Kuzbass in the West-Siberian Academic Environment (1885–1917)

Abstract

In the Russian Empire, Kuzbass was an administrative part of the Tomsk Province. However, the local education belonged to the West-Siberian District, which united the entire Asian Russia. Its development coincided with the launch of the Great Trans-Siberian Railroad and P. A. Stolypin’s agrarian reform. These events brought about serious changes in the local economy, demography, and mentality, which increased the role of education in the region. The region had no institutions of higher education, and the secondary schools were also scarce. The education was mostly represented by primary schools, which were subordinate to the Ministry of Public Education. The Mariinsk and Tomsk Provinces were in the focus of modernization processes: a lot of rural and urban schools were opened there. However, by 1917, the West-Siberian District was still short of schools, and some areas had no educational institution of any level.

Keywords

• modernization
• administrative-territorial unit
• educational institution
• academic environment
• western siberia educational district
• kuzbass