As the Russian army lurches from one disaster to another there is a school that hopes to revive the spirit of the old Russian officers. Proudly marching with their pre-revolutionary replica uniforms, the young boys from Voronezh Cadet Corps present a very different Image to the one portrayed by the communists for most of this century. Reopened five years ago, the school aims to instil old rituals and attitudes. "Honour, dignity and self-sacrifice for the Motherland' smacks of nationalism, but Alexander Golemedov, the School's Director points to the history of the Russian army, when 150 nationalities served in harmony with one another. The state provided the dilapidated buildings, but the boys' families must provide the money for everything else. Many find it a struggle to raise the $60 a month but Georgi Stepanovich feels it's worth it to see his grandson receive a traditional education. In first lesson of the day, ballroom dancing, the boys take tentative steps with their partners from a nearby state school.. Will the reality of an army that is rarely paid, badly fed and brutalised shake the ideology of these young hopefuls?

Produced by ABC Australia