Once upon a time, on the outskirts of Athens, near the temple of Apollo Lyceum, there was a school founded by the great philosopher of the past, Aristotle. It was called the Lyceum or Lyceum. On October 19, 1811, an educational institution under the same name opened in Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg. And, probably, its creators hoped that the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum would in some way become the successor to the famous school of antiquity, of which the beautiful park architecture here in Tsarskoe Selo was reminiscent. However, she spoke not only about the world of eternal art. The parks preserved the memory of the glorious pages of Russian history - the battles of Peter the Great, the victory of Russian weapons at Kagul, Chesma, Morea.
“The establishment of the lyceum is aimed at the education of youth, especially those destined for important parts of the public service,” said the first paragraph of the lyceum charter. The author of the project to create a lyceum, M. M. Speransky, saw in the new educational institution not only a school for training educated officials. He wanted the lyceum to educate people capable of implementing the plans for transformation Russian state. The broadest knowledge, the ability to think and the desire to work for the good of Russia - these were the qualities that the graduates of the new educational institution were supposed to distinguish. It is no coincidence that in the new program speech addressed to students on the day grand opening, Associate Professor of Moral and political sciences Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn spoke about the duties of a citizen, about love for the Fatherland and duty to it. The boys remembered the words for the rest of their lives: “Love of glory and the Fatherland should be your leaders.”
According to the charter, children of nobles aged 10-12 years were admitted to the lyceum. At the same time, no more than 50 people could be educated in an educational institution. The first, Pushkin course, accepted 30 students. The training lasted six years and was equivalent to university education. The first three years - the so-called initial course - studied subjects in the upper grades of the gymnasium. The next three years - the final course - contained the main subjects of the three faculties of the university: verbal, moral-political and physico-mathematical. The extensive program harmoniously combined humanitarian and exact sciences, gave encyclopedic knowledge. Great place was assigned to the “moral” sciences, which, as the lyceum charter stated, “...means all that knowledge that relates to the moral position of man in society, and, consequently, the concept of the structure of civil societies, and the rights and responsibilities that arise from this "
One of the main tasks of lyceum education is to develop mental abilities and teach students to think independently. “The basic rule of a good method or way of teaching,” it was emphasized in the lyceum charter, “is not to darken the minds of children with lengthy explanations, but to stimulate its own action.” The most important place in the training program was given to in-depth study Russian history. The development of patriotic feelings was closely associated with knowledge home country, its past, present, future.
Much attention was paid to the study of the biographies of great people - it was believed that historical examples would help the self-education of the individual and teach him great service to the Fatherland. When drawing up the curriculum, we took into account age characteristics pupils. In the first year, when the boys were 10-12 years old, a lot of time was devoted to learning languages: Russian, French, Latin and German. There were days when students were required to speak a foreign language among themselves.
The lyceum was a closed educational educational institution. The daily routine here was strictly regulated. The pupils got up at six o'clock in the morning. During the seventh hour it was necessary to dress, wash, pray and repeat lessons. Classes began at seven o'clock and lasted two hours.
At ten o'clock the lyceum students had breakfast and performed a short walk, after which they returned to class, where they studied for another two hours. At twelve we went for a walk, after which we repeated our lessons. At two o'clock we had lunch. After lunch there are three hours of classes. At six - a walk and gymnastic exercises.
The students studied for a total of seven hours a day. Class hours alternated with rest and walks. Walks were taken in any weather in the Tsarskoye Selo Garden. The pupils' recreation consists of fine arts and gymnastic exercises. Among physical exercises at that time, swimming, horse riding, fencing, and in winter - skating were especially popular. Items that contribute aesthetic development, - drawing, penmanship, music, singing - are still included in the secondary school curriculum.
In future statesmen they tried to develop a sense of self-esteem and respect for the personality of another person. They were taught that “all pupils are equal... and therefore no one can despise others or be proud of anything before others”; that teachers and tutors should always tell the truth, “for to lie to your boss means to disrespect him.” It was forbidden to shout at the uncles or scold them. There was no corporal punishment or official drill at the lyceum. Each pupil had a separate room. In the first years of study, grades were not given at the lyceum. Instead, professors regularly compiled characteristics in which they analyzed the student’s natural inclinations, his behavior, diligence, and success. It was believed that a detailed description helped work with the student better than an unambiguous assessment.
The students of the Lyceum were never idle. Here everything was aimed at developing mental interests, every desire for knowledge was encouraged. For example, Alexey Illichevsky collected materials for the biographies of great people of Russia, and Wilhelm Kuchelbecker compiled a dictionary containing extracts from the works of philosophical writers close to him.
The students read a lot. “We studied little in class, but a lot in reading and conversation with constant friction of minds,” recalled Modest Korf. Replenishing the library was a constant concern of the council of lyceum professors. In a letter to Pavel Fuss, answering the question whether new books reach the lyceum, Alexey Illichevsky reflects on the benefits of reading: “Do newly published books reach our solitude? - you ask me. Can you doubt it?.. Never! Reading feeds the soul, shapes the mind, develops abilities...”
Lyceum students knew their contemporaries - Russian writers and poets - not only from their works. Illichevsky’s testimony from a letter to Fuss is interesting: “... until I entered the Lyceum, I did not see a single writer, but at the Lyceum I saw Dmitriev, Derzhavin, Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Vasily Pushkin and Khvostov; I also forgot: Neledinsky, Kutuzov, Dashkov.” Professor of Russian and Latin literature Nikolai Fedorovich Koshansky considered the ability to write and compose to be the basis of literary education and approved of the poetic experiments of his students. Often in class he suggested writing poems on a given topic. “How I now see that afternoon class of Koshansky,” Ivan Pushchin later recalled, “when, having finished the lecture a little earlier than the lesson hour, the professor said: “Now, gentlemen, let’s try feathers: please describe a rose to me in verse.”
One of the favorite activities of lyceum students was meetings at which everyone was obliged to tell something - fictional or read. Gradually, the stock of poems, stories, and epigrams increased, and they were written down. Handwritten journals were created, and lyceum poets grew up, friendly competing with each other. And since 1814, their poetic experiments began to appear on the pages of Russian magazines.
At that time, students of many educational institutions had their own mottos, but hardly any of them had a motto more humane and noble than the one chosen by the lyceum students of the Pushkin course - “For the Common Benefit.” The directors of the lyceum, Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky and Yegor Antonovich Engelhardt, the best professors and teachers, taught to live “For the Common Benefit”. During the 32 years of existence of the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo (from 1811 to 1843), 286 people graduated from this privileged educational institution. Within its walls different time Studied: the outstanding satirist M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, poet L. A. Mei, organizer of the society of utopian socialists M. V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky, philosopher, historian N. Ya. Danilevsky, compiler of the “Dictionary of the Russian Language” academician J. K. Grot. And yet, the lyceum owes its glory primarily to its first-borns, the graduates who entered the national history names of the poet A. S. Pushkin, poet, journalist A. A. Delvig, an active participant in the uprising on December 14, 1825 Senate Square, one of the most courageous, persistent Decembrists I. I. Pushchin, poet, Decembrist V. K. Kuchelbecker, navigator Rear Admiral F. F. Matyushkin, participant in the Turkish and Persian campaigns General V. D. Volkhovsky, prominent statesman, minister Foreign Affairs A. M. Gorchakov.
the site remembered what famous personalities studied at the Lyceum, and at the same time, what they were like in their young years, comprehending the wisdom of science.
(1799 - 1837)
Of course, the most famous and revered graduate of the Lyceum can be called Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who was secretly crowned during his lifetime, calling him a genius and “the sun of Russian poetry.”
It must be said that if Pushkin’s father had not shown parental consciousness, the future would have studied great poet at the Jesuit College in St. Petersburg. However, upon learning that Alexander I intended to open an educational institution in Tsarskoe Selo, the father immediately decided that his son should go there and nowhere else.
In fact, the children of high-born nobles, who were destined to occupy important government positions in the diplomatic and military fields in the future, were supposed to live and study for free at the Lyceum. Despite the fact that there were many promising offspring, the Lyceum was ready to accept only thirty students under its umbrella. It is worth noting that Pushkin was not of such high birth that he could study with the great princes. His father began to work hard, seek the patronage and support of influential people, and finally achieved his goal: his son was allowed to take the exam.
In the summer, young Pushkin left Moscow with his uncle Vasily Lvovich for St. Petersburg and, having passed the exam, was accepted. Upon arrival at the Lyceum, the poet began to live in the same room with Ivan Pushchin, the future Decembrist. As close friends and teachers recalled, Pushkin was often absent-minded, changeable, restless and did not show any ability for mathematics - it was rumored that the poet even cried on the back desk, looking at the blackboard where the teacher wrote numbers and examples. Meanwhile, he practiced languages well, studied history with enthusiasm and, most importantly, it was at the Lyceum that he discovered his talent for poetry, which was tirelessly protected by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, and later by Gabriel Derzhavin.
Alexander Pushkin, portrait by O. A. Kiprensky. 1827 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1798 — 1883) )
The last chancellor Russian Empire, Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov, with teenage years distinguished by the talents necessary for a brilliant diplomat. His idol was Count John Kapodistrias, “manager of Asian affairs” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1815-1822.“I would like to serve under his command,” said Gorchakov.
At the Lyceum he learned not only the humanities, but also the exact and natural Sciences. “The wayward hand of Fortune has shown you a happy and glorious path,” his mother-in-law, Alexander Pushkin, wrote to his friend Alexander. The poet's prediction came true - Gorchakov became the head of the Russian foreign policy department under Alexander II.
As Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Vyacheslav Mikhailov wrote in one of his works, “the essence of “Gorchakov’s” diplomacy was that, playing not so much on contradictions, but mainly on the nuances of European diplomacy, without firing a single shot, without any harsh pressure, within a few years Russia found itself free from all humiliating treaties and again entered the ranks of the leading European powers.”
Alexander Gorchakov was a holder of the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1798-1859 )
Ivan Pushchin was one of Pushkin's first close friends, with whom he shared a room at the Lyceum. In the future, Ivan Ivanovich became a Decembrist and told his friend about secret societies and the published book “Woe from Wit,” which then shook up reading Russia. However, at fourteen years old, he was an ordinary young man “with very good talents, always diligent and prudently behaved, who shows nobility, good manners, good nature, modesty and sensitivity.
As he grew older, Pushchin joined the “Sacred Artel”, became a member of the “Union of Salvation”, “Union of Prosperity”, “Northern Society” and belonged to the most revolutionary wing of the Decembrists. He was later sentenced to death, commuted to twenty years of Siberian hard labor. In 1856, at the age of 58, he was returned from exile. A year later, he married the widow of the Decembrist Mikhail Fonvizin, Natalya Apukhtina. But the marriage did not last long: on April 3, 1859, Ivan Pushchin died on the Maryino estate.
Ivan Pushchin was sentenced to death, commuted to twenty years of Siberian hard labor. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1800 —1876)
“Secretary Mordan” was the name given to the son of Baron Korf at the Lyceum.
The director of the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, Vasily Malinovsky, spoke of the 12-year-old pupil in the most flattering terms, noting the diligence and neatness of the young man. Only among the qualities that could interfere with young Corfu, he indicated “caution and timidity, preventing him from being completely open and free.”
However, these qualities did not prevent Modest Andreevich from making a brilliant career. He managed the affairs of the Committee of Ministers, was the head of a secret committee to supervise book printing, and was the director of the St. Petersburg Public Library. His merits include the fact that he founded a special department of foreign books about Russia in the library, promoted the compilation of catalogues, and was also able to attract private donations to finance the institution.
“Secretary Mordan” was the name given to the son of Baron Korf at the Lyceum. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1826 — 1889)
When the future writer studied at the Lyceum, he was notable, first of all, for his gloomy appearance.
Memoirist and Nekrasov’s wife Avdotya Panaeva recalled: “I saw him in the uniform of a lyceum student in the early forties. He came to him in the mornings on holidays. Even then young Saltykov did not have a cheerful expression on his face. His big gray eyes looked sternly at everyone, and he was always silent. I remember only once a smile on the face of a silent and gloomy lyceum student.”
If Pushkin remembered the lyceum with warmth, then Saltykov-Shchedrin retained in his memories the image of a state-owned educational institution, in which he did not find a single close friend and where “the pedagogy was gloomy in every sense: both in the physical sense and in the mental sense.” However, the writer was right in his dissatisfaction: the education system at the Lyceum has changed since Pushkin’s times.
“The peculiar aristocratic freedom and comfort were replaced by the gray, leveled and rather harsh regime of a paramilitary boarding school.” At the Lyceum of that time, students were systematically punished: they were forced to stand in the corner and imprisoned in a punishment cell. According to the writer’s recollections, he was not a diligent student, but knew languages well and had deep knowledge of political economy, Russian history and legal sciences.
If Pushkin remembered the lyceum with warmth, then Saltykov-Shchedrin retained in his memories the image of a state-owned educational institution, in which he did not find a single close friend. Photo: www.russianlook.com / www.russianlook.com
(1822 — 1862)
For his diligence and success, the future Russian poet was transferred from the Moscow Noble Institute to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, despite the fact that he was of non-noble origin and the family lived in great need.
The moment of the takeoff of his creative career should be considered the day and hour when he became close friends with the publisher of the scientific and literary magazine “Moskvityanin” Pogodin, and later with the playwright Ostrovsky himself. May’s works, which at first were not accepted by society and were branded as unmodern and chamber-like, subsequently became widely known, and the plots of the dramas in verse “The Tsar’s Bride”, “The Pskov Woman” and “Servilia” formed the basis for the opera by the composer Rimsky-Korsakov.
May translated “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” from Old Russian into literary language XIX century. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1799 — 1872)
The future polar explorer and admiral Fyodor Matyushkin graduated from the Lyceum in the same year as Alexander Pushkin. The good-natured boy, with a gentle character but a strong will, was immediately loved by both fellow students and teachers. Literally in the first months of training, he showed remarkable abilities in geography and history. Despite the fact that he had a lively character, he always remained modest; in the report card, in which the characteristics of each of the graduates were written, it was stated: “Very well-behaved, with all his ardor, polite, sincere, good-natured, sensitive; sometimes angry, but without rudeness.”
Immediately after completing the course I went to circumnavigation, and even later participated in Wrangel’s expedition. These travels became daydreams that haunted him during his studies at the Lyceum and which were “fed” by Pushkin, drawing unprecedented and enchanting distant countries to Fedor’s imagination with the help of his lively speech and poetry. It is curious, but Matyushkin did not have his own family and, having dropped his last anchor in St. Petersburg, he settled with his lyceum comrade Yakovlev. Later he moved to a hotel, where he lived for more than 15 years. Only in last years During his life, he built a dacha not far from Bologoe. Matyushkin outlived almost all of his classmates.
In 1811, Fyodor Matyushkin entered the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, which he graduated with Pushkin in 1817 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1821 - 1866)
The Russian revolutionary Mikhail Petrashevsky, the organizer of meetings of the “Petrashevites”, who in 1849 were condemned for these same gatherings, despite the fact that although all its members were in some way “freethinkers,” they were heterogeneous in their views and only a few had plans of a revolutionary nature.
In his younger years, Fyodor Dostoevsky also came to the meetings. It was then that a scandalous incident occurred, called a “mock execution,” when the convicts were put under psychological pressure, brought to the scaffold, and kept until the last minute, expecting that one of them would blurt out necessary information. At that time, the “convicts” had already been pardoned. It was a nice “joke” from Alexander II.
Petrashevsky himself, who kept at home literature on the history of revolutionary movements, utopian socialism, materialist philosophy, and also advocated democratization political system Russia and the liberation of peasants with land, he was exiled to eternal settlement in Siberia.
Mikhail Petrashevsky at one time served as a translator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1798 — 1841)
The future Major General Volkhovsky was a lyceum student of the first graduating class. As often happened, for noticeable success in his studies, he was transferred from the Moscow University boarding school to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he received the nicknames “Sapientia” (wisdom) for being able to influence even the most stubborn and careless classmates, and “Suvorochka” - diminutive of the surname “Suvorov”.
Volkhovsky was small in stature, but had a strong character and an unbending will. After graduating from the Lyceum, he was noticed in the organization “Sacred Artel” - which became the forerunner of the Decembrist gathering, and also participated in meetings with Ivan Pushchin and other members of the secret society. Later he was noted in battles Russian-Turkish war and even served as consul in Egypt.
Volkhovsky was small in stature, but had a strong character and an unbending will. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
(1822 — 1885)
A Russian sociologist, cultural scientist and founder of a civilized approach to history, he graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum in 1843, passed the master's exam, and already in 1849 he was arrested in the case of the same Petrashevsky. The exculpatory note saved him from trial, but not from exile. Danilevsky was assigned to the office of the Vologda and then Samara governor.
It must be said that there were grounds for suspicion of political unreliability in power: Danilevsky, like all the “Petrashevists,” was fond of Fourier’s utopian socialist system. However, fate turned out differently: Danilevsky did not lay his head on the chopping block, but went to explore fishing along the Volga and the Caspian Sea, and then became famous by writing the historical and philosophical work “Russia and Europe.”
Danilevsky was one of the first to pay attention to the signs of the decline and progress of civilization, and having collected extensive factual material, he proved the inevitable repetition of social orders. A kind of idea of eternal return according to Nietzsche, but in its infancy. Along with Spengler, Danilevsky is considered the founder of the civilizational approach to history.
My friends, our union is wonderful!
He, like the soul, is inseparable and eternal -
Unshakable, free and carefree,
He grew together under the shadow of friendly muses.
Wherever fate throws us
And happiness wherever it leads,
We are still the same: the whole world is foreign to us;
Our Fatherland is Tsarskoye Selo.
The Imperial Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum (since 1843 - the Alexander Lyceum) is a higher educational institution in pre-revolutionary Russia, operating in Tsarskoe Selo from 1811 to 1843. In Russian history it is known, first of all, as the school that educated A.S. Pushkin and was sung by him.
And the first one is complete, friends, complete!
And all the way to the day in honor of our union!
Bless, jubilant muse,
Bless: long live the Lyceum!
A. S. Pushkin
This was the first lyceum in Russia. The name given to the educational institution “struck the public in Russia; not everyone then had an idea about the colonnades and rotundas in the Athenian gardens, where Greek philosophers scientifically talked with their students,” noted Pushkin’s lyceum friend Ivan Pushchin. Not everyone knew that the Lyceum (Lyceum) was the name in Athens for the sanctuary of the sun god and poetry Apollo. And the ancient Greek had the same name philosophical school, founded by Aristotle in 335 BC on the outskirts of Athens near the Temple of Apollo Lycaeum. Here young men studied philosophy, arts, and gymnastics. Often classes were held in the form of conversations while walking around shady gardens Lyceum.
Like ancient school, the Pushkin Lyceum is located in a small town - Tsarskoye Selo, green and elegant, among several parks. “Beautiful oak groves” would later become a source of poetic inspiration for Alexander Pushkin and his friends, integral part their six years of life at the Lyceum.
The Lyceum was founded by order of Emperor Alexander I in 1810. It was intended to educate noble children. The program was developed by M. M. Speransky and is aimed primarily at training government officials of the highest ranks. The lyceum accepted children aged 10-14 years; admission took place every three years.
People were admitted to the Lyceum not only upon presentation of a certificate of noble origin, but also upon preliminary testing - entrance exams.
The Lyceum was opened on October 19 (31), 1811. Initially it was under the authority of the Ministry of Public Education, but in 1822 it was reassigned to the military department.
Lyceum, lithograph, 1820s.
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (Pushkin). Engraving by J. Moyer (1822).
View of the Lyceum and the Court Church from Sadovaya Street. Lithograph by K. Schulz based on fig. I. Meyer. 1850s
The duration of training was initially six years (two three-year courses, since 1836 - four classes of one and a half years each). During this time the following disciplines were studied:
* moral (God's Law, ethics, logic, jurisprudence, political economy);
* verbal (Russian, Latin, French, German literature and languages, rhetoric);
* historical (Russian and General history, Physiography);
* physical and mathematical (mathematics, principles of physics and cosmography, mathematical geography, statistics);
* fine arts and gymnastic exercises (penmanship, drawing, dancing, fencing, horse riding, swimming).
Celebration at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
Unknown artist 1830s Canvas, oil. The painting depicts the celebrations of 1836. on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the lyceum.
Syllabus The lyceum was changed several times, while maintaining its humanitarian and legal orientation. Lyceum education was equal to university education, graduates received civil ranks of 14th - 9th grades. For those wishing to enroll in military service Additional military training was carried out, in which case graduates received the rights of those who graduated from the Corps of Pages. In 1814-1829, the Noble Boarding School operated at the lyceum.
A distinctive feature of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was the prohibition of corporal punishment of students, enshrined in the Lyceum charter.
Andreev A.S. "Pushkin the Lyceum Student"
In the history of not only Russian, but also world literature, there has never been a case where a poet or writer in his work devoted so much space to the school that educated him, as Alexander Pushkin did to the Lyceum.
Lyceum. Drawing by A. S. Pushkin on the manuscript of the novel “Eugene Onegin”.
Imperial Alexander (formerly Tsarskoye Selo) Lyceum. Mid-19th century. Lithograph by unknown artist
Lyceum - in his first youthful poems, in messages to friends, in the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", in poems different years dedicated to lyceum anniversaries.
In those days - in the darkness of the oak groves
Near the waters flowing in silence,
In the corners of the Lyceum passages
The muse began to appear to me.
My student cell,
Hitherto alien to fun,
Suddenly it dawned on me! The muse is in
She opened a feast of her inventions;
Sorry, cold science!
Forgive the games of the first years!
I have changed, I am a poet,
There are united sounds in my soul
Shimmer, live,
The sweet ones come in sizes.
A.S. Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin". Chapter VIII (White manuscript)
IN initial period education, according to the charter of the Lyceum, much attention was paid to the study of Russian literature, but especially foreign literature, as well as historical sciences; for seniors - natural science disciplines. Familiarization with the lyceum charter allows us to notice the predominance in curriculum humanitarian disciplines. According to the authors of the project, diversity academic disciplines made it possible to prepare the student for further service, which he could choose to his liking, be it military or civilian. Upon completion of the Lyceum, graduates, taking into account their academic performance, entered the civil service with ranks from XIV to IX classes, and entered the military service in the same position as students of the Corps of Pages. A 4-story wing of the Catherine Palace, built at the end of the 18th century by the architect I.V., was allocated for the new educational institution. Neelov. Initially, the wing, connected to the palace by a gallery spanning the street, was intended for the grandchildren of Catherine II. When the location of the Lyceum was chosen at Tsarskoye Selo, the young and talented architect V.P. Stasov received the task of preparing the building for the needs of the educational institution. Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky, an official from the archives of the College of Foreign Affairs, was appointed to the position of director of the Lyceum, who, according to the charter, “beyond exemplary life, must have extensive knowledge of the sciences and languages taught at the Lyceum.”
Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky.
Malinovsky solved not only organizational issues, he was also concerned about the teaching staff of the Lyceum. It was impossible to make a mistake in the selection of mentors: after all, the Lyceum is a special educational institution, and the emperor himself patronizes it. Moral qualities teachers, their knowledge of the subject, ability to bring useful information to pupils, the availability of printed works - all this was taken into account. The director managed to do right choice, inviting not only experienced teachers - David de Boudry, N.F. Koshansky, but also young people - Ya.I. Kartsova, A.P. Kunitsyna, I.K. Kaidanov, for whom the Lyceum becomes the work of their whole life.
Finally everything was ready for opening. Thirty boys, having passed the first serious test - exams, became pupils of the Lyceum. Among the thirty are those whose names will later go down in Russian history: poet and journalist Anton Delvig, diplomat, chancellor Alexander Gorchakov, poet and Decembrist Wilhelm Kuchelbecker, Decembrist Ivan Pushchin, poet Alexander Pushkin. The Lyceum is the world of Pushkin’s youth, this is the birthplace of his poetic talent, this is the birthplace of that great friendship, the memories of which neither time nor trials could erase.
Sign near Pushkin's room at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
Each lyceum student had his own room - a “cell,” as A.S. Pushkin called it. In the room there is an iron bed, a chest of drawers, a desk, a mirror, a chair, and a table for washing.
Bedroom of A.S. Pushkin in the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
The daily routine adopted at the Lyceum was carefully thought out: early rise, repetition of lessons, study sessions, time for rest, walks, compulsory gymnastic exercises, in the summer - swimming, in the winter, “covering your legs with iron”, in the words of A. Pushkin, skating. Eleven month old academic year interrupted for holidays only in July, but even during the holidays the pupils remained in Tsarskoe Selo. Relatives were allowed to visit the Lyceum on holidays and Sundays. The strict supervision of the tutors did not prevent the “chosen sons of the nobility,” as Kunitsyn called them, from playing pranks, and then the following entries appeared in the behavior log: “Malinovsky, Pushchin and Illichevsky were left without dinner because they quarreled with Pushkin while walking in the garden and under the guise of a joke they pushed him and hit him on the back with a rod." At the Lyceum they were punished differently than in military institutions or private boarding schools. They weren’t flogged here, they weren’t subjected to physical humiliation: the offender was left alone so that he could think about his offense, or he took the very last place at the dinner table.
Separated from their relatives and their usual way of life, the lyceum students soon “got used to it, got used to it. A friendly family was formed, in this family there were their own circles; in these circles, each person’s personality began to be more or less defined,” recalls Ivan Pushchin.
Lyceum students in the classroom. Photos of the early 20th century
Assembly Hall. In the center is a portrait of Alexander I. Photo 1889
Portrait of the trustee of the Lyceum, Prince P.G. Oldenburg (works by P.I. Porokhovnikov) in the Lyceum library. Photo 1889
Conference hall of the Lyceum. Gallery of portraits of Lyceum directors. Photo of the late 19th century
Lyceum Church in the name of the Holy Queen Alexandra. Photo from the album “Imperial Alexander Lyceum” (St. Petersburg, 1906)
The coat of arms of the Alexander Lyceum on the cover of one of the anniversary publications released for the 100th anniversary of the founding of this educational institution
The calm, measured life was disrupted by the terrible events of 1812. Troops marched past the Lyceum along ancient Sadovaya Street almost every day. “... We were always here, when they appeared, we even went out during classes, admonished the soldiers with heartfelt prayers, hugged our relatives and friends; mustachioed grenadiers from the ranks blessed us with a cross,” Ivan Pushchin wrote in his memoirs. It was difficult to return to a quiet academic life, to study diligently and diligently. And the Lyceum was not spared a sad event: in March 1814, director Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky died. Everyone loved him. He never shouted, scolded, or punished. He always knew how to find the necessary and correct words to explain to the offender his offense. Malinovsky treated the boys as members of his family, without making any distinctions, and at times was even too strict with his son Ivan.
When moving from junior to senior year, according to the Lyceum's charter, transfer exams had to be taken. The War of 1812, the death of the director, lack of leadership... All these events prevented the exams from being held on time. Only in the winter of 1815, guests, relatives, and acquaintances would again gather at the Lyceum for public tests of students. The exams will become a significant event in their lives, and for Alexander Pushkin - the first public poetic success. In the presence of the venerable poet - Derzhavin G.R.
Painting by Ilya Repin “Lyceum Exam”
Evgeny Demakov. A.S. Pushkin at the exam at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
Pages of Russia's heroic past and recent events came to life in the poetic lines of the young poet. “I read Pushkin with great animation. Listening to the familiar poems, a chill ran through my skin. When the patriarch of our singers, in delight, with tears in his eyes, rushed to kiss him... we were all under some unknown influence, reverently silent,” he writes in his later notes Pushchin, as if reliving the events of his youth.
Lyceum teachers
To the mentors who guarded our youth,
To all honor, both dead and alive,
Raising a grateful cup to my lips,
Without remembering evil, we will reward goodness.
Printed music sheet of the "Six Years. The Farewell Song of the Furst Students of the Imperial Lycee in Tsarskoe Selo." 1835.
After the death of Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky, Yegor Antonovich Engelhardt was appointed director.
Engelhardt Egor Antonovich (1775-1862). Educator, scientist, publicist.1862
Among the first professors and teachers of the Lyceum who had a direct influence on A. S. Pushkin and the generation of Decembrists were
Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn, 1782-1840, (moral and political sciences);
Nikolai Fedorovich Koshansky, 1781-1831, (aesthetics, Russian and Latin literature); Yakov Ivanovich Kartsev, 1785-1836, (physical and mathematical sciences);
Tepper de Ferguson, 1768-after 1824, (music and choral singing)
Alexander Ivanovich Galich, 1783-1848, (Russian literature);
Fyodor Bogdanovich Elsner, 1771-1832, (military sciences);
David Ivanovich de Boudry, 1756-1821, (French literature);
Sergei Gavrilovich Chirikov, 1776—1853, (fine arts),
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Belov (history and geography).
It was not only Pushkin who wrote poetry at the Lyceum. From the very first days of life, poetry lived with the pupils; the passion for poetry was universal. Lyceum handwritten magazines were published, and the poems and prose of Alexei Illichevsky, Anton Delvig, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker, Ivan Pushchin could be read on the pages of the leading literary magazines of that time.
Pushchin Ivan Ivanovich.
Delvig Anton Antonovich
Kuchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich
The very setting of Tsarskoe Selo with its monuments of recent antiquity, the palace, striking in luxury and splendor, beautiful parks breathing poetry ancient world, reserved corners with silver willows, shady alleys, transparent surface Big Lake, writing teachers and the director - all this combined and created an exceptionally favorable poetic environment.
How many times have students dreamed about the day they graduate from the Lyceum, made plans for future life, considering themselves adults, but somehow the time for final exams imperceptibly approached. In May 1817, a message about upcoming tests and a schedule for parents and guests was published in the St. Petersburg Gazette.
...Six years of study are left behind. Each of the first 29 graduates made their choice between military and civilian service. Wide general education, with which Modest Korf was so dissatisfied, considering him “superficial”, “encyclopedic”, calling him “brilliant omniscience”, allowed graduates to enter the service in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the State Chancellery, the College of Foreign Affairs, military service and even the navy.
Monument to Pushkin in the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
After the first graduation, the Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo existed until 1843, then it was transferred to St. Petersburg and became known as Alexandrovsky.
Moving to St. Petersburg
On September 6, 1843, the educational institution was transferred to St. Petersburg, to the building of the Alexander Orphanage at 21 Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt. By order of Emperor Nicholas I, after the move, the lyceum became known as the Imperial Alexandrovsky Lyceum.
The building of the Alexander Lyceum was rebuilt several times. For the 50th anniversary of the educational institution (1861), a two-story building was added to the main building on the garden side. In 1878, according to the design of R. Ya. Ossolanus, a fourth floor was added to the building. In 1881, the new wing on Bolshaya Monetnaya Street housed preparatory class. In 1902-1905, a corner four-story outbuilding for teachers was built on the side of Lyceum Street, the main building was expanded, and wings were added to it.
Pushkin Museum of the Alexander Lyceum
Despite the fact that the educational institution was now located in St. Petersburg, the traditions of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum and especially the memory of Pushkin and other early students were carefully preserved by students of subsequent courses and passed on from generation to generation. Memorable Lyceum dates, such as October 19 - the opening day of the Lyceum, and the birthdays and deaths of Pushkin, were necessarily celebrated. On October 19, 1889, a bronze bust of Alexander I by P. P. Zabello was installed in front of the main entrance, and in the garden there was a plaster monument to A. S. Pushkin, which was replaced in 1899 by a two-meter bronze bust by I. N. Schroeder (both monuments have not survived ).
The country's first Pushkin Museum was created at the Alexander Lyceum by his students.
On May 29, 1918, by resolution of the Council of People's Commissars, the lyceum was closed. The vacated building was occupied by the Proletarian Polytechnic.
The Lyceum Museum was opened in Pushkin in 1974.
Monument to A.S. Pushkin in Pushkin
Valerian Langer. Tepper's House in Tasrskoye Selo. 1820
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, a higher privileged closed educational institution in pre-revolutionary Russia for children of nobles; was intended to train mainly senior government officials. Founded in 1810 in Tsarskoye Selo (now the city of Pushkin, Leningrad region); opened on October 19, 1811. It was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Education, and from 1882 - the military department. The lyceum accepted children 10-12 years old, the number of students ranged from 30 (in 1811-17) to 100 (from 1832).
During 6 years of study (two 3-year courses, from 1836 - 4 classes of 1 ½ years each) the following sciences were studied at the Lyceum: moral (God's law, ethics, logic, jurisprudence, political economy); verbal (Russian, Latin, French, German literature and languages, rhetoric); historical (Russian and general history, physical geography); physical and mathematical (mathematics, principles of physics and cosmography, mathematical geography, statistics); fine arts and gymnastic exercises (penmanship, drawing, dancing, fencing, horse riding, swimming). The lyceum's curriculum was changed several times, but it retained its humanitarian and legal basis. Graduates received the rights of university graduates and civil ranks of the 14th - 9th grades. For those wishing to enter military service, additional military training was provided, and they were given the rights of graduates of the Corps of Pages...
In the first years of its existence (1811-1817), the Lyceum created an atmosphere of passion for new Russian literature, represented by the names of N. M. Karamzin, V. A. Zhukovsky, K. N. Batyushkov, and French literature of the Enlightenment (Voltaire). This passion contributed to the unification of a number of young people into a creative literary and poetic circle that determined the spirit of the educational institution (A. S. Pushkin, A. A. Delvig, V. K. Kuchelbecker, V. D. Volkhovsky, A. D. Illichevsky, K. K. Danzas, M. L. Yakovlev and many others). The circle published handwritten magazines “Lyceum Sage”, “Bulletin”, “For Pleasure and Benefit”, etc., creative literary competitions were held between its members, poems by lyceum students Pushkin, Delvig, Kuchelbecker and others. Since 1814, famous magazines began to be published (“Bulletin” Europe", "Russian Museum", "Son of the Fatherland"). The poetic creativity of lyceum students and their interest in literature were encouraged by the professor of Russian and Latin literature, Zhukovsky’s friend N.F. Koshansky and his successor from 1814 A.I. Galich.
... After 1825, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum strengthened the restrictive regime for students, control over the selection of teachers and the direction of lectures. At the end of 1843, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was reorganized into the Alexandrovsky Lyceum and in January 1844 it was transferred to St. Petersburg. The new lyceum was transferred to the jurisdiction of the 4th department of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, from the end of the 19th century. — Departments of the institutions of Empress Maria. Closed after the October Revolution of 1917.
Over the 33 years of the existence of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, 286 people graduated from it, including 234 in the civil sector, 50 in the military, 2 in the navy. ... Many of them joined the ranks of the Officials of the Russian Empire (A. M. Gorchakov, A. K. Gire, N. K. Gire, A. V. Golovnin, D. N. Zamyatnin, N. P. Nikolai, N. A. Korsakov, M. A. Korf, S. G. Lomonosov, F. H. Steven, D. A. Tolstoy, etc.)… Preferred scientific activity K. S. Veselovsky, J. K. Grot, N. Ya. Danilevsky and others. The historical glory of the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum was brought primarily by the graduates of 1817 - A. S. Pushkin, A. A. Delvig, Decembrists V. K. Kuchelbecker, I. I. Pushchin. ... M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin studied there for 5 years.
Big Soviet Encyclopedia, 1975
The reason for the opening of the Lyceum was the desire of Alexander I to create a special educational institution in which, together with several peers, the young grand dukes, the emperor’s brothers, Nicholas and Mikhail, could receive a comprehensive education. However, in the end, a decision was made to expand the number of students, whose education ultimately boiled down to raising well-rounded, widely erudite young people who expected to build their careers in the field of public service. The format itself educational institution- the lyceum - was not chosen by chance: it appealed to a long historical and cultural tradition based on the models of ancient educational institutions, including the one founded by the teacher of Alexander the Great, Aristotle in the 4th century BC. e. Lyceum.
There was a ban on corporal punishment at the Lyceum
The concept of a unique educational institution was developed in 1808 with the direct participation of M. M. Speransky, and therefore it offered a new model not only educational process, but was also intended to form new type personality, corresponding to the high ideals of Russian culture early XIX century. By the way, according to Speransky’s original idea, gifted representatives of different classes were supposed to be admitted to the educational institution, without any property qualifications, but in the final charter of 1810, the provisions on equality of students were eliminated. The Lyceum was assigned special place in the system of public education - it was actually equal in rights and privileges with universities; by the beginning of the century there were six of them: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Kharkov, Dorpat and Kiev. The idea of a collective community formed the basis of the Lyceum philosophy - the Lyceum was perceived as a family home, a special association of like-minded adepts selected for training according to strict criteria: “The Lyceum is made up of excellent students, as well as mentors and other officials, who, with their knowledge and morality, deserve the general trust "
On September 22, 1811, Alexander I signed the “Certificate to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum,” after which representatives of the most distinguished Russian families were eager to place their sons in this educational institution. The first entrance exams were held in three stages, and 36 out of 50 applicants were admitted to them. high rank future lyceum students. Based on the test results, 30 people were accepted for training. By the way, the entrance exams were held in the estate of the Minister of Public Education, Count A.K. Razumovsky, which was intended to emphasize the special, privileged position of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, since control over the selection of students was entrusted to the highest person in Russian education. The applicants differed in age: for example, Baron Modest Andreevich Korfu, the future director of the Imperial Public Library, was 11 years old upon admission, and Ivan Vasilyevich Malinovsky, a close friend of Pushkin, was 16. It is worth noting that before entering the Lyceum, children were trained in a variety of formats : in boarding schools (in particular, at Moscow University), gymnasiums (for example, St. Petersburg was famous) or home education.
Among the first 29 graduates: A. Delvig, A. Gorchakov, V. Kuchelbecker
The entire way of life of the students of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was subordinated to the education of a new breed of citizens. This even concerned the introduction of a special daily routine, once approved and practically unchanged, trying to harmoniously combine rest time and study hours. At 6 am the disciples woke up and went to prayer. The first morning classes took place from 7 to 9. At 9 o'clock there was a tea break, after which we went for a walk until 10. From 10 to 12 - “classes” again. Then another hour-long walk. Lunch was at one o'clock in the afternoon, and from two to five there were lessons in penmanship or painting, as well as others. additional classes, depending on the inclinations of the students. At 5 o'clock there was tea again, and then a walk, after which the pupils began to do their homework and review the material covered during the day. At 8.30 - dinner, and then until 10 pm rest or, as it was called according to the regulations, “recreation”. At 10 o'clock the disciples went to evening prayer, after which they went to bed.
Room No. 14, where Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin lived
Considering that the purpose of creating the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was to educate future statesmen, the implementation of such an important task was entrusted to a large, in our opinion modern ideas, staff of managers, professors, tutors, supervisors and other employees. Defining the main idea of the content of education, the director of the Lyceum, Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky, emphasized that he tries to make sure that “those who educate and those who are educated form one class,” so that the student feels in the teachers not bosses, but friends. It should be noted that the Lyceum was then the only educational institution in the Russian Empire where children were not flogged.
The treatment of the students was extremely polite and tactful. Teachers and tutors called them by their last name, with the addition of the word “Mr.” By the way, the first director of the Lyceum, Vasily Fedorovich Malinovsky, a famous Russian diplomat and publicist, preached exceptional principles of humanism and enlightenment. Special attention in creating a unique concept of education, he paid attention to issues of war and peace, believing that all humanity should participate in the struggle for eternal, universal peace. Being a man of very progressive views, he shared the theory of natural law and the idea of the social contract put forward by European philosophers and educators of the 18th century. It is interesting to note, however, that he was convinced of the sacredness of monarchical rule, although he proposed measures that could, with the help of certain constitutional articles, limit absolutist tyranny in Russia, speaking of the need to subordinate power to laws, which in turn should be an expression of the general will of the people.
Contemporary photography of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
The most famous graduate of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was, of course, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. He communicated more with the most “incapable and lazy,” according to teachers, Anton Delvig, than with the diligent and diligent Alexander Gorchakov. It is curious that at first there was a “ban on writing” at the Lyceum; it was something like a “forbidden fruit” for the students. Naturally, the lyceum students still composed on the sly. And only later, with the special permission of Professor N.F. Koshansky, the ban was lifted. Many teachers noted Pushkin's abilities, but did not have much hope for him. One of the lyceum students’ favorite teachers, Professor Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn, logically wrote in the reports about Pushkin’s successes: “ Good progress. Not diligent. Very clear." By the way, among the Lyceum poets, Pushkin was not immediately recognized as the first. The palm was successfully held by Alexey Demyanovich Illichevsky, who wrote fables, epigrams (especially on Kuchelbecker), and messages. Pushkin called him a “dear wit” and offered to pour out a hundred epigrams “on foe and friend.” In addition, Illichevsky had an amazing talent for drawing caricatures, preserved in the form of illustrations, for various “topics of the day” in the school collection.
It is noteworthy that all the professors of the Lyceum, except for David Ivanovich de Boudry, were young people who had barely reached the age of thirty. According to contemporaries, in particular, the first biographer of Pushkin, Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov, Lyceum professors Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn, Ivan Kuzmich Kaidanov, Yakov Ivanovich Kartsev, Nikolai Fedorovich Koshansky “should have been considered the leading people of the era in the educational field.” Kunitsyn, Kaidanov and Kartsev graduated from the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute and, as those who distinguished themselves, were sent abroad to continue their education. Their “improvement” took place in Göttingen, Jena, Paris - in the largest cultural and educational centers of that time. It was considered important that teachers working with gifted students create programs themselves, teaching aids, and also worked scientific research. Thus, Professor Koshansky, who before the Lyceum taught at the Moscow University Noble Boarding School and had a doctorate in philosophy and liberal arts, actively collaborated with magazines, published articles, translations, his own poems, published several textbooks and the anthology “Flowers of Greek Poetry.” While working at the Lyceum, he wrote a Latin grammar, translated and printed the huge “Hand Book of Ancient Classical Literature”, the fables of Phaedrus, the works of Cornelius Nepos - all of this was used by lyceum students in the learning process.
