Lev G. Lopatinsky and his activities in the Caucasus

Abstract

In the 1860s and 1870s, the Russian Ministry of Education recruited teachers of ancient languages from among the Slavs of Austria-Hungary en masse. Among those were more than 80 Rusins, mainly from Galicia, who came to teach in many regions of the Russian Empire, including the Caucasus. A prominent figure in the Rusin teaching diaspora was Lev Grigorievich Lopatinsky (1842–1922). In 1866, he moved from Galicia to the Kingdom of Poland, becoming a teacher at the Siedlce Gymnasium. In 1868–1877, Lopatinsky taught ancient languages at the Novgorod-Seversk and 2nd Kyiv Gymnasiums. He then held management positions in the Urals – inspector of the Ufa Gymnasium (1877–1881) and director of the Troitsk Gymnasium (1881–1883). The longest period of Lopatinsky’s life and work was spent in the Caucasus, where from 1883, he headed the Pyatigorsk Progymnasium for 6 years. The pinnacle of his career was the position of inspector of the Caucasian educational district, which Lopatinsky held for 28 years (1889–1917). During this time, he made a significant contribution to the development of the education system in the region and the enlightenment of the Caucasian peoples. In his later years, Lopatinsky was a professor at the newly established universities in Tiflis and Baku. Along with his main professional activities, he conducted extensive scholarly research, especially in the study of the Kabardian language and folklore. Lopatinsky developed the Kabardian alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet, compiled the first Kabardian grammar and the first Russian-Kabardian dictionary. He did a lot to collect, study and publish the folklore of the Kabardians and other mountain peoples. In addition, Lopatinsky carried out extensive research, organizational and publishing work, headed academic communities and edited 26 Caucasian Studies collections. Thus, he had significant merits both as a public education figure and as a Caucasian studies scholar.