The history of Russia's oldest educational institution, the beloved creation of Peter I, began on January 14 (25), 1701, when Peter's decree was issued: "...to have Mathematical and Navigation, that is, the artful science of seafaring." The Navigation School was located in Moscow, in the Sukharev Tower.

Among the first Russian ship commanders was a graduate of the Navigation School of 1707, Captain-Commander I. Koshelev, who in 1725 was entrusted to lead a squadron of ships to Spain.

In 1715, in the new capital of Russia — St. Petersburg — the senior seafaring classes of the Navigation School were used to create the Naval Guard Academy. The Navigation School lost its former status and became a preparatory school attached to the Academy. The Naval Academy was designed for 300 students and was organizationally divided into 6 departments of 50 people each. The Academy was headed by a director, and the departments were commanded by officers from the guard regiments. In 1716, the military rank of "guard marine" (from French meaning "sea guard," "naval guard") was established as a transitional rank from academy student to midshipman (a junior officer rank in the Russian Navy from 1732 to 1917, with a break from 1751–1758). Later, when the academy was transformed into the Naval Noble Cadet Corps, the term "guard marines" came to denote students of the senior classes.

From 1723, those who completed the theoretical course were enrolled in the guard marine company (200 people). In summer, guard marines were assigned to ships and went on practical voyages, while in winter they continued theoretical studies. The length of service as a guard marine depended on abilities, availability of free officer positions, and seniority in the company list. Instead of the prescribed seven years, some became officers in three to four years, while others served as guard marines for up to twenty years. In 1744, a 54-year-old guard marine who had served in this rank for thirty years was retired "due to illness and old age." Between 1717 and 1752, more than 750 people graduated from the Academy.

The efforts of Peter I and his successors, who attracted the best domestic and foreign teachers to teach at this first secular educational institution in Russia, soon bore abundant fruit. A graduate of the Navigation School, the future Vice Admiral Lopukhin, was one of the first Russian officers to become a ship commander and distinguished himself on his sloop "Natalia" in the Battle of Ösel in 1719. His classmate Golovin, personally examined by Peter I, commanded the Baltic Fleet as early as the 1743 campaign.

Let us look at the history of the Corps' knowledge. In a quarter on the bank of the Neva at the beginning of the 18th century, there were residential houses. One of them, at the corner of the 12th line, was built in 1717-1720 according to a design for chambers for the nobility.

In the 1730s, this house and the neighboring ones were purchased by Field Marshal Minikh and rebuilt into a single palace. At the corner of the 11th line at that time was the sugar factory of merchant Kavanagh. In 1796-1798, architect Volkov thoroughly rebuilt all the buildings, uniting the entire block with a single facade.

The house was intended for the Corps of Foreign Confessors, where Greek and other Orthodox youths were trained. The Corps was founded by Catherine II on the initiative of Count Alexei Orlov. The director of the Corps was Actual State Councillor Musin-Pushkin.

In 1715, Peter I created the Naval Academy, on the basis of which in 1752 the Naval Noble Corps (later Cadet Corps) was established. In 1796, Paul I, by one of his first decrees, transferred the Naval Corps from Kronstadt to the former "Minikh" house on Vasilievsky Island.

The center of the main facade, designed in the forms of strict classicism, is emphasized by an Ionic portico of ten columns. The side pavilion towers are crowned with flat domes. The wooden tower in the center, built at the beginning of the 19th century, was intended for astronomical observations.

In 1734-1737, the exemplary house and the neighboring Matveev estate were combined into a single building (Minikh Palace) as a result of reconstruction according to architect Girard's project. The Baroque facade of the two-story stone house on the corner of the Neva embankment and the 12th line of Vasilievsky Island was decorated with "ornamental carpentry cornices." "...on the elevation resembling a pediment, there were four wooden statues, and on both sides of the elevation, wooden trophies arranged in two semicircles..." (Essay on the history of the Naval Cadet Corps with an appendix of the list of pupils over 100 years).

In 1753, the former estate of B. Kh. Minikh and the adjacent Baryatinsky house were transferred for the placement of the Naval Noble Cadet Corps. Construction work to adapt the building for the educational institution was completed by 1755. In 1771, a large fire destroyed wooden structures and damaged stone buildings. The Naval Corps was transferred to Kronstadt to Menshikov's Palace (Italian Palace). Later, repairs were made to the buildings, and a pharmacy and printing house were housed there.

In the 1790s, the Corps of Foreign Confessors was located in this complex. According to Professor Malyshev's assumption, reconstruction was carried out according to the drawings of Ya. I. Schneider (1746-1848). According to this, a dome was erected (presumably over the church space), floors were added, and stone open galleries and houses were built.

In 1797, a bakery, a residential wing for officers, and a Dining Hall (architect Ruska) were constructed. The hall was located on the second floor and supported by brick columns. The kitchen was on the first floor, from which food was lifted to the hall by a hoist. Above the three main entrances were choir lofts supported by elegant metal columns. In 1816, two fires occurred one after another in the building. As a result, half of the church and part of the adjacent rooms were destroyed. In 1817-1825, two wings were built, "the entire building was repaired and covered with iron instead of tiles, the church and conference hall were finished, furniture and other items were brought in." From 1825 to 1852, significant changes were made to both the facade and the interior. A staircase was built in place of the main gates. Repairs were made to the church and "companies," a new kitchen was arranged, and window frames were replaced. In 1832, above the colonnade in the center of the building, a rotating cylindrical superstructure for astronomical observations was constructed at the suggestion of Professor Zeleny. Later, it housed a signal observation post. The ship's mast initially served a decorative role, then was used for raising flag signals. In 1833–1834, the enfilade system of rooms was replaced by a corridor system with two-sided orientation; cold galleries were rebuilt into warm ones; toilets were built in the "companies"; the ceiling height in the infirmary was increased. "Two houses were purchased: a wooden one (Bashutsky's) on the Big Prospect, between the 13th and 14th lines, and a stone one of Admiral Fon-Dezin..." The first was restored after a fire, the second small two-story house was expanded during reconstruction into a large three-story building with basements. The courtyard of this house was built up with barracks to accommodate "lower ranks." "In addition, in a separate corps building on the 13th line, between the embankment and the big prospect, stone three-story barracks were also built for the lower ranks."

In 1843, at the intersection of the library, medical, and two classroom corridors, a round Compass Hall covered with a dome (top light) was built. From 1827 to 1842, a museum was created in the Naval Corps of St. Petersburg by order of Admiral Kruzenshtern (director of the corps). The first exhibits included dried plants, animal taxidermy, elements of national clothing, household items, local weapons, etc. The main attraction was a collection of ship models of the training squadron made by cadets. "The museum occupied a significant area... the halls stretched in an enfilade from the Conference Hall to the Dining Hall of the Naval Corps. At that time, it was a kind of educational laboratory where cadets studied steam engine mechanics, navigational astronomy, and other maritime sciences. The museum existed until the early 20th century, 1919."

When the Corps was transferred from Kronstadt to St. Petersburg, in the left part of the building, under a flat dome, in the upper floor hall designed by Ruska in 1797, a church was consecrated in the name of Saint Paul the Confessor. The vaults were painted by the future architect Voronikhin. The altar icon and two icons were painted by Moshkov.

The major renovation of the church, begun in the mid-19th century according to the project of the corps architect Antipov, was completed in 1893. In 1913, a stained glass window "The Savior Calms the Storm at Sea" was placed in the church. Various relics brought by sailors — graduates of the corps — from different countries, including Palestine and Jerusalem, were kept in the church. Relics related to the history of the Corps and the Russian Navy were collected. From 1854, black marble plaques (17 plaques by 1900) with the names of cadets killed in battles were installed on the church walls, and from 1892, gray marble plaques (9 plaques by 1900) with the names of sailors who died in shipwrecks and in the line of duty. Naval Corps banners were also stored in the church. The church was closed in 1918, and later the premises were extensively rebuilt.

In the 1840s and 1890s, major alterations were made to the building, affecting the interior layout and decoration. In the 1930s, several ceremonial rooms received new architectural designs. This included the Revolution Hall, covered with a flat suspended ceiling, and the picture gallery.

Graduates of the Cadet Corps included admirals Nakhimov, Kornilov, Istomin, as well as the composer Rimsky-Korsakov.

Since 1926, the building housed the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School. In November 1998, the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School was merged with the Lenin Komsomol Higher Naval Political School, and in January 2001, the school was renamed the Peter the Great Naval Corps — St. Petersburg Naval Institute.

Sources:

https://flot.com/education/academies/frunze.htm

https://www.citywalls.ru/house280.html?s=laa03si7sqrmbrfmgtqpcsch1q

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Санкт-Петербургский_военно-морской_институт