Garrison Schools

the lowest level of military schools in Russia for children of soldiers. The first garrison schools were established by Peter I in 1721. They were reopened by statute on Sept. 21, 1732, under military auspices. The schools enrolled seven-year-old boys. They were taught grammar, arithmetic, and, depending on the type of school, “artillery and engineering sciences,” “soldier exercises,” “arts and skills used by the armies and regiments” (music, playing the flute or drums), clerical skills, metalworking, carpentry, tailoring, shoemaking, and other crafts. At the age of 15, the boy was enrolled in the army. In 1798 the garrison schools were renamed “military-orphan sections.”