Return to basics
November 16 marks the 95 anniversary of the formation of the Ordzhonikidze Higher All-Arms Command Command twice named after the Marshal of the Soviet Union A.I. Eremenko. About heroic stories and the vicissitudes of one of the country's oldest military high schools, read below.Home
In fact, the roots of this truly heroic story go back to the beginning of the last century, when 26 September 1901, in accordance with the nominal decree of Emperor Nicholas II, was created for the sons of servicemen who served or served in the Caucasus, according to the election of the commander of the troops. Vladikavkaz cadet corps. Thus, the emperor laid the foundations for the formation in the Caucasus of military intelligentsia from among the peoples living there and strengthened its influence on the southern borders of the Fatherland. 1 September 1902, the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich solemnly opened an educational institution, coinciding this event with the centenary of Georgia’s accession to Russia.
To accommodate the personnel on the southern outskirts of the city of Vladikavkaz, an original complex of buildings, combined into one in the form of the letter “Ш”, was built according to the project of architect-engineer lieutenant Tomashevsky. There are suggestions that this building was at one time one of the longest (320 m) in the Russian Empire. Here later the Ordzhonikidze Woku was deployed, the 95 anniversary of which we celebrate.The school itself originates from the 36-x Tula infantry courses of the red commanders, created on the orders of the All-Russian General Staff of November 16 from 1918 of the year. Classes in courses that numbered 295 people began on December 1 on 1918, and on 21 on May 1919, they were sent to Don to fight the forces of General Denikin. In July, after returning to Tula, the first graduation course of the 31 cadet took place.
Graduates of the following sets also had to fight on different fronts of the Civil War. By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic of 31 in December 1920, the Tula courses, as having combat experience and practice in training the red commanders, were renamed the 17 Infantry School of the Red Army commanders. In May, the above-mentioned complex of buildings on the southern outskirts of the city of Vladikavkaz, which was once built for the cadet corps, becomes its location for 1924. By the way, in the years of the Civil War, despite all the difficulties, the cadet corps were preserved. First, he was relocated to Georgia, then to the Crimea, and from there to Serbia. In the city of Belaya Tserkov in the territory of Yugoslavia 1 September 1929, he was disbanded.
In connection with the renaming of 1937 ground schools into military schools in March, the 17 combined military school was transformed into Ordzhonikidze (as from 1 in January 1932, the city of Vladikavkaz began to be called), which began to prepare commanders of rifle, machine-gun and mortar troops. Its graduates took an active part in the fight against gangster elements in the North Caucasus and the Basmachis in Central Asia, the Phalangists in Spain, repelled the aggression of the Japanese militarists on Lake Hassan and the Khalkhin Gol River, contributed to the achievement of victory over Finland, fought on different fronts Great Patriotic, smashed the Kwantung Army.
Memory
A special place in the history of the school is occupied by the feat of the cadet regiments in the battle for Stalingrad (June 1942 - February 1943 of the year), which, according to the BV directive, signed personally by I.V. Stalin, were formed on the basis of 12 military schools, including 1-th, 2-th and 3-th Ordzhonikidzevsky. According to the documents, when the German command became aware of the appearance of cadet formations at the front, the commander of the 6 Army, Friedrich Paulus, had this conversation with the head of the army headquarters: “Schmidt, I hope you are well aware of the role of the Russian cadets in the battle for Moscow and St. Petersburg ? ”-“ Yes, Mr. General, in the fall of 41, the Podolsk junkers near Moscow did the almost impossible. ” - “What are the 33-I Guards Division and attached parts of the reinforcement of the 62 Army?” - “According to intelligence data, it consists of personnel paratroopers and junker schools.” - “Marines, cadets? This is serious, Schmidt. A company of Russian paratroopers and junkers in combat power is equal to an infantry battalion. It is necessary to consider this when planning operations. The division of the cadets, paratroopers and marines is a serious opponent. ”And indeed, largely thanks to the heroism and resilience of the cadet regiments, our troops managed to bring down the pace of the enemy offensive and win valuable time for pulling up reserves and creating defense both on the approaches to Stalingrad and in the city itself. Recalling the participation of cadets in the battles at Stalingrad, the commander of the 64 Army, Hero of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Shumilov, said: “... we threw them into the most dangerous areas. But no one grumbled, did not complain about fate. All demolished. They could be accused of anything: in excessive self-confidence, and in underestimating the enemy, in unrestrained distance, in anything just not in cowardice, lack of courage. Fearless was the people! ”
Unfortunately, there is not much information about cadet shelves. As you know, they did not have headquarters, so there was no extensive documentation. According to incomplete data, more than 30 thousands of cadets from more than 25 schools and 2 thousands of teachers participated in the battle of Stalingrad. Most of them died heroically. So, out of two thousand cadets of the Ordzhonikidze school no more than 120 people survived. We can learn about their valor from the stories of the participants of those distant events, from the surviving relics of the war years, letters. In particular, many of them are collected in the museum of cadet regiments opened in January 1983. It is located in Volgograd State University, at the very height of 145,5, which the cadets stormed in October of 1942. And in November, on the site of the death of the cadet regiments of the Ordzhonikidze infantry school defending Stalingrad, on November 11, a chapel was opened at the site of the death of the cadet regiments of the Ordzhonikidze infantry school defending Stalingrad on the initiative of the chairman of the board of founders of the Megapir Armed Forces National Association.Speaking about the vicissitudes of the school’s fate, it should be noted that in the post-war period it experienced a number of transformations and renames. So, from September 1948 to September 1967, it was the Suvorov Military School. From September 1967 to March 1993 - the highest combined-arms. In accordance with the decree of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation dated 3 of March 1993 of the year No. 326-p, signed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers - Government of the Russian Federation V. Shumeiko, VOK, now Vladikavkaz, was abolished.
Anyway, all these educational institutions connected by common traditions gave the country 81 a Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia, more than 300 generals, more than 120 doctors and candidates of sciences. Their graduates worked as military advisers in different countries, participated in combat operations in Afghanistan, unblocked inter-ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union, mitigated the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and restored constitutional order in the Chechen Republic. At the same time everywhere showed courage, heroism, resilience.
In the Ordzhonikidze WOCU, Marshal of the Armored Forces, P.P. Poluboyarov, generals S.N. Pervertkin, Yu.P. Kovalev, S.N. Suanov, F.M. Kuzmin, M.N. Tereshchenko, A.I. Sokolov, V.V. Bulgakov, G.P. Kasperovich, V.V. Skokov, N.K. Silchenko, A.I. Verbitsky and many other military leaders. Among his graduates are military diplomats A.N. Chernikov, I.D. Yurchenko, former President of Ingushetia R.S. Aushev, head of the GRU Special Forces V.V. Kolesnik, world record holder in skydiving V.G. Romanyuk and other famous people in the country and abroad.
Many pupils of the school still occupy responsible posts in the State Duma, the Council of the Federation, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and in other state and public structures. Among them, for example, the Hero of Russia V.M. Zavarzin, who works in the State Duma Committee on Defense, and Doctor of Philosophy A.N. Kanshin, who heads the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on the problems of national security and the socio-economic conditions of the military, their families and veterans. The list can be continued. By the way, there is in the list of graduates of Ordzhonikidze Voka and our former colleague in the "Red Star". This is Peter Tkachenko, a literary critic, a member of the Writers' Union, whose book titles speak for themselves: “When Soldiers Sing”, “From the Flame of Afghanistan”, “Officer Romance”, “Special Company. A feat in the Maravara Valley ”... He graduated from college in 1971 year.
After graduation, some graduates engaged in entrepreneurship and achieved significant results in this area. Among them, R.T. Aguzarov, Yu.F. Glushko, N.E. Dontsov, A.L. Epifanov, A.A. Stukov, Yu.Yu. Shapovalov, A.P. Shcherbina and others. All, unfortunately, can not be listed. I can only say that they are the true patriots of their country, they provide great practical help to their comrades and all those who need it.
In general, it must be said that the school gave its pupils versatile training. And most importantly - brought up their will power, the ability to withstand any difficulties. This, of course, is a great merit of commanders, teachers, civilian personnel - all those who worked hard and fruitfully, preparing officer cadres for our Motherland.
Graduates of different years of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant-General Vitaly Andreyevich Ulyanov, who unfortunately passed away, remember with special feeling. In 17 years a volunteer having gone to the front, in 18 he already became a holder of the Golden Star. For more than forty years, Vitaly Andreevich walked a total of life in the military formation. Eleven of them, until his retirement in 1985, he headed the Ordzhonikidze VOKU. The longest of all the 22 heads of this university. As a young man, knowing the army from the inside, he then, not without reason, considered himself entitled to act on the basis of personal experience, including front-line, even if it sometimes did not fit into some canons or did not like the authorities. For example, with some perplexity in higher instances, he was greeted by the decision to put off the general education training that freshmen put at the end of the year, to quickly give them military disciplines, so that from the very first days of their school they would begin to understand what a service is and how much knowledge they need to master. It was perceived almost as arbitrariness.Or take allegedly excessive enthusiasm for mountain training of cadets, which he was also accused at one time by some short-sighted officials from education.
- Can you imagine, there is a war going on in Afghanistan, and we, being in the foothills of the Caucasus, should not be engaged in mountain training, because this, you see, is not our profile! - Vitaly Andreevich told me with fervor, recalling that time. - But we were engaged. After 4 – 5 months of study, cadets climbed Table Mountain, even went to Kazbek, and conducted exercises in the mountains. Yes, it was not easy. But then, when the leadership of the Armed Forces finally decided to make the Ordzhonikidze VOKU a basic recruitment center for the Turkestan Military District, returning from Afghanistan, many graduates specially came to the school to say thanks for the science.
Extension
Well, after the dissolution of the WOK, events developed as follows. On the initiative of the leadership of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and on the basis of the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation of 11 on April 2000 of the year No. 165, the North Caucasian Suvorov Military School was established (revived) in Vladikavkaz. Within its walls, more than 300 Suvorov students studied each year, among whom were representatives of 25 nationalities from 20 regions of Russia. Over the 10 years of the school's existence (the first 8 years it was mainly maintained at the expense of the republican budget), a lot of effort was spent to create the educational and material base, reviving the glorious traditions. Over the years, 85 percent of IED graduates entered higher education institutions of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies of Russia, becoming worthy followers of the traditions of their predecessors.
However, during the well-known changes in the military education system, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation enrolled in the North Caucasian Suvorov Military School, and from the year 2011 it was completely stopped. True, in September of the same year, the leadership of the military department revised its decision on the closure of this educational institution, the school was transferred to the ownership of the republic. From September 2012, it became known as the "Cadet Boarding School" Vladikavkaz Cadet Corps. "Changed not only the name. Having lost the status of the establishment of the Ministry of Defense (the powers and functions of the founder were transferred to the Ministry of Education and Science of RNO-Alania), the educational institution lost a significant part of its funding. He now did not have the means either for capital repairs, nor for the development of the material and technical base, or for the reception of children from other regions. During the competition, three 173 people were accepted for one place, mostly orphaned children and children from low-income families. As the head of the boarding school, Ruslan Tavitov, said, if in 2008, the VCA budget was 106 million rubles, now it is half as much. As a result, the living conditions of pupils, educators and teaching staff have changed significantly. Salaries of employees have decreased three times.
Thus, the Cadet Boarding School is an educational institution of a completely different type, with different goals and objectives, without the inherent Suvorov schools of military specificity, the perspectives and motivations of training pupils.
The question of recreating the Suvorov Military School was repeatedly raised by the leadership of North Ossetia, the public, and veteran organizations of the republic and Russia. He was also considered at the on-site meeting of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on the problems of national security and socio-economic conditions of life of servicemen, members of their families and veterans, during which they met with the head of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Taimuraz Mansurov. At the same time, he stressed that the republic does not need material assistance from the Ministry of Defense to maintain the school, although it does not refuse it. In his opinion, the main thing is to have the status of an institution belonging to the military department in order to ensure a more definite future for its graduates.
Members of the delegation of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation warmly supported this position of the head of the republic. "The elimination of the Suvorov school in the North Caucasus is not just a serious mistake, but also a blow to the security of Russia," said Alexander Kanshin, chairman of the commission of the Public Chamber, (by the way, he is also a graduate of the former Ordzhonikidze command school). He said that the members of the chamber intend to help return the status of the Suvorov Military School to the Vladikavkaz Cadet Corps, the corresponding appeal will be addressed to the Minister of Defense.
This appeal in July of this year was sent. And here is the result: Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu supported the proposal to reorganize the Vladikavkaz Cadet Corps into the North Caucasian Suvorov Military School.
According to Alexander Kanshin, the importance of this decision cannot be overestimated. First of all, because this educational institution with a history of more than a century has always played a crucial role in shaping the military-patriotic consciousness of the youth of the North Caucasus region on the basis of all-Russian state and moral values, the heroic history and traditions of the Russian army. Now this noble cause for the good of the Fatherland will be continued. The chairman of the commission of the Public Chamber also noted that, on the whole, the nature of relations between the leadership of the Russian military department and civil society institutions has recently changed significantly. Many civil society initiatives began to be perceived in the Ministry of Defense with understanding, interest and support, which will undoubtedly serve to strengthen the defense and security of the country, patriotic education of citizens, enhance the prestige of military service and authority of the Armed Forces.
At the same time, in the opinion of Valery Vasilyev, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, the issue of restoring the status of the Suvorov Military School should be considered in the context of rebuilding a destroyed system of continuous military education. According to him, cadet classes and Suvorov schools should be under the authority of one ministry so that their graduates can then continue their studies in military schools.
In this regard, it should be noted: the main obstacle to the revival of the North Kavkakz Suvorov Military School, in the opinion of the military, was that in order to organize full training for the pupils, additional barracks were needed, a stadium, an indoor swimming pool, a gymnastic ground, and a weight lifting platform and so on. The exit from this situation to the initiators of the revival of the SVU is seen in its redeployment on the territory of the former Ordzhonikidze Higher All-Arms Command Command of the Red Banner School named after Marshal A.I. Eremenko. In their opinion, this territory, which for the whole century was equipped for the fulfillment of the tasks of training officers, ideally meets the requirements for the organization of the educational process.
And on the eve of the 95 anniversary of the Ordzhonikidze VOKU, a letter signed by a group of graduates and veterans of the school came to the heirs of his fame. “In the future, we will closely monitor your progress, rejoice with your achievements with you and provide you with all-round help and support,” it says.
Yes, 20 years have passed after the school celebrated in battles and campaigns was removed from the lists of military universities in Russia. But the memory of him lives. And it will live as long as those who served, worked and studied within its walls are alive. It so happened that life scattered them in different parts of the world. But they are still faithful to the cadet fraternity, the friendship that they have carried through all the trials, are full of pride in their native university and are ready to support the successors of its traditions in every way.
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