The book "An essay on the history of the Naval Cadet Corps", 1852

The rarest edition in excellent condition. Hardcover, modern, pressed in gold. The format is 237*160 mm. The volume is 208 pages + applications.

This publication is one of the first studies on the history of the Russian Navy, going far beyond the description of this military educational institution alone and belongs to the pen of the outstanding Russian historiographer F.F. Veselago. He himself graduated from the Marine Corps in 1834 and, as one of the best graduates of midshipmen, was enrolled to continue his education in the Officer Class, in which he was left for further service.

After the "Essay on the History of the Naval Cadet Corps with the appendix of the list of pupils for 100 years" was published in 1852, F.F. Veselago was deservedly awarded the Demidov Prize of the Imperial Academy of Sciences for this work and the "highest appointment" to process the materials he collected on the history of the Russian Navy. Later, in the 1860s. Veselago, having taken up the position of educator of the future Admiral General of the fleet of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, actually supervised the compilation of the history of the Russian Fleet at the Maritime Ministry, continuing the titanic research work begun by S.I. Elagin, who died prematurely. In 1869, he was elected a member of the Marine Scientific Committee, and in 1873 he was appointed chairman of the Commission for the Analysis, description and Publication of the files of the archive of the Maritime Ministry for the period up to 1805; he began in-depth research of the Russian naval history. For the first time, he published unique materials confirming the advanced and independent path of development of Russian naval art. In his works, he described in detail naval battles and battles, introducing many previously unknown historical facts into scientific circulation and significantly expanding the source base of research on this topic.

An anniversary edition detailing the main milestones of the creation and development of the Naval Cadet Corps over the century, the predecessors of which were the famous Petrovsky "Navigation School" located in the Sukharev Tower in Moscow, and then the Maritime Academy or The Academy of the Marine Guard. In fact, The Naval Gentry Cadet Corps as an elite naval educational institution located in a new building (the former Minikh Palace) on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg, was established in the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on December 15, 1752. The newly formed military educational institution united the abolished Moscow Navigation School, the Naval Academy (Marine Guard), the midshipman company and the naval artillery school under one roof.

The essay, mainly using materials from the journals of the Admiralty Board, tells in detail about the organization and activities of the Navigation School, Peter the Great's personal participation in the training of its pupils, describes in detail the schedules and curriculum for the first Russian military sailors, the role of the first Russian emperor and subsequent monarchs in the creation of the naval officer corps of Russia. Especially warmly told about the last period of the history of the Naval Cadet Corps at that time, the activities of its directors, first of all, Admiral I.L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, who gave 40 years of his service to the leadership of the corps. On the eve of the Patriotic War, in 1811, Admiral I.F. Kruzenshtern, an outstanding navigator and head of the first circumnavigation expedition, was first an inspector, and from 1827 until his death, the director of the Naval Cadet Corps.

A significant place in the book is given to the appendix – a complete list of pupils of the Naval Cadet Corps, released by midshipmen for all 100 years of its existence.