On the issue of the specifics of cossack education in the Russian empire (on the example of the Don army)

Abstract

The presented article examines a significant problem associated with the consistent formation of a special model of Cossack education, which was carried out in the Oblast of the Don Army in the 19th - early 20th centuries. The authors show the inextricable connection of family and social education with the real effectiveness of the educational process, focused on the comprehensive training of the younger generation, loyal to local traditions and at the same time loyal to the imperial authorities. The source base used makes it possible to adequately reconstruct the various views on Cossack education that developed in the period under review, and the practical implementation of the chosen concept of specialized education. A systematic analysis of the historiographic tradition made it possible to identify and adequately assess controversial and debatable issues related to the imperial stage in the development of Cossack educational practices. Special attention is paid to the complex institutional interaction of family social and administrative everyday life, the organic connection of which determined the objective prospects of regional education. A significant section is devoted to the methodological support of educational practices, the main element of which, in relation to the chosen period, is specialized publications that cover in a popular form the cultural traditions and the historical past of the Don Cossacks. The consistent formation of individual and group perceptions of Cossack history and culture is considered as a significant factor in the natural evolution of the regional mentality, which was determined not only by zealous service to the Motherland, but also by the purposeful conservation of ideological stereotypes of a religious, social and intellectual nature. The author's interest is also directed to the authentic connection of the previous model of Cossack education with modern practices that do not fully take into account the accumulated experience.