Junker (Russia)

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.

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, Orenburg).

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.