Teenagers in s alted vests, with a swaying gait and the habit of seasoned men… Jung is a kind of symbol of eternity and the inviolability of naval traditions. If there is a boy who is ready not to leave the burning deck, then there will be a fleet!
The article will focus on the Solovetsky Jung School, the history of this institution, its creation, graduates and memory.
Students of Petrova
Jungs appeared in Russia almost simultaneously with the fleet - in 1707, Peter the Great created the country's first school, where young people were trained as sailors. This school operated in Kronstadt, but not for long. Then there was a similar school at the Navigation School, and in 1912 an attempt was made to restore the Kronstadt institution.
The reason for the establishment of such schools (by the way, for a long time the name was written in violation of the norms of Russian grammar - “cadet school”, since the term “cadet” itself is of Dutch origin) is the need to provide future sailors with professional training. A sailor needed to know and be able to do much more than a soldier, and to prepare goodsailors from recruits or conscripts was not easy - it took a lot of time.
The Soviet authorities also understood this, and in 1940 they created their own Jung school on the island of Valaam. Yes, only her students did not have time to get good training - the war did not wait for them. What is the role of the Solovetsky Jung school? We will talk about this later.
Comrades to change
Valaam cabin boys died almost all (out of 200 people, no more than a dozen survived), fighting for the so-called "Nevsky Piglet". They proved to be patriots and heroes, but they did not fulfill their main purpose - they could not become a personnel reserve for the fleet. And the problem was growing rapidly - in the first war years, experienced sailors died en masse, and it was impossible to replace them with conscripts from remote areas where they had never seen the sea. Poorly educated candidates were also not suitable - they were not able to cope with rather complex ship equipment.
The reservists who had served earlier were sent to the ships, but they also managed to forget a lot, and the equipment did not stand still. The conscripts, many of whom were already well over thirty, could not be considered full-fledged professional sailors. There is a need to create a new school for the training of sailors who could serve in war conditions and cope with ship equipment.
Admiral's decree establishing a school
The corresponding decision was made by the People's Commissar of the Navy of the USSR, Admiral N. G. Kuznetsov. It is in his honor that the now very famous Russian aircraft carrier is named, which performedrecently a trip to the Syrian shores. On May 25, 1942, the admiral signed a decree establishing a cabin boy school on the Solovetsky Islands.
The institution was supposed to train sailors of the most important speci alties for wartime: radio operators, signalmen, helmsmen, electricians, mechanics, minders, as well as naval boatswains.
Solovki were convenient for several reasons - both close to the war zone, and relatively safe, and there was some technical base, and it was easy to adapt the former monastic premises for classrooms and barracks. The academic year was planned to start on September 1, thus leaving time for the admission campaign and the preparation of study programs. It was necessary to recruit exclusively volunteers through the Komsomol organization. However, Admiral N. G. Kuznetsov specifically indicated in his order that non-Komsomol members can become cadets.
Violators of the Geneva Convention
I must say, many of the cabin boy candidates took this admiral's clarification in a peculiar way. Although officially 15-16-year-old teenagers were recruited to the school, but almost immediately, by hook or by crook, cadets appeared there who frankly did not reach Komsomol age. During the war, there were many cases of loss or damage to documents, and it was not always possible to verify the data. The youngest Solovki cabin boy at the time of admission to study was only … 11 years old!
Yes, the recruitment of 15-year-old boys into cabin boys (and a year later they had to go to serve!) clearly contradictedthe norms of the humanitarian Geneva Convention, which prohibited the use of persons under the age of 18 in regular military service. But on the other hand, these actions fully corresponded to the norms of morality and patriotic moods of Soviet wartime youth.
Soviet boys knew for sure: the fascist must be beaten until he is completely exterminated! But the majority of them had no idea about the existence of the Geneva Convention and did not want to have it. Those children of the USSR who changed their year of birth from 1925 to 1923 in their new passports in order to get to the front faster or swore at the age of 11 that they were already 15 were distinguished by the main quality of a well-bred child - the desire to become adults as soon as possible. And they understood growing up correctly - as responsibility, work and duty.
Fierce competition
And there were a lot of such young people in the USSR! The former cabin boys themselves said that, for example, in Moscow, with a distribution of 500 places for the first set, 3,500 applications were submitted in a few days.
However, they chose strictly. It is a mistake to think that during the war only homeless children were sent to the Suvorov schools or the Jung school. This was also done, but only with those vagrant children who definitely did not stain themselves with crimes. More often, young workers, former little partisans and sons of regiments, as well as children of dead servicemen, became candidates.
They had to have an education of at least 6 classes (some cunning people managed to get around this norm) and good he alth (it was more difficult here - medical boards "wrapped" many). Taught them from 9 to11 months, very intensive, and the program included not only the disciplines of the speci alty, but also the Russian language, mathematics, natural sciences. They even arranged a dance school in the best traditions of the Russian fleet (with a hint that captains would still grow out of the cabin boys - the ability to dance was considered mandatory for the “correct” naval officer). Prepared young men became a really valuable personnel reserve.
Unrecognized Veterans of Jung School
The Solovetsky Navy Jung School produced 5 graduations (3 during the war, and 2 after it ended - these graduates were mainly sent to minesweepers, to clear the seas from mines). Later, the school was transferred to Kronstadt, and the Solovki cabin boys ended - Kronstadt ones appeared.
The school of the Solovetsky Jung during the war released 4111 people who then served in all fleets (distributed strictly, due to necessity). Almost 1,000 youngsters did not return home, having given their lives to defend the Motherland. Most of them were radio operators, but there were quite a few minders and artillery electricians. There were helmsmen, signalmen and representatives of other marine speci alties.
Frequently, on ships, graduates of the Solovetsky Jung School turned out to be perhaps the most educated and trained members of the team (tension with personnel continued until the end of the war). In these cases, a paradoxical situation developed - 16-17-year-old boys found themselves in the role of mentors and leaders of 40-year-old uncles. Of course, they did not forget to remind the cabin boys about subordination, but still they studied conscientiously. However, the older conscripts still remembered the campaign well.to eliminate adult illiteracy, when 10-year-old pioneers also acted as teachers for grandparents. So the Soviet sailors understood well: young does not mean little knowledge.
They were not rewarded very willingly, but they were rewarded. Solovetsky graduate V. Moiseenko in 1945 received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Sasha Kovalev (he was not even Alexander yet - Sasha!) had the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Patriotic War; many were awarded medals. But with the post-war recognition, things did not work out. Until 1985, Solovetsky cabin boys were not even considered participants in the Great Patriotic War! There was a deliberate concealment of the fact that they took a military oath (perhaps the same Geneva Convention is to blame, from which fifteen-year-old captains had to be hidden). And only the persistence of Marshal Akhromeev made it possible to correct the injustice.
But the memory was preserved without regard to bureaucratic red tape. Already in 1972 (the 30th anniversary of the school), the first monuments to boys from Solovki began to appear, and the congress of former cabin boys became traditional.
Versatile Brotherhood
It is noteworthy that among the cabin boys who survived the war, there were a lot of versatile gifted people who achieved a lot in various speci alties.
B. Korobov, Y. Pandorin and N. Usenko were connected with the fleet all their lives, rising to the rank of admiral, rear admiral and captain of the 2nd rank, respectively. These three sailors received the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union after the war under various circumstances. Four more former graduates were awardedstars of Heroes of Socialist Labor.
I. K. Peretrukhin chose military service in another area - he became a counterintelligence officer. Those cabin boys who decided to change their uniform with a peakless cap for a civilian suit also showed themselves perfectly. B. T. Shtokolov earned the title of People's Artist of the USSR - he was a famous opera singer, performer of bass parts. V. V. Leonov starred in several dozen films; in addition, he was a bard, an amateur performer of his own songs. G. N. Matyushin fought for the preservation of the history of his native country as resolutely as he defended it from the enemy - the archaeologist received the title of academician. V. G. Guzanov wrote scripts for films and books; he also did a lot to establish cultural Russian-Japanese ties, was a recognized specialist in Japanese studies. Some of his books are written in Japanese.
But one of the most notorious violators of the Geneva Convention has acquired the widest notoriety. Valentin Savich Pikul, upon entering the Solovetsky School, attributed a year to himself. He happened to carry out military service, but fate was favorable - the young sailor survived. And later, V. S. Pikul became famous as perhaps the most famous Soviet and Russian writer specializing in historical novels. Soviet readers (actually spoiled by good literature) stood in line for his books and typed them for themselves on typewriters. At the same time, almost half of Pikul's novels are somehow connected with the marine theme.
The book about the Solovetsky school Jung "Boys withbows"
The writer did not forget his turbulent youth in Solovki. He dedicated the novel "Boys with Bows" to his schoolmates and their difficult fate. Described the life of the Solovetsky school and the fate of its graduates in his works and V. G. Guzanov.
If these works of former youngsters are essentially autobiographical literature, then there is also popular literature, designed to convey to the youth of today the memory of the feat of their peers. An example is the collection "The Sea Calls the Bold". It is noteworthy that it was published in Yaroslavl - where is Yaroslavl, and where is Solovki!
The history of the Solovetsky Jung school was also reflected in Soviet cinema - on its basis the film "Jung of the Northern Fleet" was shot.
Memory in stone about the famous school
This reliable material also adequately preserves the feat of young heroes in vests. The very first monument appeared on Solovki in honor of the 30th anniversary of the school. It was built by the former cabin boys themselves, on their own and at their own expense.
Later, after the official recognition of the Solovki youths as veterans of the Great Patriotic War, both the authorities and the general public were involved in perpetuating their memory. In Moscow in 1995, the Solovetsky Yung Square appeared. In 1993, a monument to young sailors was erected on the embankment of the Northern Dvina, and in 2005, on the square named after them (in both cases, the author was the sculptor F. Sogayan).
But the most interesting monument stands in the yard of one of the Moscow schools (now the Vertikal gymnasium). It appeared in 1988, andthe author of the project was also a Solovki graduate - the artist E. N. Goryachev. The Moscow school became famous for the fact that it created the country's first museum of the Solovki youths - with the help of the veterans themselves and the enthusiasm of teachers and students. It should be noted that the Komsomol also played a significant role in its organization - the communist youth union was engaged not only in propaganda, but also (to a greater extent) in moral and patriotic education. The museum appeared in 1983, and until 2012 it was headed by Captain 1st Rank (retired) N. V. Osokin, a former Solovki cabin boy.
“Comrades, I never thought that a museum would be opened about the cabin boys,” bard V. V. Leonov wrote on this occasion. His poems have become the motto of this unique institution.
Happy anniversary, comrades
In 2017, the Solovetsky Jung School celebrated its 75th anniversary. Celebrations on this occasion were held in Moscow, Arkhangelsk and, of course, on Solovki. In recent years, the fate of former cadets (13 of them now live in the Arkhangelsk region) and the school of the Solovetsky youths in Arkhangelsk and its leadership have become very interesting. The traditional anniversary meeting of the few remaining graduates was held in a solemn atmosphere. The leadership of the region spoke about the need to create a museum and memorial on Solovki.
Really - the Solovetsky Islands, where the Jung school lived, should be ashamed that in this respect they lost the championship to Moscow. Moreover, the leadership of the current Solovetsky Monastery treats the initiative to create a Jung Museum with understanding and support. For thisFor a good cause, the monks agree to "move a little" and provide any assistance in scientific and organizational work.
And the school itself can also be revived. A proposal was sent to the President of Russia to transfer some structures of the naval cadet corps to Solovki so that the heroic Solovki cabin boys would again serve on Russian ships. Who knows. Perhaps the history of the famous Solovetsky Jung School has not ended yet…
