Keyword: «tobolsk classical gymnasium»

The article attempts to present a social and professional portrait of Latin language teachers in secular educational institutions in Western Siberia during the reforms of Russian secondary education in the 60s–80s 18th–first quarter of the 19th centuries, which resulted in the establishment of the system of classical European education in Russian gymnasiums. The author gives characteristics of the first Latin language teachers at the Tobolsk Main Public School and its successor, the Tobolsk Men's Classical Gymnasium in the period from 1789 to 1828. Attention is paid to the social origin of the Latin language teachers, their professional competencies, family and social status, changes in the social status and material conditions of life, their interaction with the local population. As a result of the investigation, the author concludes that, in comparison with the European provinces of Russia, the speed of implementation of the reforms of classical education in Western Siberia was slower. Regional West Siberian reasons for lagging behind the all-Russian course of reforms are identified: poor professional and pedagogical training of teachers, lack of opportunities for self-education, low salaries, insufficient social security, difficult living conditions for many teachers. A negative role was also played by the absence in most cases of personal motivation of gymnasium students and their parents to receive higher education at Russian universities. The novelty of this study is given by the use as sources of unpublished and published archival data on the history of the Main Public School and the Tobolsk Classical Gymnasium of the late 18th – first quarter of the 19th centuries. (reports of directors and teachers, orders of the trustees of the educational district and ministers of education, historical notes on the anniversaries of the gymnasium), as well as personal documents – memoirs and personal correspondence of teachers.