Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy founded

On August 30 (September 11), 1855, Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy was created on the basis of officer classes of Mickhailovsky artillery military school.  Initially it was allotted to the Emperor Military academy and became independent in 1863. The Academy had 3 forms: junior, senior and supplementary.  The first two forms prepared officers for the positions of battery commander and higher, the third one – for service at artillery factories and scientific institutions of artillery department.

The Academy had its own library, a chemical laboratory, a museum and a physics laboratory. The number of students in all three forms counted 60 officers.  To entrance examination were admitted officers of all arms of the service up to the rank of Guards lieutenant or staff captain of the army inclusive on condition that they have served as officers 3 years minimum including the combatant service for 2 years minimum.

Those who graduated from artillery military school or physical and mathematical University department had only to serve for two years. Scientists, constructors and Academy graduating students had made a major contribution to the development of artillery, small arms and artillery science.  The Russian artillerists were the first in the world to develop the methods of gunfire from closed fire position and applied them practically during the Russian-Japanese war. Among graduating students of the Academy of different years there are many famous commanders-artillerists, celebrated scientists and constructors (the developer of three-linear canon S.I. Mosin, the constructor of guns V.G. Grabin, the pilot P.N. Nesterov and others).

In 1919 Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy was renamed to Artillery Academy of RKKA (Workers’–Peasants’ Red Army). In 1932 the artillery department of the Academy was detached to the independent Artillery Academy (from 1934 bears the name of F.E. Dzerzhinsky) that was transferred to Moscow in 1938.

In 1953 the command departments were removed from the Academy and returned to Leningrad. There, on the original basis of Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy, there was formed the Military Artillery Command Academy (from 1960 – the Military Artillery Academy named after Kalinin)

In September of 1998 the Academy was reorganized into Mikhailovsky Military Artillery University that included three branches – (Kazansky, Kolomensky and Saratovsky, the former Artillery schools.)

On July 9, 2004 Mikhailovsky Military Artillery University was reformed into Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy. In place of branches there were established Kazanskaya Higher Artillery Command School (Military Institute) named after the marshal of artillery M.N. Chistyakov and Kolomenskaya Higher Artillery Command School (Military Institute).

Lit.: Гродский Г. Д. Михайловское артиллерийское училище и академия в XIX столетии. СПб., 1905; Михайловская военная артиллерийская академия [Электронный ресурс] // Министерство обороны Российской Федерации. URL: http://structure.mil.ru/structure/ministry_of_defence/details.htm?id=8710@morfOrgEduc.