Formation of Suvorov military schools as the officer training system component

The article examines the specific features of formation of the system of Suvorov military schools stemming from its dual purpose – firstly, upbringing of numerous children left without parental care (including children of officers and Red Army soldiers killed in action at World War II); secondly, the restoration of historical traditions of officer training. Based on the analysis of archival documents, the functionality of Suvorov military schools during the period of their formation is determined, the process of selection and training of personnel for them, the formation of the educational process and everyday support of the first “wave” of schools are analysed. It is shown that Suvorov schools became one of the manifestations of the national-patriotic turn of the Soviet-Russian ideology of the pre-war, war and post-war periods. Indeed, while until the mid-1930s the Soviet government had distanced itself in everything from the “old regime”, already in the late 1930s it was actively searching for ways to ensure the continuity of historical traditions. Suvorov military schools largely reflected this trend, ensuring the continuity of key elements of the pre-revolutionary system of primary military education. We can determine that the first period in the history of Suvorov military schools lasted from 1943 to 1956.