Chapter 1832 Living in the Student Dormitory
Xiao Peng hadn't expected that the place Denisov had arranged for him to live was actually... a school? And a military school for young people, at that.
There are many military schools in Russia, from primary schools to universities. This is a system they established during the Tsarist era.
Why are Russians known as a "warlike nation"? They cultivate military acumen in their children from a young age, with military training beginning in elementary school. This training goes beyond simply marching and forming formations; elementary school students can practically master loading and unloading firearms. Even more so is the case with those who attend military academies, where children enroll at the age of six or seven, wearing uniforms and undergoing military-style training, following military regulations and work schedules. They can enter military academies directly after graduating from high school.
Children in other countries go to amusement parks like those at Disneyland, but what about here? There's a theme park in Moscow covering 55 square kilometers—roughly the size of fifty Shanghai Disneyland parks. You can drive tanks, play with heavy machine guns, skydive, and ride in military fighter jets. Most of the time, parents bring their children there.
In major Russian cities, you can also see teenage soldiers in formal military uniforms. Despite their youth, their every move exudes a soldierly demeanor. They are all cadets of the Russian Junior Military Academy. Every year, the military parade on Red Square is led by graduates of the academy, and formations of these academy graduates often appear: many of these former students have become officers and generals.
One of the more famous military academies is the Suvorov Military Academy, which accepts male students graduating from fourth grade. Admission is based on a competitive exam system. The admissions process is quite challenging, with only one in ten students admitted. Once admitted, all fees are essentially free.
The name of 'fighting nation' is well-deserved in this regard!
When Xiao Peng first entered the dormitory, he was a little confused: he saw a dormitory door open, and a girl wrapped only in a bath towel walked out of the room. When she saw Denisov, she greeted him.
"Is this the girls' dormitory?" Xiao Peng was stunned.
Denisov laughed and said, "What girls' dormitory? Our dormitories here are all mixed."
Xiao Peng gave a thumbs-up: "You guys are really working hard to increase the birth rate."
Denisov laughed heartily. "It's tradition, tradition! I love Russia!"
Xiao Peng whistled. "That's not right. You shouldn't live here. Aren't you supposed to live with Terekin? You're not going to school here anymore, are you?"
Denisov said, "This is a special offer for children from the Miners' Family Compound. I went to school here from elementary school to high school, and I lived here until I had a place to live. Originally, there were ten of us in the dormitory, but they all found jobs and moved out. This has become my 'secret little world.' After all, I can't stay with Terekhin all the time, so I need some privacy, right?"
"Wait, you said high school?" Xiao Peng was stunned: "Are all the people living here high school students?"
"Yes, what's the problem?" Denisov asked.
Xiao Peng shook his head. The girl just now didn't look like a high school student at all.
He followed Denisov forward and suddenly saw a picture frame on the wall with a poem in it. He stopped and read the poem in Russian:
For most of us, life is a bumpy road.
We are born to scream in pain
We strive to grow and learn to fly,
Why?
Just to die one day?
I refuse to do this.
Life must have a purpose.
We forged a path through the thorns
We must embark on the journey fearlessly.
Move forward bravely towards the finish line.
If an enemy stands in my way, I will scream like an eagle.
I won't be a prey
I will join the war and fight to the end!
Because I was born in Russia!
Denisov laughed and said, "Isn't this poem good?"
Xiao Peng was shocked: "What does this place have to do with the Podolsk Army School?"
Denisov was taken aback. "You know the Podolsk Military Academy?"
Xiao Peng pointed at the poem on the wall and said, "Isn't this the poem written by the Podolsk Army School when they went to the Ilinsky Front to fight? How come we can see it here?"
The Podolsk Army School was a school in the former Soviet era. It was originally an infantry school. Two years later, an artillery school was added, and then a year later...
This school is gone!
It was destroyed in a serious war!
On September 30, 1941, Germany launched Operation Typhoon, virtually annihilating the Soviet forces in Bryansk during the Battle of Vyazma. Moscow's gates were wide open, and the Germans could have captured it in one fell swoop, ending the war once and for all. They advanced to within 200 kilometers of Moscow. The Soviets, however, had no troops capable of mounting a decisive battle against the Germans.
At this moment, the Podolsk Army School stepped forward. Led by its principal, Major General Smirnov, 3,500 cadets charged the Ilinsky front. These cadets were largely young, inexperienced teenagers, with only a few instructors being veterans. Their orders were to hold off the Germans for at least five days! Their weapons? Rifles, grenades, and a limited number of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, ready to face the oncoming armored corps.
Such a group of rookies exceeded the task despite being outnumbered and outequipped by the enemy, and held out for twelve days until reinforcements arrived. More than 2,500 of them died on the battlefield, most of them under the age of 20.
It was thanks to them that the course of the war was changed, allowing the Soviet Union to sound the clarion call for a counterattack and ultimately win the war.
If they hadn't held on for those twelve days, Moscow would have fallen long ago.
However, due to the heavy casualties, and the fact that many of the survivors became veterans and were sent to various battlefields, the school also disappeared into the long river of history. The poem on the wall was written by an unknown student of the Podolsk Army School before leaving for the battlefield. I didn't expect to see it here.
Denisov replied, "Although we're quite remote here, this school has been around for quite a while. When we founded the city in 1953, a veteran instructor from the Podolsk Army School, who had fought on the Ilinsky Front, became our first principal. He brought the Podolsk Army School's style with us. Now I understand that this is a great way for us Norilsk people to leave this continent. It's a pity that the staff were so ignorant. Let's not talk about it anymore. I've reached my room."
He was about to open a door when he heard someone call him: "Denisov, are you going to the school dance tonight?"
Xiao Peng looked in the direction of the voice and was completely stunned: "Why are you here?"
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