| N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1827 |
| Type | Military college |
| Location | , Russia |
Toward the end of the Soviet era the Academy was named the A.A. Grechko Naval Academy and finally was renamed the N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy.[1]
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The famous Russian scholar M.V. Lomonosov envisioned the establishment of a naval academy in 1759. However, only 68 years later, in 1826, did the famous admiral and seafarer Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern propose the establishment of the earliest organizational precursor to today's Naval Academy - the "Advanced Officers' Class" (Вышие офицерский класс) of the Russian Navy which were opened on 25 April 1827 under the Naval Corps. The mission of the Advanced Officers' Class was to improve the theoretical training of the most promising naval officers in exact and applied sciences. As a result of the revolution in naval affairs brought about by the Crimean War (1853-56) and the clear end of the Age of Sail the future of naval education in Russia and its transformation was reviewed by a special commission in 1862. By 7 August 1862 order of the Naval Minister, the Officers' Class was transformed into the newly established Academic Course of Maritime Sciences having a two-year period of study and divided into three departments: hydrographic, shipbuilding, and mechanical. The graduates of the course provided the navy with scientific officers for the fleets and instructors for the Naval Cadet Corps. In 1872 the council of the Academic Course developed a proposal for a full fledged Academy. On 28 January 1877, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Officers' Class, the Maritime Academy opened - later transformed into the Naval Academy. At this time both the Naval Cadet Corps and the Maritime Academy were headed by the same naval officer.[2]
After October 1917 the various Officers' Classes were combined into a single institution - the Navy Combined Special Officers' Classes. Initially there were five specialties: artillery, mines, submarine, navigation, and electrical equipment. In 1920 two new classes, mechanical and shipbuilding, were added. On 28 September 1920 the classes were classified as a higher special naval educational institution. In the Fall 1925 the institution was renamed Special Courses for Improving Fleet Commanders and later as Special Courses for the Navy Command Staff. In 1938 the Courses received their own building (Bldg 80 Malookhtenskiy Prospekt, St. Petersburg) and they remain there today. In 1939 they were again renamed - Advanced Special Courses for the Command Staff of the Workers' & Peasants Navy. During the 900-day siege of Leningrad the Courses were moved and continued to function in Astrakhan and Samarkand. In 1946 the Courses transitioned to a peacetime work regime and received the name they carry today - Navy Advanced Special Officers' Classes(Вышие спецальные офицерские классы ВМФ).
Today the Classes are the only institution of their type for retraining and advancing qualifications. 40 different specialties are covered encompassing officers of the entire tactical level of the navy. The basic aspect of training is that it covers what is directly and practically required now and in the immediate future by the fleet.
From 1918 to the present the Advanced Special Officers' Classes have prepared more than 19,000 commanding officers and 20,000 flag specialists. On 28 January 2007 the Classes marked their 180th anniversary and continue to advance officers' qualifications for the fleet.[3]
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