Since the Field Engineering Troops, already in T times, required especially trained officers and lower ranks, Emperor Peter 1, first of all, took care of the founding of the Engineering School, for the dissemination and development of theoretical education in the Engineering department in Russia. When the first School of Engineering was opened is still a controversial issue.
A. Savelyev (Historical essay of Engineering Administration in Russia) dates the founding of the first Engineering School to 1700. |
Although I could not find anywhere direct indications that it was established in 1700, the Archive of Old Files (at the St. Petersburg Artil. Museum, St. Z., l. 917-920) preserved records of the costs of maintaining this school, from which it is clear that the Engineering School opened its operations on August 1, 1701 1).
N.V. Brandenburg (Material for the Historical Artillery Administration, 1876) and M. Maksimovsky (Historical sketch of the development of the Chief Engineer. Teacher) date the founding of the Engineering School to 1712 and claim that the school, opened on August 1, 1701, was only the Artillery School, however, I believe that I don’t think A. Savelyev is more fair. Perhaps it bore the name of the Artillery School, but, for all that, it also trained engineers.
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1) From the personal decree preserved in the archives, it is clear that in this school they studied: “other Engineering Sciences?)”.
2) In the same decree the following is expressed: “1702 Yuda, Olya 19, from the list of the above students were sent to the Engineering School
24 people 3)". Of course, this fully confirms the existence of the Engineering School.
1) Mater. for History Artil. Ex., Brandenburg, p. 241. 2)—3) Arch. old dl. at St. Petersburg. Artil. Music, St. 5, l. 645 and St. 7, l. 641.
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3) The very decree of Peter 1, issued on January 16, 1712!) does not determine the time of the foundation of the Engineering School, but says this: “The Engineering School should be multiplied, namely, to find a master from the Russians who would teach cieiri, or to send to the tower for the villages to teach, and having created arithmetic to finish, teach leomet- 70 as much as before engineering, and then give it to an engineer to teach fortifications and always keep the same number as 100 people or 150.” Consequently, from this decree it is quite clear that the Engineering School existed before 1712. And since in the archives there are no traces of the establishment, except for any other school, then, in all likelihood, the school, opened on August 1, 1701, was founded not only for artillerymen alone, but also for Engineers. It was called Artillery because the Engineering Troops at that time did not constitute a special type of weapon, they were part of the Artillery.
This School was opened in Moscow; about its foundation it is said as follows: 2) “It was ordered to build wooden schools in the new cannon yard and in Pmkh zikolakh to teach cannon and other outside officials of children or literature and written education and science and other Engineering sciences and being in only two schools, learn the above-mentioned sciences nearby, and having learned without the decree of Moscow not to move out, also to this rank, except for Autillery 3) not to excommunicate her, and to feed and send it to you in the prescribed schools, and for food you are entitled to 8 denies per day ‘from ten days from half, buying bread and grub; VV fasted fish, and V5 small meat and cook porridge or cabbage soup, and then other money for shoes and clothes and shirts. And teach and be re-important to the Sovereign especially, salary and dacha, depending on the teaching.”
At first there were few students in schools (in 1713 there were 26 Russians and foreigners in schools; and on November 25, 1713, the Highest order was issued to increase the number of students to 100 people). The students in the Engineering School were of different ages: among them there were very young - 12 years old, as well as older ones - 42 years old.
Subsequently (1712), one of the captured Swedes, Ma1or Reiter, with a salary of 240 rubles, was appointed to study “Engineering” in schools. per year. In addition, for training in “inertial action,” it was ordered to “select 10 people, without committing corruption, and give them the whole science to Captain Fuchs, along with other officers who are experienced in this and teach them decently, and when they are trained, 710 you can show them a test for Du-
3) Arch. old dbl at S.-P.B. Artil. Music St. 3, l, 917.
3) It is this later circumstance that, upon finishing school, they were released into the Artillery, leads some to the incorrect conclusion that it was an artillery