The Suvorov Military Schools (russian: Суворовское военное училище) are a type of boarding school in the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and in modern

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-eigh ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

, a well-known 18th century general. Their naval counterparts among Russian military schools are the Nakhimov Naval Schools. They are named after

Pavel Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov (russian: Павел Степанович Нахимов, ; – ) was a Russian Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy known for his victory in the Battle of Sinop and his leadership in the Siege of Sevastopol ( ...

, the 19th century admiral.

History

The Suvorov and Nakhimov school models were created during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in December 1943 to provide boys of school age, particularly those from families of military personnel, with a

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

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, who were either without parents or with only a surviving mother, unable to support them. A number still exist in

and the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

. Other schools have existed in other Soviet republics. The former

Kiev Suvorov Military School The Kyiv Suvorov Military School (KvSVU) ( Ukrainian: Київське суворовське військове училище, Russian: Киевское суворовское военное училище) was a boarding school in Kyiv, the ca ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

was reorganized in 1992 and named after Ivan Bohun in 1998. In July 1991, the

Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR (russian: Кабинет Министров СССР) functioned as the administrative, executive body and the government after the Council of Ministers was dissolved. It consisted of the Prime Minister, his 7 de ...

signed an order making the Bishkek Suvorov Military School and the

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (bor ...

Guards Suvorov Military School. Although the school in Ulyanovsk was created, the Bishkek branch was not created due to the collapse of the USSR.

Carey Schofield Carey Schofield OBE (born 1953) is the British principal of Langlands School and College in Pakistan, noted for its academic excellence. She had a previous career as a journalist and writer, particularly on military affairs. Career Writing After ...

, a British journalist with close links to the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

, wrote in 1990–91, '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.'

Republican Special Boarding Schools

Republican Special Boarding Schools (russian: Республиканские специальные школы-интернаты) are military schools that were created in the early 1980s on the basis of the Suvorov Military Schools. They were subordinate to the Ministry of Education of the USSR. After the collapse of the USSR, the military lyceums/high schools in the newly formed countries in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

were nationalized and came under the auspices of the local defense ministries.

Role

The Suvorov schools in Russia are now subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

, with schools operating in cities such as

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 293 ...

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrati ...

, and

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

Traditions

Corps of Drums

The Moscow Military Music College, which is a spin-off of the Suvorov Military School whose mission is to train future Rususan military musicians, is known for its Corps of Drums.

Suvorovite military culture

The Military Lyceum of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan and the

Kyrgyz State National Military Lyceum The Kyrgyz State National Military Lyceum (KSNML) (; ), also known as the Suvorov School is a military boarding school in the Kyrgyz Republic that is subordinated to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan. It trains middle-tier comma ...

are often referred to as the "Suvorov School". In 2020, during the first Turkmen

Victory Parade A victory parade is a parade held to celebrate a victory. Numerous military and sport victory parades have been held. Military victory parades Among the most famous parades are the victory parades celebrating the end of the First World Wa ...

at the

Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex (People's Memory) is a memorial complex to the honor of those killed in the Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881, in World War II, and in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. It is in the southwestern part of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan ...

, the students of Berdimuhamed Annayev 1st Specialized Military School wore the traditional full dress uniforms of the Suvorov Military Schools.

Active schools in Russia

Under MoD

Under the
MVD The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

Active schools outside of Russia

Outside of the Russian Federation, there are two Suvorov Schools operating as of 2020: one each in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

(

), and

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the ...

(

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

). The Minsk Suvorov Military School was established in the former building of the

United Belarusian Military School The United Belarusian Military School named after Central Executive Committee of the Byelorussian SSR ( Russian: Объединённая белорусская военная школа; OBVSH) was the normal military school of the Red Army in Min ...

on 21 May 1952. The Tiraspol Suvorov Military School is located in the partially recognized

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

, being established on 1 September 2017.

Former Soviet era schools

* Voronezh Suvorov Military School * Kuibyshev Suvorov Military School *

* Saratov Suvorov Military school * Stavropol Suvorov Military School * Stalingrad Suvorov Military School * Tambov Suvorov Military School *

Leningrad Suvorov Military School Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(under the MVD) *

Tashkent Suvorov Military School The Tashkent Suvorov Military School (TshSVU) ( Uzbek: Toshkent Suvorov Harbiy Maktabi; Russian: Ташкент Суворовское военное училище) was a Suvorov Military Academy in the Uzbek SSR and one of such other schools ...

(under the MVD)

External sources

*Harriet F. Scott and William F. Scott, Russian Military Directory 2004, pp. 207–208
Association of Suvorov Military Schools

References

{{authority control Suvorov Military School Military education and training in Russia Military education and training in the Soviet Union Military high schools Boarding schools in Russia Alexander Suvorov Military education and training in Belarus Schools in Belarus