บท 26: Educational Reform (January-March, 1870).
Education reform]
Under the Ministry of Education of Alexander Vasilyevich Golovnin (and Vice Minister Ivan Davidovich Delyanov) and the government of Tsar Alexander III, the educational reform of the Russian Empire was launched at the beginning of the year. That I reform from primary to tertiary education.
On the one hand, education was proclaimed as compulsory and universal for boys and girls from 6 to 12 years of age, thus avoiding educational tuition for poor families (although from 12 onward tuition was preserved for economic reasons).
This program was accompanied by the opening of primary schools throughout Russia, from the south of Malorossiya, the western Baltic, the heart of Russia, Finland, Siberia, Central Asia and Alyáska.
Primary schools had as their main objective the teaching of literacy in Russian territory, so this included teaching of numbers, grammar and letters.
The government could not avoid that in certain regions it will be taught in the native language (for example in Lithuania, where Catholic churches formed an important part in the literacy of the natives) but special emphasis was placed on the Russian and nearby regions (White Russia, Malorossita , the Caucasus, Finland, Siberia, Central Asia and Alyáska).
These elementary schools were open to citizens of all classes, regardless of their ethnic, religious or economic status. A unified order of educational institutions (primary, secondary and tertiary) was also created.
Secondary and tertiary technical education also increased considerably, with the improvement of laboratories and technology present in Russia.
Not only that, but these institutions were also expanded with the Helsinki Polytechnic, the Kharkov Institute of Technology, and Tomsk University. The most advanced student program (also open to lower social classes, provided that primary studies had been completed) emphasized technical-scientific skills.
The humanities, although they existed, were relegated unless they were the focus of a career, high schools and universities emphasized chemistry, mechanical engineering, mathematics, agronomy, etc.
Also at primary and secondary level the Ministry of Education began to work with the sports centers of Russia, Deputy Minister Delyanov and Emperor Alexander III (and to a lesser extent Alexander Vasilyevich Golovnin) concerned about the health of students, motivated the formation of student sports clubs.
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Under this reform, the fight against illiteracy continues, allowing the opening of many more parochial schools in places where there was less access to public institutions by the Orthodox Church, Jews and Muslims.
But every month the parochial school had to be reviewed to ensure that the students had learned to read and write, and not just memorize and recite orally.
If one of these schools did not comply, its license to teach was withdrawn.
Some private institutions also grew, which also had to be reviewed by the state.
By Minister Golovnin many museums and private collections were also opened to the public, sponsored by Emperor Alexander III with an immense collection of objects that could be educational for the public.
Any kind of physical abuse against students, regardless of age, was banned and condemned (a policy advocated by Deputy Minister Delyanov, partly inspired by the impending military reform).
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Another effort by the Ministry of Education against illiteracy was the Commission for the Liquidation of Illiteracy, a special agency of the Ministry focused on communal courses for citizens between the ages of 16 and 50, rural and urban men and women who were not literate.
These courses were intended to teach letters, numbers, and grammar, to convert the population over 16 into "basic literates." There were already minimally experienced teachers thanks to previous government policies, and around the heart of Russia is where the commission's first efforts began.
Along with these efforts, more public libraries and museums (as mentioned before) began to open, around the streets there began to be places for brochures and newspapers sponsored by the government (such as Moskva and others, with sections dedicated to the project) to insist that people start reading , learning and perpetuating reading skills thanks to this.
Such shelves, brochures and newspapers were also introduced near state industries for their workers.
These brochures and newspapers included short stories, phrases and the like.
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At the university level, the Ministry of Education equaled all universities, meaning that a degree from Finland and Russia were equally valid in any other part of the Russian Empire.
Although the government did not force education in Russian at the primary and secondary level, it did at the tertiary level, in places where Russian was not primarily spoken it became a compulsory course.
The government argued that if they were to graduate in Russia, it meant they could get jobs in Russia, which would involve interacting with the Russian people and language. The objective was to create a population that was at least bilingual, or with a basic knowledge of Russian in minority territories (Finland for example).
Another educational reform at the tertiary level was the severe limitation of the autonomy of the universities, the Okhrana and the police of the Russian Empire seriously fought against: Corruption, illegal political activism and violations of the law.
Associations with political motives and student strikes were prohibited, avoiding as much as possible the formation of revolutionary political activity in educational institutions.
In part the sport served as a distraction, but the police and the Okhrana played another important role in monitoring the activities of teachers and students.
The expenditure accounts of the universities were also constantly reviewed, looking for any possible irregularity (diversion of funds with respect to technical education programs).
The civil services also carried out searches for any violation of the other stipulated laws, such as corporal punishment of students.
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[Meat and dairy industry, and hunting]
In state properties, now that animal power was being abandoned for better technologies, it was necessary to start deciding what to do with the animals, and the associated industries (meat, milk, derived products, etc.).
Mendel publicized the first roles of him relatively recently, and of course human beings have known about artificial selection for quite some time. Although it happened almost without pain or glory.
In state farms of the Russian Empire began to invest in cows, sheep and farmyard animals, selecting those animals with the best traits to produce some of their own varieties.
For example there is already the Russian Orloff (a variety of hen made by Alexey Grigoryevich Orlov), promoting domestic farm animals, better care and artificial selection, Emperor Alexander III expected in some years the increase in production.
The state also reinvested in the dairy industry and its derivatives, in the largest schools in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, in addition to the schools with the highest number of low-income families in both cities, the distribution of basic snacks (milk , cheese, vegetables and some meat).
The point is that the Ministry of Education and educational institutions promoted healthy eating, basically because healthy children means a healthy future for Russia.
Plus it could help the local industries mentioned above.
Russia of course also timidly began to export some of its production, Russian cheese, eggs, red and white meat, etc.
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There was also another industry of concern to Tsar Alexander III, the whaling industry, practiced between the Far East and Alyáska, although it was economically profitable (to some extent), it involved considerable damage to the marine ecosystem, and was not rapidly renewable.
Consequently, an imperial edict was declared to regulate the hunting of whales and other marine mammals in the eastern parts of the Russian Empire.
Under this edict hunting was prohibited during certain periods of the year (time of reproduction of the animals) and in certain areas it was completely prohibited. In essence creating reserves, such as over a population of sea lions and other species in the Kuril.
Some might complain, but it didn't last too long, there were still other profitable businesses.
Programs for the restoration of species endangered due to hunting would come long after the time of Alexander III, but the extinction of some species of Siberian-American marine mammals was prevented during this time.
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[Sports: Russian League]
It is clear that Tsar Alexander III is a broad promoter of good health and a sports culture in Russia, so in mid-February, the Soccer League of the Russian Empire was declared.
With a soccer tournament between teams from the cities of the Russian Empire, in 1873.
A sportsmanship was growing rapidly in Russia, mainly among adolescents and young adults of various social classes.
The first Russian soccer teams (based on university associations or on public sports sites) would emerge in 1870, while between this year and 1871 all teams were prepared.
In 1872 the preliminaries for the Soccer League of the Russian Empire were prepared.
The first official soccer team of Russia was the team of the city of Arkhangelsk.
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Maria Feodorovna held the young Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in her arms, while the young Tsesarevich Nicholas stood with Tsar Alexander III in a family photo. The czar kept one in his uniform since the photograph was taken.
"Is he okay?" The tsar asked his wife watching Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich sleep.
"He is perfectly fine" The empress once again assures her worried husband.
In the next few years any concerns about the health of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich disappeared, but in the late 1870s Empress Maria Feodorovna suffered a miscarriage.
The couple would not have another child until 1875.
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[Russian-Japanese diplomacy]
"Yes, we could lend some money to the Japanese, we still have money, but we could also send some resources or weapons. But the question is whether they will be able to return our investments." Nikolai von Bunge explains.
"Okay, I think I have a continence plan on that." Emperor Alexander III mentions. "I discussed it with Gorchakov ...".
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Russia at that time in Russo-Japanese relations was obviously not the largest financial giant in the world, but it was a country in an industrial boom and with an increasingly positive trade balance, a country rich in resources, with a huge population relative to Japan.
The Russians could make certain loans to smaller countries and investors. Finance Minister Nikolai von Bunge actually worked extensively to secure Russia's banking, tax and credit capabilities for the 1872 reform, so Japan was part of an experiment.
However, much of the loan to Japan was made from the Emperor Alexander III's own finances (based on private companies and financial speculation) and little from the state treasury, although it was an uneven division of investment.
Russia, based on money from the Emperor Alexander III, offered to the Meiji Emperor and the Ezo Republic some bank loans, with particularly high interest rates to the Ezo Republic, which did not have much chance of refusing.
Both sides continued to borrow for the war.
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[International]
At the international level, while the United States continued with its commercial problems, some reforms were made regarding granting the vote to African Americans, freedmen, etc.
In the German Empire, for its part, various banks (Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, etc.) were solidified throughout the entire territory, those in Hamburg and other areas, for example, began to invest in colonial feats and put pressure on the German navy.
The fact that the German colonization of Indochina at the moment appears to have been profitable (and also other business in Asia) by commercial companies motivated reinvestment in these, and once again there is growing economic interest.
The investments of the new German banks in the colonial adventure of Deutsche Südostasiens have been successful. And for this the companies have also invested in their naval capabilities.
The German nationalism of liberals and conservatives is accelerating them to the concept of a Germany under the Sun.
The Bulgarian Exarchate is established.
The French situation under Napoleon IV and the regent Prime Minister Eugène Rouher is getting worse, the reconstruction of the basic functions of Paris and the damaged infrastructure put a heavy tax burden on France and its colonies.
The French population of Indochina is returning home, with lost valuable economic possessions and lost prestige, many of these are becoming poor, posing a serious problem in Paris and other French regions. The search for work and the competition for it is magnified but the financial and political conditions seriously worsen the position of the workers.
Some are turning to radicalism.
King Leopold I of Spain checks something, his confidence could be his own downfall. The situation in Spain is very complicated, republicans interested in overthrowing him, Carlists and other conservatives who may oppose him, liberals, other monarchists, and in general all the administrative-internal problems of Spain.
Much has been said about the Spanish, one phrase is that if there are no problems abroad, they (the Spaniards) look for them at home. And that they are the strongest nation, they have always sought to destroy themselves, and they have never succeeded.
Perhaps there is some truth in the words, because without a doubt Leopold I found many internal problems in the Spain that he now ruled, too many.
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