Article
citation information:
Rutkowski, M. Education
of members of transport services of tsarist Russia in the 1830s. Admission and
examination of students of the Saint Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers
of roads of communication. Scientific Journal of Silesian
University of Technology. Series Transport. 2019, 102, 165-183. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2019.102.14.
Marek RUTKOWSKI[1]
EDUCATION OF MEMBERS OF TRANSPORT SERVICES OF TSARIST RUSSIA IN THE 1830S. ADMISSION AND EXAMINATION OF STUDENTS OF THE SAINT PETERSBURG INSTITUTE OF CORPS OF ENGINEERS OF ROADS OF COMMUNICATION
Summary. This paper focuses on the
phenomenon of the strongly complicated process of education of cadets and
officers of tsarist transportation services corps during the 1830s of the 19th
century. While primarily commencing this short study with introduction and
changes in the didactic process occurring in Saint Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication at the early
stages of its development, the main scope of the research was to describe: a)
changes and restriction in the accessibility to the very process of education
given in this Institute, b) the alteration in the formal entry and most of all
scientific requirements. c) the outcome and circumstances of final
examinations, all happening during the third decade of 19th century.
Keywords: tsarist transportation, Russian
Empire, administration structures, 19th century
1. A SHORT OUTLINE OF
CHANGES IN DIDACTIC PROCESS CONDUCTED AT THE INSTITUTE OF CORPS OF ENGINEERS OF
ROADS OF COMMUNICATION UNTIL THE BEGINNINGS OF 1830s.
It was on
November 1/13, 1810, when the so-called Institute of Corps of Engineers of
Roads of Communication started its formal activity, as the opening of this
educational institution took place in the presence of tsarist Chief Director of
Roads of Communication, Prince Georg of Oldenburg[2]. At the
same time, 30 students were admitted to this institute in
order to commence pursuing a three-year teaching course.
The
assumption was that after completing the first year of teaching, those of the
students who were considered as "worthy of further promotions"
received the (military) rank of ensign, after
completing the second year of education, they became second lieutenants, in the
third year of their studies, they went on to active duty as engineering
lieutenants. In the initial period of the Institute's activity, the number of
subjects taught there was not very staggering. First of all, they taught at the
St. Petersburg Road and Engineering School: a) the foundations of
“elementary mathematics”, b) rules for drawing of plans, c)
descriptive geometry, d) “shadow theory”, e)
statistics, f) rules for the construction of vaults, g)
basics of drawing, and finally, h) rules
for “breaking of stones”.
After a short period of time, it turned out that the whole lecture
course prepared in this capacity did not meet the specific requirements,
imposed on the then Russian road construction process, their infrastructure,
guidance as well as supervision rules. In this connection, the following
lectures were added to the original basic teaching programme: a)
“integral calculi”, b) differential calculi, c) the practice of
applying of descriptive geometry, d) dynamics, e) construction, f) physics, g)
chemistry, h) mineralogy, and i) science of fortifications. The changes
introduced, of course, resulted in the fact that the current three-year course
of study was transformed into a four-year training system. The students
themselves were divided into four “sections” (in other words:
“brigades”); a) the first “section” included second
lieutenants (French: sou-lieutenents), b) all ensigns (French: enseignes) were enrolled in the second “brigade”, c) the students of
the first year (French:eléves) were included in the third “section”, and finally d) to
the fourth “brigade" the whole of second grade students were
included (French: surnuméraires)[3].
Later on, namely in 1822, the general course of teachings at the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication was extended to
include lectures; a) “on carpentry”, b) “on drawing
cards/plans”, c) “gnomony” [gnomoniké
téchne], d) applied mechanics, e) general
construction, f) beginnings of tactics, g) science of artillery, and finally
(h) science of strategy. Starting from 1824, students of the Institute who did
not possess officer degrees (namely: cadets) were living obligatory in the
campus of the university. Initially, the number of such cadets was 72. Out of
the whole number of them, 40 individuals received government scholarships, and
the remaining 32 people paid for themselves the costs of their education,
maintenance, etc. The latter were called so-called “pension
students”.
Then a new category of students soon
appeared in St. Petersburg’s Road Institute. The reason for it was that
within the tsarist Communication Corps was then created a separate section,
which received the name of “a branch of military builders”. For the
creation of a new category of persons who were counted among members of the
Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication, stood a sort of pressing need for
active use in the conduction of actual road construction process even the
“learners”, who were still studying as future-to-be transportation
officers. They were those officers who were “not so much advanced in the
teachings, as persons still studying /…/, [but who] could usefully be
used to carry out works and constructions”.
In view of the above, in the early 1820s, one more transportation school
was established in St. Petersburg, teaching in a way of two-year course study,
the future employees of Russian road engineering services. This institution was
called the School of Builders. Originally, it was agreed to accept into a new
teaching unit a 100 students, who having graduated from this university,
received the (military) rank of an ensign. To the Institute of Corps of
Engineers of Roads of Communication
itself, this was initially important as far as the most talented of those
ensigns were then given permission to continue their education at the
Institute. Of course, having received the ranks of officers, they were
permitted at the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication to
sit in the class intended for ensigns and after showing proper progress in science,
they were directed to an engineering course, where they could learn together
with the students (the Institute's officers)[4].
Subsequently, in 1829, Tsar Nicholas I approved a new law on the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication[5].
Fig. 1. The introduction of Tsar Nicholas I’s law of 19 June / 1
July 1829 on the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Communication[6]
As a consequence, the Institute of Engineers of Corps of Roads of
Communication received a new organisational form at the turn of the twenties
and thirties of the nineteenth century, although the university was still under
the management of its director, supported by two of its direct assistants. One
of them was solely responsible for scientific issues only, the other took care
for economic issues, as well as for the supervision of any criminal cases at
the Institute.
At the time, the teaching corps employed by the Institute consisted
essentially of 15 professors. Among them were both the land and water
communication officers, and members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences,
and “other first-class [science] institutions”. The total number of
professors had to be increased at that time by 6 auxiliary professors. The
overall composition of the teaching staff of the Institute also included 24
so-called “correspondents”, officers of the Corps of Engineers of
Roads of Communication. At St. Petersburg Road Academy, the following
additionary members of teaching staff were still employed; a) head of the
workshop, b) people assisting in the construction of models, c) two Russian
language teachers, d) two teachers of French language, e) a teacher of military
code, f) “instructor of horse riding, drawings and gymnastics”[7].
It is extremely important to notice here, that the changes made in the
aftermath of introducing of new legal solutions included the process of
absorbing the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication,
mentioned above, the St. Petersburg School of Builders. It happened that from
that point in time within the walls of the transportation university, they
automatically became students, who would be encountered as; a) cadets, b)
ensigns, and c) officers. At the same time, the structure of the Institute's
education system was broadened, extending the curriculum by two new classes,
that is, the fifth grade and the sixth grade, which could be considered (for
example, by Alexander de Krusenstern) as sort of preparatory classes for
commencing proper study. As a result of applying these solutions; a) the cadets
were now learning in the fourth, fifth and sixth class of the Institute; b) in
the third class ‘the sciences was taken” by officer cadets, (c)
ensigns learned in the second grade, and d) in the first class “science
was learnt” by second lieutenants[8].
In connection with the introduced organisational changes, and in
particular reference to the re-evaluation of the structure of the teaching
process itself, the scope of the whole educational programme given at the St.
Petersburg Institute of Corps of
Engineers of Roads of Communication was substantially changed. Specifically, in
the fifth and sixth grades of the Institute the cadets had to learn; a) the
basics (grammatical rules) of Russian and French languages, b) universal
history, c) geography, d) the basics of mathematics, that is, arithmetic and
algebra, e) geometry, and f) calligraphy.
In the fourth grade, the curriculum was of course expanded. It was
necessary to learn at this level; a) Russian grammar, b) Russian geography, c)
Russian hydrography, d) a set of “mathematical sciences” (including
the repetition of the material being already processed and the completion of
knowledge in the field of algebra), e) “both sciences of
trigonometry”, f) ability to use geodetic tools, g) drawing up plans, h)
mineralogy, i) analytic geometry, j) descriptive geometry, k) “shadows
theory”, l) linear perspective, m) the basics of different architectural
styles, and finally, n) elementary tactics.
During the teaching course in the third grade of the Institute, the
following subjects were conducted; a) the military code, b) the basics of
French literature, c) “synthetic statistics”, d) differential
calculus and integral calculus, e) “use of descriptive geometry for
hewing stones and carpentry”, f) “the first part of the art of the
building” (where knowledge of building materials should be mastered), g)
“land communications”, h) stonework and mural works, i)
architecture in the field of “building details”, and embellishing
edifices decorations, j) drawing, k) “coloring”, l) an extended
history of Russia, m) statistics of the Russian Empire and n) learning about
artillery and field fortifications.
In turn, in the second class, the curriculum included; a) a lecture on
the development of French literature, b) mechanics ( whose “science”
consisted of analytical lectures in the field of: statistics, hydrostatics,
dynamics and hydrodynamics), c) physics, d) “application of descriptive
geometry to the mapping system, gnomony, and air perspective”, e)
“construction of buildings prepared by means of an academic
competition”, f) the second part of building science (which included:
lectures on bridges, water transport, sailing on lakes, sailing on canals), g)
science of “permanent fortifications”, h) lava drawing, and i)
coloured drawing.
The final, first-class of St. Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers
of Roads of Communication had in its curriculum; a) “mastering of the
official style correspondence”, b) lecture on “world system and
higher geodesy”, b) strategy, c) history and literature in the field of
“skills”, d) “collection of art of all kinds of
building”, e) applied mechanics, f) chemistry, g) mineralogy, and
finally, h) creating projects (and their detailed descriptions) in the field
of: civil architecture, road architecture, canal architecture, hydraulic works,
and machine construction.
In addition, during the studies at the Institute it was obligatory to
learn horse riding and gymnastics, as well as perform regular military
exercises. The Institute's teaching programme apparently included some
religious issues. For cadets and officer cadets, “the principles of
religion and Christian morality" were lectured by three different
clergymen, representing "Russian-Greek" (Orthodox), Roman Catholic
and Protestant faiths. Finally, it should be noted here that the general
process of “physical and moral education” of all the students of
the Institute was consistent with the principles in force in all tsarist cadets
corporations[9].
At the turn of the twenties and thirties of the nineteenth
century, approximately 250 pupils studied at the St. Petersburg Institute of
Engineers of Roads of Communication, of course, these data have changed
periodically. And so, in 1829, there was a total number of 240 students of the
Institute, of which 160 were sponsored by the state, and 80 received education
at their own expense[10]. In turn, Krusenstern gave in his publication from the epoch that
(apparently during another university year) 265 of students of road engineering
were studying there. 160 of these people received education at the expense of
the state, while 105 more people studied, covering all their expenses in the
amount of 1,200 rubles a year (including tuition) from their own funds. These
data indicate, however, that at least the number of Institute students
supported wholly by the state, that is, 160 persons, remained unchanged in this
period. It should also be remembered that every year the Russian State Treasury
allocated 192 thousand rubles to the maintenance of the St. Petersburg
Transportation Academy[11].
2. CHANGES IN ACCESS TO EDUCATION AT THE INSTITUTE OF
ENGINEERS OF ROADS OF COMMUNICATION INTRODUCED IN THE EARLY 1830S.
Although in the 1830s, the internal structure of the Institute and its
general way of governance did not change profoundly (perhaps except the shift
in the position of its director, General-Lieutenant Bazen, who resigned from
his position on September 5 /17 September, 1835)[12], this period marked the appearance of a whole range of extremely
important decisions regarding the recruitment of candidates for the tsarist
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communications. The first of these
was the introduction of two significant personal restrictions in the
accessibility to the learning process at this Institute. Thus, at the request
of the managing chief of the Department of Roads of Communication and Public
Edifices, Carl Wilhelm von Toll (who embraced this position on October 1/13,
1833[13]), as well as on the basis of the opinion given by the St. Petersburg
Committee of Ministers, dated as of January 16/28 and January 30 / February 11,
1834, Tsar Nicholas I decided to change some of the solutions in these matters,
basing on the existing laws. In this case, it was about; a) the law on clerks
from October 14/26, 1827, and b) the Act on the Institute of Corps of Engineers
of Roads of Communication itself, approved by Nicholas I on June 19/July 1,
1829, and then published by the decision of the Governing Senate, dated as of September
1/13, 1829[14].
On the basis of the unitary monarch's decision, therefore, only the sons
of Russian merchants belonging to the so-called most important First Merchant
Guild for at least the uninterrupted period of the twelve preceding years were
now entitled to enrol on the list of students of this Institute (in other
words, it meant that sons of other merchants, etc., were automatically deprived
of their right to study there). Furthermore, their education process itself had
to be paid in principle, from private sources only, which of course excluded
any state subsidy in their cases. On the other hand, it was much more important
to introduce, simultaneously, a categorical ban on allowing foreigners to the
St Petersburg Transportation Institute, who “henceforth neither with the
financial support of the state nor at their own expense, had to be admitted [to
the Institute]”. After being accepted by Tsar on January 30/February 11,
1834, the formal law in these matters has been issued by the 1st Department of Governing
Senate on February 20/March 4, 1834[15].
However, not all of the regulations on accessibility to the teaching
process at the St. Petersburg Communication Institute issued at that time were strictly
restrictive in nature. It should be noted, though, that on November 27/December
9, 1836, the Russian Governing Senate issued an ordinance, under which it was
decided to give access to the Corps of Roads of Communication for the sons of
persons possessing the right to hereditary nobility, obtained thanks to their
participation in the tsarist administration structure, while having the high
official ranks. Now they were able to join the Corps of Engineers of Roads of
Communications, holding the rights of “volunteers or freelancers”[16]. Such a possibility, of course, also assumed the right to study at the
St. Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication
Fig. 2. The legal proposal of the Russian Committee of Ministers
regarding restriction of admission to the Institute of Corps of Road of
communications, approved by Nicholas I on January 30/February 11, 1834 and then
made available to the public based on the ruling made by the First Department
of the Governing Senate on February 20/March 4, 1834
(the first verses)[17]
3. RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS “AT TREASURY
EXPANSE” TO THE INSTITUTE OF CORPS OF ENGINEERS OF ROADS OF COMMUNICATION
IN SAINT PETERSBURG, ANNOUNCED IN 1834 AND 1835.
The state authorities usually publicly announced the conditions to be
met by candidates in order to be allowed entry into the ranks of students of
the St. Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication[18]. In the 1830s, some announcements were still distributed in the Russian
Empire, as well as on the territory of Vienna Congress Kingdom of Poland, later
crushed and conquered by the Tsardom in Russian-Polish war of 1831. And so, in
the middle of April 1834, such issued by the Institute announcements, regarding
the possibility of becoming a student of this academy by acquiring a state
scholarship, appeared in the press (in short form).
The date of the anticipated exam was set for the day of May 15/27, 1834.
At the same time, the announcement issued in the spring of 1834 by the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication contained a detailed
description of the conditions for admission into the school. The primary
organisational provisions of this teaching unit, finally approved by virtue of
the decision of Alexander I of June 19/31, 1820, were regarded as the guiding
principle, from which it was clear that in the Institute cadets were accepted
annually. However, in order to gain full admission, one had to first go through
the one-year preparatory course.
The obvious boundary condition for obtaining the right to enter the
Institute as a cadet was to be in the age group of at least 14 and 18 years
old, being at the same time of “healthy complexion [of skin]”. Each
candidate had to pass in the so-called “Institute conference” area,
an appropriate exam, prepared to check his actual “scientific
knowledge”. In addition, it was argued that young boys/men joining the
Institute were expected to have relevant knowledge in the fields of; a)
(Christian) religion, “according to their faith”, b) grammar of the
Russian language, c) grammar of the French language, d) universal history, and
e) general geography. In particular, an emphasis was put on the knowledge of
Russian history and geography as well as of arithmetic and drawing.
In the spring of 1834, it was identified in great detail, the social
categories from which the candidates for the cadets of the transport services
may come. Hence, it turned out that first of all (which was nevertheless quite
obvious) were accepted into the Institute children of nobility, staff officers and
senior officers, and people with the right to free admission to universities.
In the latter case, however, a restriction was introduced relating to the
exclusion from the privilege of children of merchants belonging to the 2nd
Guild as well as of foreigners. It was due to the fact that, under the two
decisions of the St. Petersburg Committee of Ministers, representatives of both
groups could no longer join the Institute ( see text above)[19].
There were differences in the scope of the necessary documentation
required for joining the St. Petersburg Transport Scientific Institution.
Firstly, on the basis of the implementation of the provisions of the
Russian State Council, then confirmed by Nicholas on February 6/18, 1828, the
nobility children had to provide copies of the “Nobility Deduction
Units” protocols, on the basis of which they were recognised as nobles
(“dvorianie”). On the other hand were; a) sons of staff officers
and senior officers coming from the nobility, whose fathers served in the army
and on their own request were dismissed, and b) sons of officials of ranks or
classes appropriate to the officer's ranks in the army, should have to submit
their father's passports. In such a passport, there must have been written a
precise description of their service, of course, signed by the military or
civilian authorities under which their fathers served. In turn, the children of
fathers still performing their duties as staff officers and senior officers and
their respective civil servants were obliged to submit descriptions of the
service of their fathers, signed by their “present” superiors. It
was a permanent rule that it was always necessary to submit together with other
documents, the baptism certificates signed by the right consistory.
Secondly, the Institute's authorities analysed in detail and made public
the arrangements for admission to study at the St. Petersburg School of
Transport for children of persons with the right to free admission to all of
the Russian schools/colleges. First of all, it was about the youth of fathers
who have the only so-called personal (that is, attached to a specific
individual) nobility. Namely, this concerned primarily and mainly, the sons of
senior officers who did not come from the nobility, and who did not acquire
their rank while serving in their own regiments, but who finally received it
while resigning from their post in the Active Army. At the same time, quite
similar or identical situation concerned the children of these senior officers,
who “had got this rank during their activity in civil service /…/
but not from the military service”. According to the sentence expressed
by the Russian Council of State, then further confirmed by Nicholas I on
February 6/18, 1828, these categories of candidates should have submitted
identical evidence similar to those provided for the children of the
“standard” senior officers. Also in these cases, of course, there
was the pressing need to provide baptism records.
Thirdly, the announcement of the conditions for joining the Institute
Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication examined in detail, the rights of
children of the clergy of different rites. It was indicated then that - in
accordance with the laws of May 3/15, 1818; June 25 / July 7, 1827, as well as
of January 26/February 8 and December 14/26, 1829; a) sons of the Orthodox (in
the original "Greek-Russian faith") priests and deacons, b) children
of Protestant pastors, c) the sons of priests and deacons of the Uniate Church
(that is, of the Eastern Catholic Church on the territory of the former
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, accepting the supremacy of Sedes Apostolica
Romana), and finally d) male children of clergy of Armenian Church were all
obliged to submit certificates issued by local clergy authorities, allowing
them to enter the public service. In addition, these clergy sons were forced to
submit graduation certificates from at least the “middle section”
of the seminar.Additionally, it was necessary to prove that these prospective
transportation students were not released from further seminary education
because of any kind of “flaws”. Finally, it was fitting to deliver
their birth certificates, confirming that they were born at a time when their
fathers had already been ordained. In turn, the children of male Protestant
pastors had to submit, issued by the Council of Livonian and Estonian Affairs,
confirmation of lack of obstacles in accepting them to the transport services
of the Russian state.
The legislation, moreover, introduced partly similar restrictions of a
general nature. Thus, candidates to the Institute were reminded of the principle
that was previously introduced by the Act of December 5/17, 1802, on the basis
on which there were entitled to free admission to study; a) university students
(so-called “academics”), b) graduates of the Imperial Academy of
Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, as well as c) alumni of all scientific
institutions of the Empire with a special privilege status, but only if they
were able to submit certificates of completion of acquired so far sciences and
all the rights acquired for this reason.
Because, finally, according to the new regulations, only those children
of merchants whose fathers had been in the 1st Guild for at least 12 years were
allowed to enter the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication,
moreover, they had to submit the relevant certificates from the city councils
and magistrates. These certificates were not only meant to concern their
fathers but should also include the consent of the local merchant trade union
to exempt those candidates to study at the Institute from the obligation to
perform military service, the usual duration at the time was 25 years. Such
credentials were also to confirm the payment of tax for them. Another
requirement imposed on the children of merchants was the necessity to present
written by their consistory their “full-fledged” (that is, given in
a legitimate way) births[20].
Here it is worth noting that candidates wishing to join the Institute by
paying their tuition themselves, were obliged to pay for half-yearly education
fee in advance (600 rubles). In addition, a kind of warranty, signed by several
"trustworthy" citizens permanently residing in St. Petersburg, must
have been provided in such cases. Such an attestation had to include an
annotation about ensuring a successive payment of tuition fees, which would be
the responsibility of the guarantors themselves.
It was a general rule that each candidate, joining the Institute of
Engineers of Corps of Roads of Communication under the age of 17, should have
attached to his application a sort of confirmation (the so-called
“attestat”) issued by a scholarly institution, school or private
tutor, informing where and what he has taught accurately so far. Such
attestation was accompanied by a certificate of “good condition of his
manners and behaviour”. In the case of people who were 18 years old, the
candidates in question were obliged to deliver an issued certificate by the
local civil governor of their “conduct” for the duration of their stay
in the place where they had previously lived. The way they behaved had to be
“advantageous” (worthy of recommendation or praise), and any of the
future students of the communication routes could not be “censored”
(suspect) for any wrongdoing. In addition, candidates were required to provide
a certificate of vaccination against smallpox. What was also needed was a
certificate of civil authority about having or not, by the candidate himself or
his parents of any immovable property, that is, “estates or
houses”. It was evident that the records, prepared in foreign languages,
as well as the official documents of “diligence”, had to be sent
along with the appropriate translation into Russian. Such a translation had to
be certified in an official form[21].
Parents, relatives or guardians directly send their
applications for admission of young prospective students to the Corps of
Engineers of Roads of Communications to the director of the Institute, even if
these letters were formally addressed to the Tsar, himself (sic). Parents who
applied for admission of their sons to the Institute at the whole expense of
the state, nonetheless should have brought them (in the original “get
them transported”) to St. Petersburg headquarters of the Institute, in
order to allow them to participate in conducting the entrance examination within
the university buildings. Among the different lines of the announcement at
stake, one could find a very specific statement, as there was placed in the
following part of a script, information referring to rather an imprecise
limitation of the number of people accepted at the time to the Institute. In
fact, from among the young people coming for such an examination, only as many
students could enter the St. Petersburg Transportation School walls as there
were vacancies available at the given time. Of course, this unsteady number of
vacancies could depend on many changing and in principle, arbitrary conditions.
Actually, the decisive factor (at least formally) of
admission to the ranks of the Institute's students was the very result of a
comprehensive examination carried out on all of the required subjects, which
meant that there were accepted “not differently than on the basis of
obtaining the majority of points in the exam”.
Some
exceptional situations were anticipated here. And so, prospective candidate receiving
good results on the exam, and fulfilling any other additional requirements of a
prospective student who, however, due to the lack of adequate vacancies did not
enter the group of students of the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of
Communication in the given year, at the same time acquired automatically the
right to free access to this university before all other persons trying to
enter the following year. However, this could only happen “after being
proved on the second exam that the [given candidate] would have potentially
made [in the meantime] bigger progress, and therefore can enter the higher
class than he could have possibly entered the previous year”.
Finally, the ordinance of mid-April 1834 indicated
that a student upon completing the whole of his “scientific
courses”, which at the time meant the awarding of the rank of lieutenant
in the Corps of the Engineers of Roads of Transportation, could be transferred
to the civil service, holding rights to the rank available in state civil administration,
granted normally and usually to students ending typical university education.
Another indication of a legal caveat (written in the article no 12. of the
regulation described here) was the statement about the inalienable need for
extending by graduates, completing educational courses at the Institute of
Corps of Roads of Communication on the principle of obtaining of a government
scholarship, at least ten years of work done “under the knowledge of the
Corps". The only acceptable derogation was the discovery of the graduate
with a non-cured disease[22].
Also in the following year of 1835, specific
regulations were announced, defining the rules for joining the initial
verification for membership itself at the St. Petersburg Institute of Engineers
of Corps of Roads of Communication[23]. So similarly as in the previous year, - in
accordance with the announcements published in the official press, the
authorities of Institute gave the general public the possibility of getting
knowledge on the conditions of entering into this scientific institution for a
number of new cadets.
The deadline for sending applications along with the
necessary documents was fixed for May 15/27 1835, and the date of the
examination was set at June 1/13 of the same year. Of course, those candidates,
who possibly would send their applications after the deadline, could not take
the verification exam in the given year[24].
As these announcements were also published in the
subjugated Kingdom of Poland, hence, apart from the appearance of a number of
supplements in the description of the required knowledge and some formal and
administrative changes, one could trace, however, a significant difference in
both notices. Well, the announcement published in the Kingdom of Poland in 1835
contained at the same time a list of textbooks, which were normally used at the
level of education taught in individual classes of the Institute of Corps of
Engineers of Roads of Communication. The purpose of adding to this list of
books was to bring about such a situation “when these [individuals] wishing
to enter one of this (that is, Institute] classes could use them to preserve
monotony in the scientific system” [25].
A comparison of the two lists of admission requirements to the St.
Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication in 1834
and 1835 (when a number of requirements have been clarified, especially of a
formal nature) indicates according to the author of this text, the persistence
of relatively unchanged tendencies in respect of the "scientific"
issues, that is, the then relative stabilization as to the initial educational
expectations of prospective students. The other tendency observed would be the
progressive stiffening or formalisation, and, above all, the specification of
administrative requirements.
In addition to this, there was a significant factor in the unification
nature of the tsarist transportation educational system of the time. At that
time, these authorities officially recognised the need to clearly indicate
which textbooks the prospective candidates were to study and prepare for exams
from, while coming from outside the strictly Russian educational circle, but
still being subjugated to Russian power[26].
4. FINAL EXAMS AT THE INSTITUTE OF CORPS OF ENGINEERS
OF ROADS OF COMMUNICATION IN 1834, 1836 AND 1837
An important supplement to the image of educational practice carried out
at the St. Petersburg Institute of Engineers of Corps of Roads Engineers in the
1830s is the analysis, available in relation to the source information given in
the form of published press reports of final exam sessions, conducted in this
transport school in the period of our interest. The data available for the
years 1834, 1836 and 1837 in the form of formally published reports are
presented below.
Beginning the description of this process, one should
focus on the events that took place at the Institute on May 3/15, 1834, when a
proper examination was carried out in the presence and with the personal
participation of general-adjutant count Carl Wilhelm von Toll, Chief of the Department of Roads of Communication
and Public Edifices of the Russian Empire. In addition, during the exam itself,
there were present in the congress hall “a large audience of
science-bound scholars”. The rule was that not only members of the Institute
questioned the examined students, but the so-called audience was inspired to do
the same, and this was because asking of various questions was supposedly
encouraged. Of course, the content of these questions must match the criteria
of “course subjects”.
It can also be argued from the description that the
overall exam result was more than successful, because "it was not possible
to disagree about the accuracy and an exactness that the responses [of the
students] were characterised with”.
It should also be added that one of the important and
formal parts of the whole “examination ceremony” was the reading of
a special speech on the progress of road construction in tsarist Russia,
prepared especially for this occasion by the then director of the Institute: General-lieutenant
Bazaine[27].
However, the whole ceremony did not end there. At a
later stage, the gathered guests (in the original: “the gathering of
audience”) were guided by Count Toll through selected rooms of the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication. Particularly
interesting were the lecture rooms, where a large number of drawings of the
cadets were displayed for inspection, etc. In addition, the visitors had the
opportunity to see selected scientific (storage) cabinets located in the
Academy such as; a) the physician's cabinet, and b) the cabinet in which a set
of various models have been placed. As this was underlined in the formal
description of the whole event, the visitors additionally saw “all the
belongings of the teaching institution, so beautifully maintained and
abundantly supplied” in general[28].
Another public exam of transportation students about which we possess
published data took place at the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of
Transportation on May 5/17, 1836. Similarly, as in 1834, this event took place
in the presence of Count Toll, and “a large group of high officials,
distinguished individuals and members of the Academy of Sciences”. The
questions asked by these people concerned various issues related to the entire
curriculum in force. The result of the exam exceeded as usual “expectations”.
An enthusiastic opinion found in the press article from 1836 indicates that the
exam “was a new proof of the usual progress of the Institute, rightly for
the greater part attributed to the care of the enlightened superiors who have
so far led it”. While describing the level of answers given by students
which were assessed as clear, accurate, and being of logical integrity. This,
in turn, was supposed to be an exact proof of the “usefulness of the
methods that were kept” by the lecturers and teachers working at the
Institute. Needless to say, not all of these teachers were employed at the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication as their primary
place of work. Namely, some of them worked full-time at the tsar’s
Academy of Sciences and as well as at the University of St. Petersburg.
During part of the exam, but before the final examination of the
officers’ class students, the director of this “teaching and
research institute”, General Potier, gave a laudatory speech. In proper
reference to the situation, words of Potier; a) described the methodology of
the curriculum, b) presented “an image of the student's behaviour”,
c) outlined the teaching duties of the Institute's teachers.
Subsequently, Count Toll found himself again as a guide to the
Institute, leading, as he did two years ago, gathered publicity members through
the individual halls, where various drawings, plans and projects were
displayed. Then, the Institute's physical cabinet and the model gallery were
visited. The latter has in the meantime been supplemented with “models of
iron roads” and the dome of the Saint Petersburg church of the Holy
Trinity. To further raise both the level of interest of those present in the
whole event, as well as in the Institute's activity itself, Count Toll also
decided to give his own personal lecture, describing this time various
“hydrographic” systems.
Even if at first glance everything was almost quite the same as before, nevertheless
in 1836 a significant change occurred in the description of the whole ceremony.
It was then that it was noted that “the congregation was pleased to see
that there were added quite many new subjects [of teaching], closely linked
with the main skills, especially the moral history of the same teachings, that
were so great grown in this Institute”.
It was also noted with an obvious recognition that “hence the care
and foresight of some expert persons who are entrusted with [guidance of] the
direction and maintenance of the Institute, do not neglect anything that may
make it worthy of their purpose, the purpose of education for the service /..
/of capable engineers and faithful [tsarist] subjects”[29].
Finally, in the next year of 1837, the public exam of the students of
the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication took place on May
3/15. As before, it was held in the presence of general-adjutant Count Toll and
the so-called “gathering, as numerous as great”, which composed at the
time of; a) the president of the St. Petersburg State Council, b) the
ambassador of the French king, and c) other “persons belonging to the
diplomatic body”. Surprisingly, this time the answers given by the cadets
and selected student-officers were merely regarded as
“satisfactory”. However, this educational collapse was to some
extent alleviated by the assessment of the answers given by some
student-officers, who passed their exam with answers that “proved their
great progress in the sciences”. This year (as it was, by the way, the
twenty-fifth “release” of adepts in the history of the described
St. Petersburg Academy), as many as 33 ensigns and 36 second-lieutenants (69
people in total) were deemed worthy of increasing in their ranks and referring
to work directly in active service.
After completing the examination part of the event, General Gottmann
(formerly a student, became director of the Academy from October 1836)
presented a short speech, in which he outlined “the reasons of the
progress that this [Institute] may rightly boast of”. In addition,
Gottmann also directed his words to the students who were about to leave the
university walls, making observations about their obligations to the Tsar and
the fatherland.
Next, in the company of Count Toll, a traditional visit was made by the
guests to selected rooms and cabinets of the Institute of Corps of Engineers of
Roads of Communication, where they had put on public display; a) the best
drawings and plans made by students, and b) some scientific archives. As usual,
special attention was paid to the cabinets: physical, mineralogical and of
models, where it was not without pride, that the occurrence of “variety
of objects, their great number, [and] their wealth and perfection [of their]
craftsmanship” was noticed[30].
So as one can see, a typical description of the examination of adepts of
St. Petersburg Transport Academy during the 1830s in a way consisted of three
quasi-independent parts. Above all, the examination of the cadet or officers
itself was described generally and briefly, as were the results obtained in
this respect. In addition, there was a customary description of the speech
given by the current director of the Institute. Typically, it was also
emphasised in these reports the custom of “touring” the guests
around the Institute's rooms and cabinets by the Russian “minister of
transport” - Count Carl Wilhelm von Toll.
Fig. 3. Bolesław Skirmunt, Polish nationality cadet of tsarist Corps
of Engineers of Roads of Communication as depicted in 1833[31]
Finally, it is worth noting that, although foreigners had finally been
banned from joining the St. Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads
of Communication, this did not apply to Poles, living after partitions of the
Republic within the boundaries of the extended Muscovite Imperium. Plus it
should also be recalled that after the November Uprising of 1831, they no
longer had the opportunity to study in the colleges of the Congress of Vienna,
Kingdom of Poland. For these two reasons, we are provided with some partial
evidence (given for one year really) of recorded promotions of Pole students of
the St. Petersburg Transport Academy.
Hence the year of 1836 turned out to be particularly important in this
aspect, because at that time significantly, a lot of Poles received promotions
(after completing the public exam), as considerable data on this subject
appeared in official reports, available in form of press reports distributed in
the Kingdom. As a result, it can be noted that the following people of Polish
nationality and descent, students of the tsarist Corps of Engineers of Roads of
Communication, obtained by order of Nicholas I of May 27/June 8, 1836
“elevation in ranks”. Among them, there were, first of all, the
second lieutenants: Krassowski, Strokowskski and Brzeziński, who were
nominated as lieutenants. Further appropriate nominations for the rank of
second lieutenants were obtained by the ensigns: Kieberdź and Smolikowski
(in the future both of them became chiefs of the Departments of Roads of
Communication/Land and Water Communications of the Russian Empire and the
Kingdom of Poland), Suchodolski, Szymański, Zbrożek, Jowiec,
Jerzemski, Hryniewicz, Sakowski and Horodecki. In turn, the following Polish
non-commissioned officers were appointed to the rank of ensigns: Karol
Napierski, Bronisław Slizień, Michał Bohomolec, Alexander
Hłasko, Edward Brzezinski, Augustyn Zaleski, Aleksander Matusiewicz and
Prince Józef Drucki-Lubecki (apparently coming from famous Polish
aristocratic family, whose representatives played important roles in the
Russian-Polish relation of that time)[32].
As can be seen from the obtained selective data, Poles constituted a
decidedly over representative percentage figure of the students of the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication, raised in ranks in
the mid of 1830s, especially in relation to second lieutenants and ensigns. For
example, the number can be estimated as 18 to69, (for 1836), which in practice
accounted for approximately 26% of all promotions. It is difficult, however, to
assess whether this relationship persisted throughout the whole of the 1830s,
especially when one considers the political turmoil of that period and the
general attitude of the invading Muscovite State to the Polish in question. On
the other hand, however, it should be recollected that huge personnel shortages
existed in the transport services of the Russian Empire at that time, which
could have made possible blocking measures as counterproductive ones. This
thesis is supported by Tsar Nicholas’s decision of June of 1832,
incorporating the Kingdom of Poland’s transportation engineering services
staff into the official administrative structures of the Russian Empire[33]. Even so, it would be an extremely rare case where the official tsarist
policy in some sense co-operated with the bottom-up attitude of the Polish
society.
5. Conclusion
When referring to the Saint Petersburg Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication, the main organisational and didactic scheme and framework of the
institution’ activity (and their subsequent adjustment to the
requirements of contemporary reality) and their adjustment to the requirements
of the changing reality, were well undoubtedly already set in the 1820s, this
is the next decade that brings a number of solutions which has significantly
changed the scope and character of the teaching process of future tsarist transport
services members at a higher level.
In the main part, of course, it could have been combined with the
particular change in the administrative position of the head of Board of Roads
of Communication and Public Buildings, which this new position found Count
Toll, who, undoubtedly showed a deep interest in the research and teaching
activities of Saint Petersburg Institute. This was essentially important in the
event of relatively abrupt and multiple changes in the position of the director
of the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication, which process
was undoubtedly observed in that period.
With a chronic shortage of full-time, adequately educated employees of
the transport administration in Nicholas I’s Russia, the Estonian German
at the Russian service, Count Toll[34] hardly tried to bring (with the positive effect of this idea) the
strictest restrictions on access to the teachings of the Saint Petersburg
Transport Academy, especially for people in the view of tsarist authorities
considered as unauthorised, unnecessary, or even undesirable individuals. In
order to achieve such a goal, such solutions were introduced; a) intra-Russian
legal acts, explicitly excluding certain categories of the population from this
already limited “privilege”, b) introducing of extremely strict
defined requirements regarding the obligation to provide all documentation seen
as a condition sine qua non just to get access to the qualification exam
itself, c) exclusion of foreigners/aliens from any possibility to enter the
Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of Communication, located in Saint
Petersburg.
The positivity that can be observed in the didactic activity of the
Institute of the 1830s is the maintenance or even expansion, of the already broadly
defined curriculum, which as it is, should be presumed full, and therefore,
implemented at a high substantive level. This high level of overall education
seems to be also confirmed by most of the results of the final exams, which to
much surprise, saw the Polish group of students as obviously over-represented
(as can be clearly deduced from the available detailed data for 1836) among all
adepts, standing for ¼ of them.
Thus, we have several paradoxes described in this article in the
didactic activity of the Institute of Corps of Engineers of Roads of
Communication. These are; a) limiting general access to the learning process
taking place simultaneously with an increasing need to have appropriate staff
country-wide,b) as a result of the previous, maintaining or further developing
in practice of the system which may be seen as an all too elitist education
(which, of course, came together with keeping of an unusually high threshold of
knowledge at the entrance to the Academy, also while going through the final
exams at the end of the educational process), presently when the need for the
moment would rather indicate introducing of “more mass” transport
education, c) narrowing participation in the teaching at the Institute to the
“non-alien” group of students, while at the same time appearing
among the adepts of definite national overrepresentation of Polish element.
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Received 12.10.2018; accepted in revised form 15.01.2019
Scientific
Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport is licensed
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