Everything here is like in the army: getting up at seven in the morning, skydiving, shooting, cross-country with full gear. The church smelled of incense and wax of melted candles. Under the high vaults, the oath of allegiance to the Motherland sounded unusually solemn....

Everything here is like in the army: getting up at seven in the morning, skydiving, shooting, cross-country with full gear

IN

the church smelled of incense and the wax of melted candles. Under the high vaults, the oath of allegiance to the Motherland sounded unusually solemn. The boys looked in admiration at their ceremonial tunics and accepted the blessing of Father Sergius for good deeds. So two years ago, in the Ryazan Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, on the Yar, a new page began in the life of the local Cossacks. The chieftains of the Ryazan district congratulated their first pupils on their successful enrollment in the cadet classes and joining the Cossack army.

Boys from all over Ryazan come to the cadet corps. To enter here, you must pass an interview and pass the entrance exams. Even in the first year of admission, three people applied for one place, although the selection criteria for pupils are not quite common. The guys must be of the Orthodox faith and be sure to be baptized - this is the first condition. And endurance, health, good academic performance and just a positive character without fail, but then.

Rise here at seven in the morning - and no five minutes to "lie down". Then exercise and study. The first half of the day is full of tension: the time for studying the exact sciences, computer science, and foreign languages. Classes are taught by lyceum teachers, because the program is more complex and intense than in ordinary schools. Once a week Father Sergiy teaches the cadets classes in the history of religion. Here the Law of God is studied. The guys meet and see off the day with prayer. Well, after, when the lessons are over, you can relax a bit at ballroom dancing, play musical instruments, sing in the choir, work out in the chess section. Of course, physical training is not forgotten either: the boys must master the techniques of hand-to-hand combat and be able to ski. But karate, boxing and a brass band are already a hobby of interest.

On the day of our meeting, senior cadets were jumping from a parachute tower and a high-altitude simulator, practicing landing techniques at military training camps in the Ryazan Airborne Regiment. The excitement, excitement and risk of the long-awaited day remained as the most thrilling experience from the training camp and more ... shooting! For the sake of this, it was possible to crawl in a plastunsky way, dig trenches and even run three thousand meters with a full combat gear. The exoticism of army life was so exhausting that the guys instantly fell asleep, having reached the beds, unable to undress. But before the morning parade, I still had to polish my shoes, sew on clean collars and, in general, redo a lot of petty nonsense.

Everything in the barracks is like in the army. Orderly. Neatly tucked wooden bunks. Purity. Stacks of ironed uniforms and linens in closets. Nothing superfluous, however, the regimental cat and dog are always waiting outside, under a canopy.

I asked them how they would view the situation if they suddenly had to close cadet classes for lack of money. They did not find the answer: they were dumbfounded.

“We won’t put up, … no … no, we won’t put up with it,” Dima Abramov was the first to come to his senses.

The guys started shouting at once, but somehow suddenly stopped and fell silent. Discipline.

- Well, if so, then ... what then ... - Sergey Baranov muttered, - and no one will help us?

The guys do not even want to think about another life. Not all of them dream of a military career, but studying in cadet classes is considered a lucky ticket.

- Write in the first line! The vocation calls to the Institute of Communications, - Sergey Baranov tried to shout down his friends.

- No, no, the first - automobile. No! Military school ... - Aleksey Vorobyov changed his mind. - All the same, we are all Cossacks, no matter who we become.

Boys are surprisingly sober about life. And they already have clear plans for the future reorganization of Russia.

- To begin with, to disperse the government, of course, and recruit specialists into it. And make homeless people and parasites work,” commented Sasha Kalygin. Everything in life has to be right. Why only our president listens to foreign advisers who decide how to live in Russia!

— No, no one likes what is happening in the country! It is necessary to dispossess the oligarchs and stop the war in Chechnya. And not to let anyone in to our oil so that prices are lower, because nothing can be bought anymore, - in all seriousness, Dmitry drew a line in the conversation. - So our Russian guys go abroad to earn money - this is a humiliation of Russia. Do you agree?