Statutory Regulation of the Operation of Female Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums in the Russian Empire

Abstract

This paper addresses the statutory regulation of the operation of female gymnasiums and progymnasiums in the Russian Empire. The principal sources used for the study were a set of relevant statutory instruments, including Regulation on Female Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums Under the Purview of the Ministry of Public Education, Additions and Explanations to the Regulation on Female Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums Under the Purview of the Ministry of Public Education, and Rules for Conferring Imperial Awards. Methodologically, use was made of sets of legal, historical, and general research methods, including the hermeneutical method, the legal analysis method, the formal-legal method, the historical-systematic method, the historical-typological method, content analysis, synthesis, and systems analysis. The study’s findings revealed that the brisk development in the nation’s female gymnasium sector (gymnasiums and progymnasiums) was the result of the liberal reforms initiated by Emperor Alexander II, with attempts made by the government to establish a statutory framework for institutions in this sector. A foundational statutory instrument was Regulation on Female Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums Under the Purview of the Ministry of Public Education, which laid out general terms for the operation of such institutions, covered their key administrative, curricular, and economic matters and issues related to government assistance for students, and established the legal status of their executives and students. All fine-tuning with regard to legal status was performed via Additions and Explanations to the Regulation on Female Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums Under the Purview of the Ministry of Public Education, released each time new major issues arose regarding the operation of such schools. Intended to help close such loopholes, the Additions were legally convenient in the sense that they were of no clear-cut structure and were introduced as needed. There also was a separate set of statutory instruments concerned with refining particular elements.