16 April 1722 Peter I commanded the Admiralty to open nautical schools
On April 16, 1722, Peter the Great ordered the Admiralty to open schools for teaching marine affairs. They were supposed to accept only Russian subjects. At the end of his reign, Pyotr Alekseevich somewhat revised his attitude towards foreigners in Russia. The emperor began to encourage the resignation of foreigners who served on navy, tried to quickly get rid of the foreign element in the armed forces and state structures, since he did not feel complete trust in them. Carrying out his reforms, Pyotr Alekseevich paid great attention to the organization of the new regular army and the creation of the Russian Navy. For this, the organization of the European army and fleets, their armament was studied. Hundreds of military specialists and scientific personnel were invited to Russia. However, a large army and powerful fleet required a well-trained officer corps dedicated to the sovereign and fatherland. It could only be created from the Russians. Peter I deliberately relied on Russian cadres. But for their creation it was necessary to create a system of military and naval education. Back in 1697, Western Europe was sent to train military science 150 stolnik, sergeants and soldiers.
The actual construction of the Russian fleet began in the 1695 year on the Voronezh River. Then, after returning from the unsuccessful first Azov campaign, Pyotr Alekseevich realized the need for warships to wage war, and the construction of the Azov flotilla began. The second Azov campaign, 1696, already involved two combat sailing ships, 4 firefighters, 23 galleys, and about 1300 planes. October 20 1696, at the insistence of the king, the Boyar Duma issued a decree, it was decided to be "ships of the sea". This day is considered the birthday of the regular Russian Navy. The creation of the Russian regular fleet at Peter was carried out in several main areas: the construction of auxiliary vessels and warships; the creation of combat-ready naval units (fleets, flotillas, squadrons); training and training personnel for the fleet; the creation of naval infrastructure (naval bases, ports, shipyards, fortresses, etc.); creating a managerial and regulatory framework.
From 1696, the ships were built with the help of “kumpanism” (campaigns), into which the boyars, nobles, clergy and trading class were divided. However, this experience was not positive, and the state took the work of building ships into their own hands. Kumpanstvo no longer instructed to build ships, they paid a special tax. In the 30 years from 1696 to 1725, the Azov and Baltic fleets, the White Sea and Caspian flotillas were created. In total, more than a hundred ships of the line were built, 38 frigates, 60 brigantine, 8 shniav, 67 large galleys, a large number of scamps (small galleys), bombardier ships, firefighters, up to 300 transport ships and many different small vessels. In terms of seafaring and combat qualities, Russian battleships met European standards, and the Russian fleet successfully acted against the first-class Swedish fleet during the Northern War. The first combination of warships was the Azov fleet, created to fight with Turkey and strengthen Russia's position in the Black Sea. It existed until 1711, when, after an unsuccessful Prut campaign, its ships were partly destroyed, some were sold to the Ottoman Empire.
At the end of 1696, the Admiralty yard began to be created in Voronezh. In 1700, the Admiralty Affairs Order was created in Moscow, in 1707, it was transformed into the Office of the Navy, and in 1718, into the Admiralty Board. Since 1724, she received the responsibility to be in charge of hydrographic surveys.
For the successful development of the reforms initiated in the state, a large number of trained, well-educated people were required. Tsar Peter proclaimed “education” a state problem. In Russia, begin to create educational institutions, which were in full state content. The educational system created in Russia was secular and trained professional technical personnel: engineers, navigators, cartographers, gunners, etc.
The first school was founded in Moscow in the Sukharev Tower. On January 14 (25), 1701, a royal decree was issued: "... to be Mathematical and Navigations, that is, seafaring science is cunning to doctrine." So the first school was opened, which trained sailors, engineers, artillerymen, surveyors, architects, civil servants, teachers in other schools for the army and navy, etc. The school of mathematical and navigational sciences was headed by Jacob Bruce. It lasted until 1753, the naval gentry corps became its successor in the naval line. Until 1706, the school was run by Armory chamber (Fyodor Golovin), then came under the control of the Order of the Navy, and since 1712 - the Admiralty Chancellery.
The School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences became the prototype, the forerunner of the entire modern system of engineering and technical education of the Russian state. It was the beloved child of the sovereign: he often visited her personally, jealously followed the progress of the students. The school had two departments: navigation and mathematics. Navigational Department was headed by a Briton, a professor at Aberdeen (Eberdeen) University, a specialist in mathematics, astronomy and marine sciences, Henry Farvarson. He entered the Russian service in 1698. The mathematical department was headed by a Russian mathematician Leonty Magnitsky. He was the author of the first in Russia educational encyclopedia in mathematics "Arithmetic, in other words, the science of numerals from different dialects into the Slavonic language translated ..." (1703 year). Magnitsky was a very prominent scientific figure. He owned several foreign languages, was fond of science, read a lot. Realizing that in Russia there is no decent math textbook, he himself wrote a textbook.
The marine sciences were taught by the Englishmen Stefan Gwyn (Gwyn) and Richard Grace. They did not know the Russian language, they taught in Latin, so the students had to first learn the Latin language in order to understand the lectures. The teacher of the navigation business and the school librarian, with the honorary title “Tsar Librarian”, was Vasily Kipriyanov. He became the first publisher of mathematical and geographical manuals for navigators. Kiprianov wrote several works and textbooks: “Tables of sines, tangents” (1703 and 1716 years); a short textbook of mathematics on one big sheet “New arithmetic of fayoriki or visual, composed by questions for the sake of the most convenient concept” (1703), etc. In “Arithmetic” the edges of the sheet were occupied with portraits of great sages, in the middle were mathematical rules and actions. At the top of the sheet were the basic rules of geometry, astronomy, optics, and other sciences of geography.
Students and young people of noblemen, bureaucratic (clerks, clerks) and other officials, aged from 11 to 23 years, were taken as pupils. Theoretically, any child could get into this school except the serfs. In 1703, about 300 people were studying at school, in 1711, 500 students. In the Navigatsky school there were children of almost all the most prominent aristocratic families of Russia - Volkonskie, Lopukhins, Shakhovskys, Khilkovs, Urusovs, Dolgoruks, Khovanskie, Prozorovskys, Sheremetyevs, Golovins, etc. The study time was not determined, on average they studied (together with practice) 10 -15 years. Bad students were determined for small positions in various orders (collegiums), the army, the fleet, etc.
Pupils from low-income families were fully supported by the state. They were given uniforms: boots, a bostrog (a copy of a Dutch dress, like a caftan), pantaloons and a hat. On the hat was a ribbon denoting belonging to the students. In addition, students were required to wear wigs with braids, which had to be regularly lubricated with lard and powdered with flour. Over time, the study was equated to the service and the students began to receive fodder money, their number depended on the quality and duration of the study. The money they received at that time was considerable - from 36 to 54 rubles per year. For example, the caster's earnings at that time amounted to 16-25 rubles, and the powder masters' cases - 40-50 rubles. So the king wanted to interest young people, to attract them to study. True, I must say that they paid irregularly. The country was in a state of martial law, not enough money.
Knowledge was given a very versatile. The course consisted of three levels: primary, lower school (Russian school), digital (arithmetic) and higher (senior). The first stage was designed for 1,5-2 of the year. It gave the minimum knowledge - the rules of grammar, reading, the law of God. The second stage gave the basics of arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, drawing. In high school, studied mathematical geography, astronomy, drawing, geodesy, navigation, shipbuilding. At this stage, the students had a long practice on ships, in shipyards, on construction, in the army, laboratories, powder and gun factories, workshops in Russia and abroad. So in June 1712 of the year as a result of the students' show, which the king spent, 26 students were sent to study navigation sciences in Holland, 22 - to Revel, learn German, 16 - were registered as soldiers of the Transfiguration of the Regiment. In the first years at school there were big problems with attendance. Sukharev tower, where the school was located, was considered by the people to be an unclean place. Some students were simply afraid to go there. In addition, among the students were representatives of rich and noble families, pampered by their former life. Therefore, the king ordered the selection of "retired good soldiers" in the guard, and they were at each class with a whip in hand. Rampant disciples were beaten, regardless of the position of their kind. Very cruel punishments were introduced: the death penalty for escaping, for other misdemeanors - rods, galley works, large fines. Parents were heavily fined for passes, up to 5 rubles for one pass.
The teaching method was simple: cramming "from now to this." At that time, the teachers did not explain the topics to the students; they themselves had to study the lesson on teacher notes on the blackboard and book examples. It is clear that this technique did not contribute to the rapid study of the subject. One of the main items on the teacher’s desk, along with textbooks, a pen and a ruler, was the rod. “The rod of the mind will be sharpened, it will excite me!” The classes were held throughout the day, the uncle (a retired soldier at the direction of Peter) followed the discipline and order, who beat the nedoros, not particularly analyzing their class origin. Pupils also had holidays - from December 24 to January 7 (Christmas). Instead of summer holidays, the practice was usually marine or geodesic.
In 1715, the Maritime Academy (Academy of the Marine Guard) was established in St. Petersburg. Some classes from the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (senior classes) were transferred to its beginning. With the establishment of the Academy, the school’s financial affairs did not matter. They began to allocate all 5,6 thousand rubles (in 1713, it was 22,4 thousand rubles), the rest of the money went to the academy. The school became a subsidiary institution at the Maritime Academy.
In the Maritime Academy, students were paid a salary minus money for a “tool” just like at school: in the geometry class, according to 1 rubles. 45 cop per month, in round navigation - by 2 rub. 13 cop., Navigation flat - by 2 rub. 88 cop., Geodesic class - 2 rub. 88 cop But the money did not always reach the students. Nobody canceled the theft, especially it flourished after the death of the king-reformer.
In 1716, the midshipman military rank (translated from French as “sea guard”, “sea guard”) was established, it was considered transitional from a student of the academy to the rank of midshipman. After the academy was transformed into the Marine Gentry Cadet Corps, midshipmen began to be called high school students, and lower school students were called cadets.
The efforts of Peter I and his associates gave good shoots. Graduates of the Navigatsk school became valuable specialists who carried out the state instrumental survey of Russia conceived by Peter, which made it possible to compile a single map of the empire. By 1732, 111 people were sent from school to describe the territory of the Russian state. Graduates of the school and the academy were many prominent figures of the empire. Vice-Admiral S. Lopukhin, a graduate of the Navigating school, one of the first Russian officers, became the commander of the ship and was marked on his shnava "Natalia" in the Eselsky battle of 1719 of the year. N. Golovin, who was personally examined by Sovereign Peter I, already commanded the Baltic Fleet in the 1743 campaign of the year. One of the first Russian ship commanders was Captain-Commander I. Koshelev, who was entrusted with a detachment of ships in 1725.
The Moscow School, the Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg became prototypes for similar schools that appeared in other cities of Russia. In 1722, Peter I instructed the Admiralty to open schools for maritime education. The first schools were opened in Novgorod, Vologda, Narva and other cities. By 1727, more than 2 thousand students were recruited in them. It is clear that not everyone reached the highest level of education, became captains, ship commanders, officers, many representatives of the merchant class needed their children to learn how to write and count, after that the children left school and started to do family work. But even so, the number of educated people in Russia was constantly growing.
Thanks to the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences, maritime, artillery and mining, vocational education began to develop in Russia. A new social stratum appeared in Russia and began to strengthen its position - the technical intelligentsia.
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