Dianova Е. V. The Agricultural Orientation of School Education in Karelia in the 1920s: A Retrospective Analysis of Regional Experience

Posted on 28.06.2026 by editor

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Original article

https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.26182.216-233
https://elibrary.ru/ozynwo
УДК / UDC 94:371.1(470.22)

The Agricultural Orientation of School Education in Karelia in the 1920s: A Retrospective Analysis of Regional Experience

Е. V. Dianova
Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation

Abstract

Introduction. With the introduction of specialized classes aimed at training personnel for Karelia’s agro-industrial sector, there is a growing need to revisit the historical experience of teaching school students advanced agricultural practices, as seen during the implementation of an agricultural focus in rural schools in the 1920s. A notable gap in the literature is the lack of comprehensive studies of this process within regional historiography. The aim of study is to examine and analyze the introduction of an agricultural focus in rural schools in Karelia in the broader context of pedagogical experimentation in public education in the 1920s.

Materials and Methods. The study draws on documents from the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia, including materials from the People’s Commissariat for Education of the Karelian ASSR, the Karelian Regional Union of Agricultural and Handicraft Industrial Cooperatives, and the Kem District Department of Public Education. The research is grounded in a historical-pedagogical approach, which involves examining how pedagogical theories were implemented in school practice at the local level. The regional approach made it possible to identify both common and distinctive features of the processes associated with the introduction of an agricultural orientation in rural schools, both across the country as a whole and in Karelia in particular.

Results and Discussion. As the analysis of sources has shown, the official status of schools with an agricultural orientation remained ambiguous and gave rise to differing interpretations. In practice, this model of rural schooling was implemented by allocating land plots to schools according to predetermined standards. The primary goals of introducing an agricultural orientation in schools were to foster collectivist skills among children and to disseminate advanced agricultural practices among peasants in order to improve agricultural productivity. It was found that, in many cases, utilitarian objectives, such as providing teachers and students with produce from school gardens, took precedence over educational and pedagogical aims. The study also identified key shortcomings in the functioning of these institutions, including a lack of tools and seeds, as well as a shortage of trained teacher-agronomists. As a result, ordinary rural schools with an agricultural orientation played only a limited role in the economic life of the village and were often viewed critically by the peasantry; they failed to become centers of agronomic and cooperative outreach. The most successful institutions were experimental and demonstration schools, as well as commune schools with an agricultural orientation, which maintained auxiliary training farms and functioned as experimental agricultural stations.

Conclusion. The findings presented by the author contribute to the study of pedagogical innovations in rural schools aimed at modernizing the agrarian economy in the 1920s. The materials of the article enrich existing knowledge on the history of public education in the republic and enable similar research to be conducted in other regions of the country. The practical significance of the study lies in establishing continuity in the traditions of agricultural education and in the possibility of drawing on historical experience when developing innovative approaches to training personnel for the agro-industrial sector of contemporary Russia.

Keywords: public education, rural schools of Karelia, agricultural orientation, land allotments, labor education

Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

For citation: Dianova E.V. The Agricultural Orientation of School Education in Karelia in the 1920s: A Retrospective Analysis of Regional Experience. Finno–Ugric World. 2026;18(2):216–233. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.26182.216-233

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Information about the author:

Elena V. Dianova, Dr.Sci. (Hist.), Associate Professor of the Department of National History, Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences, Petrozavodsk State University (33 Lenin Prospekt, Petrozavodsk 185910, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7661-5181, SPIN-code: 4526-3874, elena-dianowa@yandex.ru

The author has read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 17.12.2025; revised 14.01.2026; accepted 19.01.2026.

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