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Ukrainian Education in Kerch (1917–1920)

The development of and attempts to organize educational institutions in Kerch during World War I and the Ukrainian Revolution (1917–1920), in particular the activities of the evacuated Zdolbuniv Women's Gymnasium of Baroness Eleonora von Taube and the initiatives to establish the Kerch Polytechnic Institute.

Overview

During World War I and the subsequent revolutionary events of 1917–1920, the city of Kerch became an important educational hub of Eastern Crimea. Due to the approach of the front line along the western borders of imperial russia and the use of scorched-earth tactics, educational institutions were evacuated to Crimea. The most notable example was the private Zdolbuniv Women's Gymnasium, which operated successfully in Kerch despite the changing political regimes.

In the summer of 1918, under the Crimean Regional Government, the Ministry of Public Education (headed by V. Nalbandov) and the Kerch City Administration (Kerch City Duma) attempted to resolve the problem of providing the gymnasium with premises and also considered a project to open a higher education institution in Kerch — a Polytechnic Institute.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Activities of the Zdolbuniv Women's Gymnasium in Kerch: Founded in 1914 in Zdolbuniv (near Rivne) by Baroness Eleonora von Taube, the gymnasium was already evacuated to Kerch in 1914–1915. In Kerch, the gymnasium operated throughout the war and the revolution, issuing certificates (attestats) to local and evacuated students. With the support of Suleyman Nalbandov, acting head of the Ministry of Public Education, in July 1918 the gymnasium held classes in the second shift in the building of the Kerch Women's Public Gymnasium. Baroness von Taube posted announcements about accepting applications for all grades at her apartment at 25 Instytutska Street (apartment of M. H. Todorov; today Krupska Street, where the city maternity hospital is located).
  • Attempt to establish the Kerch Polytechnic Institute (1918): In July 1918, the Kerch City Duma and the provincial zemstvo assembly supported the initiative to open a polytechnic institute. Negotiations were conducted by Oleksandr Korobov, a graduate and staff member of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
  • Premises problems and the Kushnikov Institute: The higher education institution was planned to be housed in the building of Kerch's oldest educational institution — the Kushnikov Institute of Noble Maidens (founded in the 1830s with funds from the philanthropists Hryhorii and Dmytro Kushnikov). However, the institute's administration refused to hand over the building due to its own expansion plans, and Minister Nalbandov advised moving the initiative to Sevastopol. As a result, Kerch lost the opportunity to open a higher education institution.