Garrison schools (russian: гарнизо́нные шко́лы) in 18th century

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

were military schools that provided the primary education for the children of the military recruits. The institution of the Garrison schools was introduced by the

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader ( patriarch) that had the force of law. " Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concep ...

(decree) of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Peter the Great in 1721 primarily for the children of military recruits in the course of Peter's reform of the Russian military. This so-called military revolution transformed the military from an archaic

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

-like force to the regular army, which drew upon military recruits called, predominantly from enserfed peasantry, to serve for 25 years, which, given the expected life span of most Russian serfs at the time, essentially meant that they would serve for life. The recruits and their children ''born after the recruitment'' were liberated from the serf status, and a network of Garrison schools was created for the children's education. The boys, starting from the age of 7, were taught literacy, elementary math, "artillery and military engineering", but also fine arts and several trade professions, such as shoe-making, sewing, wood- and metal-working, etc. Initially, 49 schools were founded, each for 50 boys aged 7 to 15. Upon completion of elementary study course, the boys' education was specialized as follows: 10 boys studied

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

, 20 studied

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

(drums and singing), 10 studied trade professions and 10 studied ''clerical work and writing,'' scrivenery (письмоводство). Most school graduates entered the military service. In 1798, the Garrison schools were renamed ''"Military institutions for the orphans"'' (военно-сиротские отделения) which in turn were transformed into Cantonist schools.

See also

References

Further reading