Suvorov Military School

Saint Petersburg Suvorov Military School occupies the 18th-century Vorontsov Palace on Sadovaya Street

The Suvorov Military Schools are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 14–18. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after Alexander Suvorov, the great 18th century general.

Their naval counterparts among Russian military schools for teenagers are the Nakhimov Naval Schools. They are named after Pavel Nakhimov, the 19th century admiral.

This type of schools was created in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War in December, 1943 to provide boys of school age, particularly those from families of military personnel, with a secondary education specializing in military (Army, Navy, Intelligence, etc.) subjects and training. Boarding school aspect was particularly important at the time because many students were war orphans, either without parents or with only surviving mother unable to support them.

A number of Suvorov/Nakhimov Military Schools still exist in the CIS countries (including Belarus). The Suvorov schools in Russia are now subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces.

Carey Schofield, a British journalist with close links to the Soviet Armed Forces, wrote in 1990–91 that '...it is still generally accepted that the best way for an officer to start his career is to attend one of the very smart Suvorov or Nakhimov schools, the military boarding schools.'[1] She noted that at that time, several of the original schools had closed, leaving eight Suvorov schools and a single Nakhimov school across the whole of the Soviet Union.

Scott and Scott, in the Russian Military Directory 2004, listed Suvorov schools active at the time in Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Vladikavkaz, Tver, Ulyanovsk, and Ussuriysk. Several Cadet Corps, a number of them recently formed, were also listed, each affiliated to a specific service branch such as the Space Forces, the Chief of Construction and Billeting, and the Signals Troops.

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Schofield, Carey (1991). Inside the Soviet Army. Headline Book Publishing. p. 41.