Transfer of Administration of Parish Schools to Local Self-Government Bodies in 1917 (The Case of the Perm Province)
The article analyzes changes in the education system, linked to transfer of parish schools to local self-government institutions in the Perm region. The revolution of 1917 played a significant role in the life of zemstvos and city dumas. In terms of competition for political power education had an important meaning. Under the new revolutionary conditions self-government institutions made an attempt to create a universal education system with support from central government. Education must have become publicly available. The transfer of the parish schools’ management to zemstvos was a key moment. However, this process faced numerous obstacles, as every certain case had to be finalized separately by zemstvo and the church considering their common interests. As a result, it took quite a long time; by 1918 local self-government institutions had failed to form a universal school system in the region. Control over the parish education institutions was finally transferred to secular jurisdiction by the soviet government with no participation of zemstvo, city council or the church. The modern historiography reflects only general tendencies in the sphere of education. No specific researches aimed at analysis of transfer of parish schools administration to local self-government institutions at the time of revolution have been implemented until now. The author makes an attempt to analyze regional features of the transition of parish schools to the jurisdiction of local governments within the context of the new education policy. The modernization theory serving as a methodological basis of this research provides a comprehensive approach to the study of changes in the education system under the revolution. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the integrated study of the new educational system formation on the territory of Perm region in 1917. The research rests on an impressive volume of archive sources. The information obtained has permitted to draw conclusions about new phenomena in the field of education, generated by the revolution, on the example of Perm region.