The problem of national education in modern conditions is becoming increasingly important. Such a basic philosophical position as national identity, the relationship to other peoples and cultures, national and other traditions are generated at school. Great importance in this process belongs to the development of the mother tongue and other languages functioning in the society. Proper and timely resolution of problems of national education plays a crucial role in the consolidation of a multi-ethnic society, the promotion of tolerance and prevention of xenophobia and discrimination, especially in the multi-ethnic Russian Federation, with about 200 peoples that, in turn, include varieties of ethnic groups. In this article the policy of the Soviet state in national school education in the period of its formation in 1918-1930s in Western Siberia is analyzed. Historically, Siberia is a region with a colorful ethnic composition of the population with representatives of indigenous peoples - the Nenets, Selkups, Khanty, Mansi, Siberian Tatars, Chulyms, Kazakhs, as well as immigrants and their descendants - the Ukrainians, Germans, Latvians, Estonians, Mordovians, Chuvash, the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The article studies the questions of support and development of national schools in the new environment of new government and new policies. In the 1920-1930s Siberia formed a network of schools for different groups of minorities. As a rule, it was a rural primary school with a training period of one to three years, the teaching in which was conducted both in the native and Russian languages. In the study period there was a search of forms and methods of training and education, there was a reorganization of school life based on the new principles. Particular attention was paid to the problems of financing of national schools, of providing textbooks, teachers who knew the national and Russian languages, and had the necessary training, which created additional problems and prevented from systematic work. Special attention is paid to the role of the provincial departments of nationalities in the establishment, development and preservation of the national school network in Siberia. Of course, the support of national education had political reasons. The main objectives of schools for national minorities was spreading communist ideology and formation of mindset of a Soviet person that were successfully reached in the short term, and since late 1930 the developed system of national education began to wind down.
