01.00.00

NATSOT kids marching

00.06

In a city in central Russia - a new generation are marching to a 19^th century beat. Their uniforms are exact replicas from 1845. That's when th Voronezh Cadet Corps was founded. And that's what the community is trying to revive.

00.25

NATSOT - shouting orders

00.29

It's a school to raise boys to be officers and gentlemen.

00.34

Int: Alexander Golomedov,

School Director

The spirit of old Russian officers has been lost by the modern army. It has been destroyed over the past years. Honour, dignity, self-sacrifice for the Motherland - these are the notions we want to revive now and introduce to the boys.

00.59

Boys putting on uniforms

The teachers' aim is to recreate the rituals and attitudes of pre-revolutionary Russia, before the Communists overthrew the  Tsar... and the cadet corps.

01.10

Boys in line

Denis has been with the school since it reopened 5 years ago. Next year he'll be one of the first graduates.

01.18

Int: Dennis

I think that tradition can help us to revive our country.

01.34

older boys putting on white gloves

Dennis' first class of the day isn't maths or science... but something just as important to the school curriculum... ballroom dancing.

NATSOT dancing

01.53

Girl vox pop

It was really beautiful then, I feel like I go back to that time.

02.03

church... boy picking nose

Recreating what the Communists destroyed will be a massive task. Even the church where the old cadet corps worshipped was taken over by the state. It was used as a factory for Christmas decorations. While the community is rebuilding the church, the school is trying to rebuild the faith... though it's one lesson where some boys struggle for inspiration.

02.27

gvs town

Voronezh is a typical, depressed Russian city. The state has no money for building new schools. All it provided for the cadet corps was some dilapidated old buildings. Everything else is paid for by the boys' families.

02.44

Yevgeny running home

But this is not a private school for Russia's new rich. Yevgeny is an orphan who lives with his grandfather. It's a struggle to find $60 a month to pay for his fees. But Georgi Stepanovich has no doubt it's worth it.

02.57

Int: Georgi Stepanovich

He will not be irresponsible like everyone else, he'll have discipline for life.

03.08

Yevgeny with cat

Yevgeny, like most boys at school says he wants to be a soldier.

03.12

Int: Yevgeny Stepanovich

Because my grandad was an officer, a senior lieutenant. I like the cadet corps. The year before last I saw the cadets and I liked their uniforms and discipline and I decided to join.

03.39

NATSOT roll-call

Good morning, good morning, good morning to you. Good morning, good morning, we're glad to see you!

03.52

The boys appear extraordinarily well behaved and perhaps it's because they want to be. Their classroom is an oasis of order and certainty in a very uncertain society.

04.13

boys marching

The school teaches the boys to respect authority and serve their country. I asked the director Alexander Golomedov if there was a risk he could be producing fanatical nationalists.

04.25

Int: Alexander Golomedov

Looking back at the history of the Russian army, we see that it's not a problem. There were people of different nationalities in the army. There are over 150 nationalities living in Russia and all of them served in the Russian army.

04.39

boys racing

But the army the boys would enter is not the idealised army on which the cadet corps is modelled. Most of today's soldiers are unpaid, badly fed and brutalised. They're led by an officer corps that is riddled with corruption. But Dennis hopes he and his friends can make a difference. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all officers. He believes the further he looks back into the past, the clearer the future becomes.

05.08

Int: Dennis (English)

At the beginning of this century Russia was one of the greatest countries. And I think with the help of tradition it will be the greatest country in the world.

05.29

boys chanting

As Russia approaches the 21^st century, hope is a rare commodity. It may prove the most valuable gift a school can give.