Auf dem Gebiet der Bildung8 Fotos

On the Field of Education

We will be discussing a building constructed in 1914 according to the design by the young civil engineer A.G. Molokin, located at 29 Artyom Street (which was formerly known as Eparchial Street). This four-story structure was built in the Art Nouveau style, with elements of Gothic architecture such as pointed windows. The well-proportioned design and the restrained decoration of its few details gave it the dignity befitting a bank – after all, it was designed and constructed specifically for the Peasants’ Land Bank.


For background information: The Peasants’ Land State Bank was established in Russia in 1882 to provide loans to peasants for purchasing private land. In 1895, it was granted the authority to purchase land from landlords, and within ten years (from 1895 to 1905), it acquired approximately 1 million decatons of land. The bank’s activities contributed significantly to the rise in land prices; the cost of one decaton increased from 49 rubles in 1896 to 111 rubles in 1905. Between 1906 and 916, the bank purchased more than 4.6 million decatons of land (for a total amount of approximately 500 million rubles), of which 3.8 million decatons were sold to individual households during those same years. In all, between 1906 and 1915, peasants purchased 10.4 million decatons of land from the bank or with its assistance; by 1914, the price per decaton had risen to 136 rubles. The high repayment costs led to an increase in delinquencies, and the number of borrowers decreased significantly (from 134,000 in 1910 to 64,000 in 1914). By 1917, only 61% of the land purchased by the bank had been sold.

The Peasants’ Bank was dissolved by a decree of the Soviet Government on November 25, 1917. Its assets were nationalized under the Land Decree and allocated to peasants, who thus were also freed from their debts to the bank, which amounted to 3310 million rubles.

The bank building on Eparchial Street was also nationalized. Under the new regime, it became the headquarters of the People’s Commissariat for Education, initially headed by V.P. Zatonsky and later by N.A. Skrypnik. After the government of the Ukrainian Republic moved to Kiev in 1934, the vacated building was assigned to the first experimental middle school established in Ukraine – the 102nd Ukrainian Middle School (according to the 1937 directory).
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Information about its objectives, plans, and prospects can be found in an article published in the same year in the republican journal “Vsesvit”:

“At the initiative of the People’s Commissariat for Education, an experimental middle school was established in Kharkov, which began operations on September 1. It is the only such school in Ukraine. Its purpose is to test new teaching methods and communist education approaches, as well as our educators’ innovative suggestions, to adopt advanced international educational practices, evaluate their effectiveness, and implement them in practice. At the same time, the school is intended to critically evaluate and apply foreign educational experiences as well.
The school consists of eleven classes – ten regular classes and one preparatory class – and follows the curriculum and teaching plans of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic’s mainstream schools. It achieves its goals through both its exemplary role as an educational institution and by undertaking specialized experimental projects. Thanks to its advanced equipment, furniture, appearance, and students’ living and working conditions, as well as the expertise of its teachers, the school aims to become one of the leading institutions of education in the republic. Its design and operations should reflect the best achievements of educational theory. Everything from the selection and arrangement of furniture to the choice of equipment should meet the highest standards of educational science.

The school has assembled a team of top educators and theoretical experts to work there. Among them are Professor Paradissky for literature instruction, Professor Nimich and Associate Professor Hilchenko for science subjects, Associate Professor Karlova for physics, Research Assistant Shvidun for astronomy, and others. The primary school teachers are also among the best professionals in Kharkov.The school operates on a single shift system, which allows for extensive use of extracurricular activities and health promotion programs. As a priority, technical facilities and a wellness system have been established; these will benefit the majority of children after regular classes. Physically weak children will receive additional care, enhanced nutrition, and various health-enhancing treatments such as outdoor exercises and physical therapy. All these measures will be combined with a specific routine at home and at school. Other children will participate in various clubs, workshops, and study groups. Such an organization allows for more prolonged influence on students’ development than in traditional schools.

Special attention is given to the children in the preparatory class – seven-year-olds. Their school activities are combined with play, outings, and physical exercises. For this purpose, two spacious rooms with a veranda have been allocated to them, so that they can lead a lifestyle different from that of older students.

In its operations, the school makes use of various visual aids such as slides and films, as well as hands-on laboratory activities. Five thousand slides and short films have been purchased, and plans are underway to integrate film education into the school curriculum.At present, the teaching staff is focusing on addressing immediate challenges, such as arranging the classrooms and seating the children according to health and safety guidelines, determining the appropriate exterior design for the schools, and choosing the right materials for the walls, portraits, and other elements. The types of furniture for the laboratories, offices, workshops, and libraries have also been selected.

The next step is to identify the individual characteristics, abilities, weaknesses, interests, and health conditions of each child, in order to tailor teaching methods to their specific needs.The school aims to promote its activities and seek the support of Soviet society, especially the Ukrainian education community. Special rooms have been reserved for visiting guests, so that discussions can be conducted in an organized manner regarding their experiences and suggestions.”

It appears that the 102nd School continued to use the building at 29 Artyom Street until just before the war. However, despite the seemingly innovative educational approaches described in these plans, some of these initiatives may have been discontinued earlier. Regardless, after the liberation of Kharkov, the focus shifted to other priorities in education.
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And the building found a new owner. It became the home of a pedagogical institute that had lost its previous premises during the war. The former bank building no longer had enough space to accommodate a pedagogical institution, so the architect who designed the original building, Professor A.G. Molokin, prepared a plan for an additional wing attached to the south side of the building.
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Sixty years have passed since then. Now, the former bank building is about to celebrate its centenary as an educational institution. And it still looks as young and vibrant as it did at the beginning of its journey.