Privileged noble high schools and the formation of Russian national elites in the first part of the 19th century

Abstract

'Universities and 'gymnasias' were the two main types of institutions in the Russian educational system of the 19th century. However between these two there was a group of 7 special institutions destined mainly for nobles. In their middle position these institutions were endowed with some particular privileges that made their graduates students equal to those of the universities and contributed to the formation of elites. They were: the noble pensions of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg Universities and 5 Lyceums (situated in Russian cities without Universities: Bezborodko Lyceum (Nezhin), Richelieu Lyceum (Odessa), Volynsky Lyceum, Demidov Lyceum (Yaroslavl) and Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo). They were state institutions (but several were founded thanks to the donations of noble families) functioned in the first half of the 19th century and were closed or reformed in the 1830-40s because of the unifications of the educational system in Russia. Hundreds of noble students got their education in these institutions. We base our research on the lists of students who graduated from these institutions. We have accomplished a prosopographical study, tracing the careers of these students and estimating their contribution to the national elites. We also point out their membership in the reputational elites (according to the national biographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias).We evaluate their success in the military or civil service, model different types of careers and describe the contribution of this noble elite to the nation building process.' (author's abstract)|