Riga Higher Military Political School


The Riga Higher Military Political School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Biryuzov was a military academy in the Soviet Union located in the captial of the Latvian SSR, the city of Riga. In the years it existed, it trained military personnel in a number of specializations from its headquarters on Ezermalas Street.

History

The school was the successor to the School of Coastal Defense of the Soviet Navy. It was created on 18 April 1932 by order of the Revolutionary Military Council. The school was originally multi-disciplinary and only began training for communications commanders in 1941. It was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 22 January 1944. By 1960, the school consisted of personnel of the Strategic Missile Forces. On 6 March 1965, the school was named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Biryuzov. In 1977, the school became a military-political school. Standard educational buildings, barracks, staff buildings, a canteen, a sports hall and warehouses were located there. In 1986, integrated week long field trips began to be organized as part of the school. In 1991, courses of the political faculties, and the entire engineering faculty, were transferred to missile schools in the RSFSR. Those who did not want to continue training were given the option to quit the Soviet Army. The last graduation of officers took place on 29 April 1992. The building of the school now houses the National Defence Academy of Latvia.

Heads

The following served as heads of the school:
Notable alumni include Vice Admiral and Hero of the Soviet Union Ilya Khvorostyanov and Grigory Ditsky. Other alumni include officers like Mikhail Gatsko, who was a long time legal specialist for the Russian military leadership. On the 85th anniversary of the founding of the school in 2016, the St. Petersburg Council of the School Veterans hosted celebrations in St. Petersburg. A similar event was held in Riga.