The schools established by Peter I did not provide fully trained personnel - neither in general education, nor in artillery relations. And, as already noted, there were very few of those who graduated from school. As a result, both under Peter and later, it was practiced to send young people abroad for training. And before getting their own good artillerymen or generally educated people, it was widely practiced to attract foreigners. These foreigners enjoyed great privileges in comparison with the Russians, and therefore had little interest in the development of sciences in Russia. But among them one - Minikh, who had long become akin to the Russian people and realized all the inconvenience and offense of the current state of affairs for the Russians - made Empress Anna Ioannovna equalize in the position (and with respect to remuneration) of Russian officers with foreign ones, as well as the establishment of a cadet corps for the corresponding training young people.
True, according to Minich, the corps was not supposed to be established solely for the needs of artillery and not even exclusively for military needs, and “even not every person is inclined towards one military man, so the state also needs political and civil training,” the corps was intended to prepare young nobles and for civil service.
In accordance with this purpose of the corps, the study of foreign languages, the ability to deal with people, especially with foreigners, the ability to speak beautifully, as “… this great science is sometimes a great help, and especially in such cases, in whose strength, courage and courage are not valid. She provides a clever way to obtain favors from princes and greats, as well as to conduct deeds and contracts with friends, enemies and foreign people. Moreover, through her it is possible to act as a ruler over human hearts and to convert soldiers' and people's opinions at will”().
It is interesting to note some more considerations of Munnich about the benefits and necessity of establishing a new educational institution in Russia.
Practicing business trips to study abroad did not always bring the desired result. Young people had to leave their parents, spend a lot of money, and many of the business travelers, having no supervision over themselves in foreign lands, returned as ignorant as they left.
The decree on the opening of a military educational institution in Russia followed on July 29, 1731, and the opening of the campus called the "Cadet Academy" took place in February 1732.
But the Gentry Corps cannot be regarded as a full-fledged artillery school. And artillery education was still concentrated in artillery schools - St. Petersburg and Moscow. The latter, however, did not exist for long.
The St. Petersburg Artillery School was located on Liteiny Prospekt, near the Liteiny House. Classes at the school began at 6 am and lasted until 12 noon. After a two-hour break for lunch, classes were conducted from 14:00 to 17:00. The training was carried out mainly by cramming in a harsh environment - under the threat of flogging.
Students were required to memorize theorems - with the aim that this "makes those who are attached to theorems restrained and cautious in reasoning and, at the same time, insensitively teaches them to the attention that is so necessary in science and deeds."
It is clear that schooling did not give reliable results, did not develop a love of science. The eleven hours of uninterrupted class oppressed the students.
In the 40s of the XVIII century. exams were introduced for young people who have reached the age of 16 - including for students of the Artillery School. The exam was carried out in the presence of a member of the military collegium, in the rules of the Orthodox faith, arithmetic and geometry. In case of failure in these subjects, they were discharged from school without seniority as a sailor - because "from a person who did not show any joy in teaching such easy and very necessary things", one could not expect benefit ().
The artillery school was either connected or shared with the engineering school. In 1733, they were separated, and Mikhailo Borisov was appointed a teacher in Artillery, who was charged with teaching students apythmetic, geometry and trigonometry, supervising them and taking care of their food and clothing. For training in drawing, a master of carving was appointed from the Arsenal, and officers and non-commissioned officers were appointed from military units to train cannon exercise (artillery work).
Those who graduated from the training were released as non-commissioned officers in the field and garrison artillery, as artisans in the arsenals and as gunpowder in the powder factories.
With the appointment of Captain Ginter as chief (director) of artillery in 1736, the school underwent significant organizational changes. Two departments were formed: the first was a drawing school, divided into three classes; the second - apithmetic and other nayk school, also divided into three classes - geometric, arithmetic and verbal science.
In the drafting school, they began to study artillery not only in practice (under the leadership of officers and non-commissioned officers, commanded from units), but also theoretically - “the art of gaining scales and verifying compasses with turns; to draw guns, mortars and howitzers."
The school taught laboratory science. It should be noted that the latter was especially widely developed, and the students acquired not only great knowledge in this area, but also achieved great art. This was also facilitated by the special development in that era of the popular art of fireworks. For the production of "funny lights" under Peter I, a green (gunpowder) factory was transferred to the school.
The students wore a special uniform, which they were required to strictly observe. On the streets, students were required to behave decently and salute not only officers, but also all noble gentlemen and ladies.
There were no special books and manuals on artillery, except for the books brought by Peter I from abroad.
Only in 1767 appeared a manual, compiled by Captain Velyashev-Volyntsev - under the title "Artillery proposals for the training of the noble youth of the artillery and engineering gentry cadet corps" (in 1762 the book "Initial knowledge of theory and practice in artillery with the introduction of hydrostatic rules with tasks ", compiled by artillery captain Mikhail Danilov).
It is interesting to note the following words from the preface to the readers: “An artilleryman who wants to succeed in this science should not only have enough in geometry, algebra, but also have some enlightenment in physics and mechanics”, as well as the definition of the essence of artillery as a science (): “Artillery there is a science that shows the rules of how to make a compound called gunpowder, and the machine that operates it, and the use of weapons."
The note of the artillery of Major Mikhail Vasilyevich Danilov, written in 1771 and published in Moscow in 1842, is extremely interesting. It characterizes the life, way of life and the nature of education in artillery schools.
So, the teacher at the school was the bayonet-junker Alabushev, according to the notes, a drunken and absurd person who "was under arrest for the third murder and was taken to teach at school." This bayonet-cadet, of course, attached particular importance to the assimilation of the sciences of the rod. But, as Danilov notes, then there was such a great "shortage of learned people with artillery that it was necessary to resort to the implantation of artillery knowledge of people like Alabushev."
Of course, not all teachers were of this kind, and Danilov mentions Captain Grinkov, a "diligent and painstaking" man who managed to inspire students with a desire for studies without resorting to drastic measures. Grinkov greatly improved the teaching of the school, and the school released many people who turned out to be useful artillery. Danilov especially notes the activities of Captain Ginter, who in 1736 was appointed director of the St. Petersburg artillery school. According to Danilov, Ginter was "a pleasant and quiet man and at that time the first with his knowledge, who brought all the artillery in good proportion."
