The Ethno-Religious Aspect of the Educational Policy of the Russian Empire in the second half of XIX - early XX century (on the Example of the Muslim Education System of Western Siberia)

The article deals with the problem of reforming the system of school education in the Russian Empire at the turn of XIX-XX centuries. The special interest from the state in this period was aimed at reforming the foreign education, and primarily affected the system of Muslim school education in the country. The government's policy of reforming the school system was not consistent. The initial phase of the reform of national school education was marked by the minimal interference in this area. However, when the graph D.A. Tolstoy, who served as minister of public education in the period from 1866-1880, the muslim educational institutions were completely subordinate to the Ministry of public education and the Russian Orthodox Church. This is confirmed by a special Provision, adopted in 1874. There was no consensus in relation to the structure of the school system and in the muslim environment. The Muslim clergy, represented by the mufti of the Orenburg mohammedan theological assembly, considered it necessary to introduce the russian language in muslim educational institutions. However, the parish clergy were wary of this innovation, as they saw the attempts of russification of foreigners by the government. In this regard, one of the main tasks of the government in reforming the school system was to limit the influence of the clergy, especially those who received education outside Russia and do not have a certificate for the right to teach. In an effort to improve the organization of the school system, muslims began to create a society of trustees, whose task was to provide the material assistance to the most capable students to continue their education. Despite the fact that these societies existed at the expense of charitable funds of the muslims themselves, the Ministry of internal affairs and district educational authorities intervened in the disposal of the material fund, spending these funds directly on the needs of its department. As a rule, these funds were used to open russian-foreign schools, whose task was the gradual eradication of national and religious culture in a foreign environment. In connection with the emerging political activism in the muslim world in the early XX century further enhanced the intervention in the national education system of the state, which is confirmed by the "Rules on the control of elementary schools for foreigners", adopted by the Ministry of Education in 1906.