Junker (Russia)
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Junker (Юнкер in Russian, or yunker) has several meanings in the Imperial Russia. The word is from the German language, where it means "young lord".
- Junker was a military rank for junior officers of dvoryan descent since 1902.
- Junker was the rank for a volunteer at military service (вольноопределяющийся, volno-opredelyayuščiysya) in the Russian Navy in 19th and 20th centuries.
- Kamer-Junker (cf. German Kammerjunker) was a courtier title defined in the Table of Ranks, generally equating to valet de chambre or Groom of the Chamber.
- Junker was a term for students of any military or junker school in between 1864 and 1917.
[edit] Junker schools
Junker schools in Russia were introduced in 1864. They were usually located next to district headquarters in a given region. Junker schools prepared low-rank military for officer rank. In 1900, the Russian government established junker infantry schools in Moscow and Kiev, in 1902 - junker cavalry school in Yelizavetgrad. In 1901, the government transformed all former district junker schools into 7 infantry schools (St.Petersburg, Vilna, Tiflis, Odessa, Kazan, Chuguyev, Irkutsk), 1 cavalry school (Tver) and 3 Cossack schools (Novocherkassk, Stavropol, Irkutsk).
Every junker school had a 3-year program. In order to enroll into a junker school, a student had to attend a gymnasium or cadet corps for 6 years or pass a corresponding exam.
