Hermitage revives the history of Russian cadets
Published 12 September, 2007, 10:14
An exhibition tracing the history of the Cadet Corps – a network of prestigious military boarding schools in the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries – has opened in Saint Petersburg.
The display is at the historical Menshikov Palace. Formerly the property of Emperor Peter the Great’s close friend, Aleksandr Menshikov, it is now part of the Hermitage Museum.
The oldest exhibit at the show is the 18-century decree by Empress Anna Ioannovna regarding the foundation of the Cadet Corps.
The teenage nobility trained there were guaranteed a successful military career. The students were educated by the best teachers, such as General Kutuzov, who was famous for his remarkable military talent and much acclaimed for winning the war with Napoleon in 1812.
Emperor Nicholas II, who paid close attention to the Cadet Corps, would often visit the schools, inspecting everything, including the quality of the food for the students.
As curator Olga Andreeva explains, Nicholas II was very strong physically: “He liked to play with the children, and sometimes during games junior students would even try to knock the Emperor down. They rarely succeeded though”.
The museum of the Cadet Corps was closed in Soviet times, after its director once compared Soviet commanders with the generals of the Russian Empire.
For many years the exhibits were held in different collections across Russia. It took the organisers a lot of effort to bring them back together.
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