Cadet Corps (Russia)

For other uses, see Cadet Corps (disambiguation).

The Cadet corps (Russian: Kadetskiy korpus, Кадетский корпус) is an admissions-based all boys military cadets school which prepared boys to become commissioned officers. Boys between the ages of 8 and 15 were enrolled. It was founded in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire in 1731 by Empress Anna. The term of education was seven years. All instructors had a military rank, and taught a full program of military preparation. In 1766 Catherine the Great's educational reforms broadened the curriculum to include the sciences, philosophy, ethics, history, and international law.

A graduate from the corps became a junker and had prime candidacy for a military career.

During the October Revolution and the 1917-23 Russian Civil War, cadets and junkers largely supported the White movement (Anti-bolshevik). A small portion of cadets were able to evacuate with the White Army towards the end of Russian Civil War to western countries. Subsequently, the Soviet Government executed or imprisoned all surviving cadets to Siberian GULAG slave labor camps. Fifteen years later, according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, none remained alive and free inside USSR.

File:RussianCadetPeriodical.jpg

The "Cadet Roll Call", a White emigre cadet periodical from 1950s.

Many cadets who escaped alive formed cadet corps in other countries, most notably in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Bela Crkva), where they received the patronage of Alexander I of Yugoslavia - himself a graduate from the St. Petersburg cadet corps.

During World War II a number of White emigre cadets joined the Russian Corps, feeling it was a means of continuing the battle against the Bolshevik regime.

After World War II, with the emigration of cadets to the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Australia, White emigre cadet corps ceased to function. A cadet union was formed to unite the graduates of the cadet corps.

After the fall of the USSR, cadet corps were re-established in Russia. These now serve both boys and girls as well, with several named after Soviet Great Patriotic War heroes as well as Russian military heroes through the centuries. These Cadet Corps and Cadet Schools found in various Russian cities are now aimed towards preparing children for service not just in the Russian Armed Forces but also in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Federal Security Service. There's even a cadet corps preparing teens for service in the Ministry of Justice, as well as the Moscow Diplomatic Cadet Corps for those inclined towards future careers in the diplomatic services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Cadets educational establishments in the USSR and in today's Russia

• Suvorov Military School
• Saint Petersburg rocket artillery cadet corps
• Nakhimov Naval School
• Kronstadt Sea Cadet Corps

See also

• Page Corps (Russia)
• Sea Cadet Corps (Russia)

File:RussianCadetMemorialNY.jpg

A memorial for fallen Cadets in Nanuet, NY.