Diary of a children’s home: History of children’s daily life in the 1920s in the memories of eyewitnesses

Abstract

Fragments from the diary notes written by the pedagogical staff of the Kuznechikhinsky Orphanage located in the Spassky Canton of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, dedicated to the daily life of the children's institution pupils, have been published for the first time. The preserved part of the document covers the period from December 31, 1923 to April 17, 1924. The unique narrative source, a collective diary, reveals the activities of teachers and educators in organizing the educational process, shows boys and girls’ work duties, vividly illustrates the life and material support of orphans, reflects the impact of the emerging traditions of the orphanage on the socio-cultural space of the village. The description of orphans’ psycho-emotional experiences related to the death of Vladimir Lenin is of particular interest.

Keywords

• children
• orphanage
• labor education
• diary entries
• everyday life
• tatarstan
• soviet holidays
• educator.