. Young people, having received excellent education and upbringing, were faced with the rather harsh realities of feudal Russia. Often they were lost, not knowing how to apply everything that they had been taught for so many years. Despite the fact that among the graduates there were quite a few generals, officers, statesmen, most of them left the service, returning to their estates.
Kutuzov's Directorate
At the end of the 18th century, events outside the borders of Russia were quite dramatic. At that time, Napoleon's military glory, which shone in campaigns in Europe, reached its peak. Many in Russia understood that the time would come when Russia would also need to defend its borders. To do this, the country needed competent and trained officers capable of leading a soldier. The gentry corps, which was popular at that time, only partially solved this problem. In 1794, M. I. Kutuzov came to replace the deceased Count Anhalt (Betsky's successor). He began his work with the reorganization of the institution. Instead of 5 ages, 4 musketeer and 1 grenadier companies were introduced. In each there were 96 pupils. In the juvenile department, training sessions were canceled. Kutuzov believed that only strong, physically healthy soldiers could well acquire knowledge and serve in the army. In this regard, in the younger department boys were tempered during walks, active games in the fresh air in any weather every day.
Discipline
The creation of the gentry corps was originally conceived to prepare individuals in two directions - military and civilian. However, over time, the situation has changed. During the leadership of Kutuzov, the study of military sciences acquired a pronounced practical character. Classes for the senior departments were transferred for 2 months to the camps. Subsequently, they became traditional in other military educational institutions. In summer camps, pupils woke up at 6 in the morning on drum roll. The same signal was used to announce the beginning and end of classes, lunch, breakfast, dinner. A variety of tactical techniques were practiced in the camp, and classes were held for firing from artillery weapons and rifles. Pupils learned to do a topographic survey of the terrain, work with maps, recognize different signals, and rebuild on command. In their free time, the cadets were engaged in physical training, swimming, sunbathing. Successful students were set as an example. Kutuzov noted them with orders. Those who did poorly in disciplines had to deal with subjects during rest. Kutuzov used not only methods of persuasion, but also coercion.
New organization of the educational process
During the leadership of Kutuzov, a class-lesson system was established. The groups began to unite pupils of approximately the same level of knowledge and age. Transfer to the next class was carried out according to the results of successfully passed exams in specific subjects. The institution introduced summer and winter holidays. Over the years, the class grew into a friendly family. This sense of camaraderie manifested itself in further service. Upon appointment of the cadets after graduation, they were ordered to be guided by impartiality.
Conclusion
At the first meeting with the pupils, Kutuzov said that he would treat them as soldiers, and not as children. This phrase confused them. However, after graduation, saying goodbye to them, he said that despite the fact that they did not love him at the very beginning for his words, he sincerely wished them happiness and would be highly rewarded for his love for them with their honor, glory and devotion to the Fatherland. Kutuzov was able to solve many issues in the education and training of future officers. He sought the implementation of the key task of training professional, competent commanders of cavalry and infantry units that could withstand the accumulated military experience and strength of Napoleon’s army. Subsequently, the students of Kutuzov perfectly proved themselves in battles in the Patriotic War of 1812.