On the History of Education in Yalutorovsk

Until the beginning of the XIXth century there was no secular education in Yalutorovsk. Ignati Olshanski is by right considered the first teacher in the town. He was exiled there from Kiev in 1804, and gave private lessons on grammar, math, divinity and other subjects . He had numerous pupils and frequently thought of a school to get opened in Yalutorovsk. Olshanski school existed since 1804 till 1809.

In 1817 the first state college was opened in the town. Alexei Bykov, a middle-class sitizen known as a public figure and a Meacenas, took an active part in organizing the college. In 1842 a male school was opened by the Decembrist Yakushkin. That was not a smooth process, since the authorities were against ‘state criminals’ to get involved in public life.

Contribution of the priest farther Stephan to organizing the school can hardly be overestimated. By 1846 two hundred boys from Yalutorovsk and adjacent villages were educated there. A benevolent atmosphere prevailed at the school that encouraged the pupils’ skills to get revealed and upgraded. To a great extent that was possible due to the Bell-Lancaster method of teaching. Yakushkin himself wrote some manuals for the school.

Another important event was organizing a female school, which was also on Yakushkin’s initiative. Apart from the Lankaster method the curriculum included excursions and observations that were targeted to encouraging pupils to make logical inferences of their own. By the end of the XIXth century there were several public schools, male college, and a female gymnasium in Yalutorovsk.

In 1884 a gratis public library was opened. Some educated merchants of Yalutorovsk gave substantial support to educational institutions. In 1884 the merchant Ignati Kolossov gave up to the college a stone building, which cost 25 thousand roubles. The merchant Ilyin left a part of his means for scholarships to the poorest pupils.