Highland schools in the Caucasus: Historical background

Abstract

The article explores the history of the highland schools (Gorskaya shkola) in the Caucasus that covers the period from the 1850s to the 1860s. Established in 1859 and originally planned to function as a pilot project for four years, they proved to be effective, so the experiment continued. This paper also examines the legal status of highland schools. The desk research was focused on facts derived from official archives of the Ministry of Education published in the 'Journal of Ministry of Education'. Such sources included legal documents, extracts from reports of the Minister of Education and the Trustee of the Caucasus Education District, as well as local findings on operation of the then established schools. The research methodology is based on principles of historicism, objectivity and systematism that are commonly used in historiography. The study involved the problem-based chronological method to scrutinize certain facts in the history of highland schools' development in the Caucasus, and disclose the highlanders' interest in such institutions which prompted further establishment of other highland schools in the region. In conclusion, it is important to state that the network of highland schools in the Caucasus allowed not only to satisfy educational needs of children residing in the highland communities, but also to co-educate them with children of the Russian Empire commissioners. Graduates of such schools maintained a wider range of social relationships (through religion, consecrated friendship, comradeship) that helped them to adapt easier to the rapidly changing world and to the rapidly changing situation in the Caucasus.