Agricultural educational institutions of Kharkiv gubernia in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the research paper is to summarize the information on the formation and development of agricultural educational institutions within Kharkiv gubernia from the 1840s to 1917; and to outline their peculiar features, funding characteristics, material conditions, teacher and student contingents, etc. The scientific novelty. For the first time, the formation and development of agricultural training in the territory of Kharkiv gubernia are comprehensively characterized, the historical progress of educational institutions of various levels is reconstructed, and their key characteristics are highlighted: specialization, funding, material situation, staff, and student contingent. Conclusions. In the middle of the 19th century, both the power circles of the Russian Empire and the public increasingly began to talk about the need to establish a certain system of training professional agrarians who could increase the productivity of landowners’ latifundia. As a result, one of the first educational institutions of the agrarian type – the South-Western Farm, was established in Sloboda Ukraine (Slobozhanshchyna). Over time, having merged with the arable professional school, that educational institution turned into a leading comprehensive training center for agrarian experts with a developed material and technical base, a significant staff of experienced educators, and multidisciplinary courses for advanced training. The end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century was marked by a surge of public and private initiatives in the establishment of agricultural educational institutions. It is especially necessary to note the activities of gubernia and povit zemstvos, which initiated the establishment of Sumy, Asiivka, Odnorobivka, and Rokytne schools. Thanks to Ivan Tereshchenko, the Filonovs, and Mykhailo Rudniev, Mykhailivka and Odnorobivka schools and a training apiary were established in Starobilsk region. In that process, the state acted only as an investor, regulator, and controlling body. Despite the difficulties, the agricultural educational institutions of Kharkiv gubernia acted not only as training centers but also as a base for scientific experiments, and a center for consolidating those who were not indifferent to peasant labor.