ACADEMIC JOURNAL
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ISSN 2542-1077 (Print) ISSN 1994-5973 (Online) |
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM |
Kirikova O. A. | St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
Keywords: education Academic Gymnasium Academy of Sciences T. S. Bayer L. L. Blumentrost M. V. Lomonosov V. N. Tatishchev |
Summary: In January 1726, the Academic Gymnasium was established in St. Petersburg as part of Peter the Great’s
broader educational reform plan, intended to prepare personnel for the university – a higher education institution
represented by the Academy of Sciences at the time. The creation of this complex educational structure was a response
to the absence of a network of schools at various levels in Russia. By the onset of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, however, the
Academic Gymnasium was in decline; its operations were hampered by the broader administrative and financial
difficulties facing the Academy of Sciences. The viability of the gymnasium was questioned almost immediately after
Peter the Great’s death. Furthermore, in 1728, many students abandoned the institution, following the imperial court to
Moscow together with their parents. Against this backdrop, the 1731 discussion of a new gymnasium modeled on the
original academic institution signals the continued support of Anna Ioannovna’s government for the educational system
initiated by Peter the Great and further developed by his daughter Elizabeth. The proposal to establish a gymnasium in
Moscow in the early 1730s has previously been overlooked by scholars. Its rediscovery was made possible through
correspondence between members of the Academy of Sciences and Vasily Tatishchev, the initiator of the project,
preserved in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Employing the retrospective method, this study explores the motivations behind Tatishchev’s proposal, the opportunities that such a project could have offered young Muscovites, and the reasons why the project ultimately remained unrealized. |
Displays: 62; |