The Education of Serbian Officers in Russia in the 19th and First Decade of the 20th Century Cover Image

Школовање српских официра у Русији у XIX и првој деценији XX века
The Education of Serbian Officers in Russia in the 19th and First Decade of the 20th Century

Author(s): Slobodan Đukić
Subject(s): Military history, Political history, International relations/trade, Military policy, History of Education, 19th Century, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919)
Published by: Institut za strategijska istraživanja
Keywords: Training of officers in Russia; education; 19th century; military literature; Serbian army; military cooperation; USSR;

Summary/Abstract: The first country Serbian military officers were sent to for military education was Russia in 1833. By the mid-19th century, Russo-Serbian official military cooperation had been interrupted; however, Serbian officers went privately to Russia to continue their military education and career advancement. During the last decades of the 19th century, Serbian officers were routinely trained and educated in military academies in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Military cooperation was supplemented by sending Serbian officers to Russian field schools as well as on internships. By the beginning of the 20th century, Serbian officer education in Russia reached its peak. Large numbers of officers of different specialties were sent to Russia for further education. Russia was the only foreign country that opened the doors of its military educational institutions without reservation. Serbia saw Russia, with which it had many similarities, as a model. Both the Serbian and Russian armed forces emphasized recruit literacy and reinforcing national and religious consciousness. Officers educated in Russia contributed to a large extent in the modernization of the Serbian armed forces. Generals Dimitrije Đurić and Mihaio Magdalenić were noted for their mastery of military theory, while those who served as minister of the army, including Generals Sava Grujić, Mihailo Živković, Milutin Marinović, and Miloš Božanović, and Colonel Radoje Bojović, were extremely influential in organizing the Serbian Army.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 61-76
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Serbian