This experiment actually marked the beginning of female education in Russia. We tell you how noble maidens lived.

New breed

In the 18th century, the generally accepted norm of Russian society was Domostroevsky traditions: girls were not treated on ceremony, they were not taught sciences, their life scenario was predetermined.

However, Empress Catherine II, as a progressive ruler, decided that in Russia, following the example of France, an educational institution for girls of the noble classes should appear. The main goal of the institution was “to improve the breed of Russian fathers and mothers.”

The plan was ambitious: “To bring happiness to the individual and thereby raise the well-being of the entire state.” The Empress intended to take girls from their families in order to protect them from ignorance and, by placing them in an ennobling environment, to create a completely new type of women who in the future would pass on their experience, skills and knowledge to future generations.

The empress did not have daughters, and she became attached to some of her pupils, visited and even corresponded. Four letters from Catherine II to a certain girl Levshina have been preserved.

The Empress wrote: “My bow to the whole society<…>tell them that I am pleased to see their successes of all kinds, it gives me real pleasure; I’ll prove this to them when I come one evening to play to my heart’s content with the company.”

Strict mode

At the same time, about 200 girls were studying at the institute. At first, the institute's rules were harsh. Girls from noble families were accepted from the age of 6 for a period of study of 12 years. The parents signed a document that they would not demand their daughters back and had the right to visit them at strictly allotted times and only with the permission of the manager.

WITH mid-19th century centuries, relaxations began to be allowed, the institute began to accept “philistine girls” - they were housed in a separate building. Girls could go home for the holidays, and the period of study was reduced to 7 years.

Once upon a time there lived future society ladies like the Spartans: they got up at six in the morning and had a strict daily routine, there could be up to 8 lessons a day. The young pupils walked in formation - both for prayer and for a walk. The girls were hardened, so the temperature in the bedrooms did not exceed 16 degrees, they slept on hard beds and washed their faces with cold water.

The girls were fed simple food and small portions. The usual menu for noble maidens looked like this: morning tea with a bun, for breakfast a piece of bread with a little butter and cheese, a portion of milk porridge or pasta, for lunch a liquid soup without meat, for the second - meat from this soup, for the third - a small pie, and there was also evening tea with a bun.

During Lent, the diet became even more meager: for breakfast they were given no more than six small potatoes with vegetable oil and porridge, for lunch - soup with cereals, a small piece of boiled fish, which the hungry pupils nicknamed “dead meat” for its disgusting taste and appearance , and a miniature Lenten pie.

Girls enrolled in training were divided into groups by age. Under Catherine there were four “ages”, then they were reduced to three groups. Visually, the division was emphasized by the color of the dress: the younger ones (from 6 to 9) are coffee-colored, hence their nickname “kofulki.” Next came blue (from 9 to 12), the third age (from 12 to 15) wore gray dresses, and graduates (from 15 to 18) wore white.

When choosing such colors, we were guided both by practical goals, because small ones get dirty more often, and by global-spiritual ones: from indivisibility with the earth to high thoughts befitting graduates. But regardless of the color of the dress, the style was modest and of an old-fashioned cut.

The most terrible punishment for pupils was deprivation of a white apron. They were punished mainly for sloppiness, mischief in class, stubbornness and disobedience. The pupils were stripped of their aprons, pinned a piece of paper or a torn stocking to their dress, and forced to stand in the middle of the dining room during lunch.

It was very difficult for girls suffering from incontinence. Such a pupil was obliged to go to breakfast with a wet sheet over her dress; this was a shame not only for her personally, but also for the entire group. The most exemplary pupils were called “parfettes” (from the French “parfaite” - perfect), and the naughty ones “moveshki” (from “mauvaise” - bad).

Training system

The main subjects that girls studied were all types of art, the word of God, languages, exact sciences and humanities. There was physical education with elements of gymnastics and dancing.

The ability to gracefully curtsey was valued more than success in mathematics; teachers forgave bad grades in the exact sciences for good manners, and they could expel you from the institute only for indecent behavior. Their “sciences” especially revered the study of the French language.

The female institutes were rated on a twelve-point scale. At the end of the year, they were required to compile a performance rating and issue intermediate insignia: cockade bows or laces with tassels, which were tied to the hair.

The main goal of education was not to teach, but to educate. Cleverness was not encouraged; a noble girl had to be modest, be able to behave with dignity, and have impeccable manners and taste.

Inequality

Many children of the Decembrists attended the Smolny Institute, for example, Kakhovsky’s daughters graduated from the course with silver medals. Foreign high-ranking persons also studied here: Swedish aristocrats, the granddaughter of Shamil and the daughters of Georgian princes, princesses of Montenegro.

According to official sources, the head of Smolny at that time, Princess Lieven, told the young classy lady: “You may not yet know the traditions of Smolny. The princess must be demanded double and triple, because the fate of her subjects will depend on her character.”

In practice, everything was different. Although the august ladies wore uniform institute dresses and attended regular classes, they were provided with other living quarters and their own kitchen; the girls spent their holidays on the estate of the head of the institute.

Girls from poor families who could not afford long-term education were supported by scholarships organized by imperial family and rich people. They wore a ribbon around their neck, the color of which was chosen by the benefactor.

Star graduates

The first graduation from Smolny was truly famous: the empress knew almost all the girls by name, and assigned some to the court. In the future, the tradition continued: the best candidates of noble birth became ladies-in-waiting.

The maids of honor had a chance to get married successfully, because their circle of acquaintances included the most brilliant grooms in the country. Well, those who were less fortunate with their pedigree, after graduation, looked for a position as a teacher or governess.

Among the famous graduates, we can recall the daughter of King Nikola I of Montenegro and his wife Milena Vukotic, Princess Elena of Montenegro, who, in her marriage to Victor Emmanuel III, became the Queen of Italy and Albania, and the Empress of Ethiopia. Her sisters Grand Duchesses Militsa Nikolaevna, Zorka Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaevna also graduated from the institution.

In 1895, Ksenia Erdeli was a graduate of Smolny - People's Artist USSR, harpist, composer, teacher and founder of the Soviet school of harp performance.

In 1911, Nina Komarova, the future poetess Nina Habias, a student of Alexei Kruchenykh and one of the first futurists, graduated from the institute.

The conceived plan of Catherine II ended in success. The girls who graduated from Smolny played an important role in the education and improvement of Russian society. They were brilliant teachers, wonderful mothers, selfless sisters of mercy.

Many Smolensk women served people: they opened girls’ schools and gymnasiums, built hospitals and clinics for the poor. The October Revolution put an end to " noble upbringing“, and to this day in Russia there is no institution similar to the legendary Smolny Institute.

Publications in the Traditions section

History of the Smolny Institute

Story female education in Russia is inextricably linked with the name of Empress Catherine the Great. "Kultura.RF" tells how the institution of noble maidens appeared and how its emergence affected the lives of Russian women.

Educated women and useful members of society

Smolny Institute. 1800s Photo: pressa.tv

Smolny Institute. 1917. Photo: petrograd1917.ru

Smolny Institute. 1940s. Photo: istpravda

European culture, which began to take hold in our country since the end of the 18th century, has introduced many innovations into the life of Russian people. Under Peter I, schools for girls began to appear. This was the first step for the development of women's education in Russia. But the real breakthrough in this area was the initiative of Catherine the Great, under which the noble maidens were founded in St. Petersburg. The first higher educational institution for women in Russia opened on May 16, 1764.

The creation of the institute was initiated by one of those close to the empress, Ivan Betskoy, public figure, educator, employee of the state chancellery. He was educated in Europe, supported Catherine in her desire to instill in her compatriots the habits of Western life, and also highly appreciated the role of women in the development of society. Betskoy believed that “young men of both sexes” should be raised in equal conditions.

When it was founded, the Smolny Institute was called the “Educational Society of Noble Maidens.” His idea was spelled out in an official document: “to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society.” Ekaterina herself actively participated in the life of the establishment: she invested huge amount money, often came to the institute, where she had long conversations with cool ladies, talked with students and corresponded with managers, interested in all the successes and difficulties. The Empress wanted Smolny graduates to become an example for all women in the country. According to her plan, girls were to receive a good education and develop culturally and morally.

The Smolny Institute accepted girls from well-born but poor families. They came from both Russia and other countries - daughters of Georgian princes, aristocratic women from Sweden. The training lasted 12 years. During this time, the students could not leave the institution either at their own request or at the request of their guardians. Girls were accepted to Smolny from the age of six, and the education program included three classes - each of them lasted four years. Relatives of the pupils drew up a receipt in which they agreed to give the child away for 12 years without the possibility of meetings or trips outside the institution. So the Empress was going to protect her pupils from the influence of the environment in which they grew up before entering the institute.

Getting to Smolny was not easy: potential students had to pass exams in Russian and French, and also have a good religious upbringing. But the most important criterion by which many applicants were eliminated was origin.

“Do not make science subjects of boredom”

Music lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

Drawing lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

Handicraft lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

At Smolny, girls were taught many sciences. The schedule included arithmetic, literacy, three foreign languages, religious studies, etiquette, culinary arts, drawing, music, vocals, geography, history and other subjects. However, the girls studied many of them very superficially. For example, in cooking classes, students from the Smolny Institute learned to fry cutlets from ready-made minced meat. History was studied from one single textbook and often skipped over topics.

The main emphasis in studies was on the rules of behavior in society and the word of God. It was believed that a student of this institution, that is, a future maid of honor or a young lady serving at court, should be able to support a conversation about religion and behave in society with restraint and grace.

Gymnastics. Photo: nrfmir.ru

At the skating rink. Photo: birdinflight.com

Gymnastics. Photo: birdinflight.com

Attention was also paid to the physical condition of the girls. They did light sports exercises several times a week. The diet helped to maintain a slim figure: the food was meager, and sometimes simply of poor quality. Many graduates wrote in their memoirs that food at the institute was one of their worst memories.

The temperature in the students' bedrooms did not rise above 16 degrees. They went to bed and got up early, slept on hard beds, and washed their faces with ice-cold water from the Neva. All this was supposed to toughen the girls.

Bedrooms of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

Dining room of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

Washroom of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

“The charter urgently required that children always look cheerful, cheerful, contented and “free actions of the soul.” Therefore, it was prescribed not to make science subjects of boredom, grief and disgust, and to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge by all means, while paying attention to the degree of development and abilities of each girl individually.”

Rules of conduct for noble maidens

Teachers of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

Teachers of the Smolny Institute and their students. Photo: birdinflight.com

The rules of behavior were spelled out in detail in the charter of the Institute of Noble Maidens. They talked about how teachers should treat Smolensk students and how students should communicate with each other.

More than 20 teachers worked at the institute - these were highly qualified teachers. It is noteworthy that they were all unmarried ladies and, as a rule, over 40 years old. Corporal punishment at the Smolny Institute was strictly prohibited, but teachers did not hesitate to shout at guilty pupils. Disturbing order at the institute was considered “bad behavior,” and naughty girls were called “mauvaise” (“bad”). There was another term - “parettes” (a distorted French “parfaite” - perfect). This is how they teased students who never broke the rules and behaved perfectly.

All Smolyans were supposed to be examples of modesty. They wore the same clothes and hairstyles - smoothly combed braids. Uniform dresses were different colors, the approximate age of the student was easily determined from them. The smallest girls wore coffee-colored dresses, so they were called "coffee girls", girls from 9 to 12 years old - blue, from 12 to 15 years old - blue, and the oldest - white. No fashion accessories were allowed. All this was due to the general atmosphere in the institution, where simplicity and monotony reigned, and discipline and order were valued above all else.

Despite strict rules and the inability to see family, the girls were not kept locked up all year round. They were taken to theatrical performances, art exhibitions, holidays at court. Smolyankas were taught to love beauty and understand the cultural innovations of that time.

Code of the Smolny Institute. Photo: calend.ru

Badge of the Institutions of Maria Feodorovna. Photo: auction-imperia.ru

Employment after graduating from Smolny was practically guaranteed. Many girls remained at the Institute of Noble Maidens after their studies and worked either as teachers or class ladies. For many years of work, they were awarded honorary badges: an orange bow “For their labors” and a silver with enamel “Badge of the Institutions of the Department of Maria Feodorovna.” Some students of the Smolny Institute could become governesses after graduation.

The Smolny Institute existed for more than a century and a half. During this time there were 85 issues. Many of the Smolyans became famous. Shortly before the closure of the institute, Maxim Gorky's lover, Maria Budberg, entered there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Nina Habias graduated from the institute, who later became a futurist poet. In 1900, Maria Dobrolyubova, a poet and revolutionary, sister of the poet Alexander Dobrolyubov, graduated.

The Institute of Noble Maidens was a big step in the development of women's education in Russia. Based on this institute, other educational institutions for women began to appear throughout the country.

We owe the emergence of female education in Russia to Catherine II. By her decree and the project of Ivan Betsky, the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens was founded in 1764. Like any educational institution, Smolny had its own charter. The girls' education at Smolny lasted 12 years...

Girls entered the institution at the age of 6 and remained there until they were 18 years old. The relatives signed an agreement, pledging not to demand her return to the family before this time. Otherwise, no one guaranteed that the girl received an education and upbringing consistent with expectations.

The charter of the institute was strict - the girls lived according to a clear daily routine, and could see their relatives only on weekends and holidays and only in the presence of the boss.

Medical examination.

Recruitment of pupils was carried out every 3 years. If for some reason a place became vacant, the Charter prohibited accepting students from outside - which did not allow an alien spirit to disturb the established way of life at the School.

There were four classes by age, each of which had its own uniform. From 6 to 9 years old they wore a brown uniform, from 9 to 12 – blue, from 12 to 15 – gray, and from 15 years old until graduation they wore a white uniform.

The first class was divided into four parts (each was given its own teacher). Little girls learned to dance, knit and sew. We studied the Law of God and the catechism, rules good manners, Russian and foreign languages, arithmetic, drawing, vocal and instrumental music. In the second grade, geography, history and home economics are added to the number of subjects studied.

Handicraft lesson.

They were also expected to learn self-care skills, such as keeping their hair and clothes in order.

The third class was divided into two parts. The curriculum is added by saying modern language, literature (“reading historical and moral books”), fundamentals of architecture and heraldry. The girls begin housekeeping (monitoring the kitchen, drawing up estimates, sewing their own underwear and dresses from the provided material). The authorities encourage the pupils to write plays and stage them on their own.

Gymnastics classes.

And finally, in graduating class The study of the Law of God and other sciences is completed through repetition and consolidation.

Particular attention is paid to practical activities in housekeeping - girls record expenses, negotiate with suppliers of goods, evaluate the quality of the latter and make calculations, and help teachers in raising younger children. All this is designed to give girls the skills and abilities that will be useful to them in later life, “no matter what state they happen to live in”...

Bedroom .

Food in Smolny was meager in order to avoid “excesses”. An example of the menu of the Institute of Noble Maidens in the second half of the 19th century: morning tea with a bun, for breakfast a piece of bread with a little butter and cheese, a portion of milk porridge or pasta, for lunch a thin soup without meat, for the second - meat from this soup, for the third — a small pie and evening tea with a bun.

During Lent, the diet became even more meager: for breakfast they were given six small potatoes, or three medium ones, with vegetable oil and porridge, for lunch there was soup with cereals, a small piece of boiled fish, nicknamed “dead meat” by the hungry institutes, and a Lenten pie.

Institute cafeteria.

The Charter places extreme demands on the personality of the teacher. high demands. It is the teacher who must “set examples of excellent virtue, excellent dignity”, act with more prudence, meekness and "unforced gaiety" than severity. With all her might, the teacher strives to prevent the appearance of “ everything that can be called boredom, sadness or thoughtfulness”!

The main enemy child development Catherine's Charter rightly declares idleness and encourages teachers to instill in their pupils a desire to read useful books, including in foreign languages. From the first years it is suggested to ask for learning by heart short stories which the children could then retell to each other.

At leisure.

Male teachers or masters, who, if necessary, are involved in teaching at the School, conduct lessons strictly in the presence of a teacher or matron, without deviating from the topic of classes. It is interesting to note that the “staff list” of the School includes 5 priests and deacons.

Do not think that pupils of a closed educational institution They led a secluded life and did not dare to open their mouths without orders. On Sundays, ladies from society and young people came to the institute. The pupils gave a concert, performed a play, or spent time simply having a pleasant conversation.

Performance by pupils in the column hall.

Sometimes balls were held to which cadets were invited. High school students had to be able to play the role of polite housewives. The charter required them to be friendly and nobility not only in dealing with their equals, but also with the lowest.

Even such a strict ritual as eating in silence was not without exceptions. Sometimes it was allowed to exchange a word, and “if any girl made some witty remark,” she was allowed to communicate her thought to the whole class for edification.

Tea party with house guests

The main event in the life of the pupils was the public examination, which was attended by members of the imperial family. Upon graduation, all girls were given certificates. Under Catherine II, the “cipher” - a golden monogram in the form of the empress’s initial - was awarded to the six best students, under Maria Feodorovna - ten. The best pupils received service at court, some became ladies-in-waiting.

Good Manners Test

The right faith glorified in the Charter of the School, joyful meaningful work, comprehensive practical education and a friendly attitude towards people without considering their merits - these are the life lessons that were given to a whole galaxy of Russian women - bearers of high ideals of purity, nobility, human dignity, who believed in that these ideals are achievable, despite all the hardships of life.

It is no coincidence that later it was from the “Smolyankas” that the wives of the Decembrists came out, who without hesitation followed their husbands to hard labor in Siberia. The image of a Russian woman arose, in which Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, and Tolstoy later found their inspiration.

They were called schoolgirls, gentile white-handed girls and sentimental young ladies who believed that “rolls grow on trees” and “after the mazurka tour, a gentleman is obliged to marry,” and the word “schoolgirl” became synonymous with excessive sentimentality, impressionability and limitations.

In 1764, the Educational Society of Noble Maidens was created in St. Petersburg, which later became the Smolny Institute. Considering that before this the need for female education had been greatly questioned, the matter was truly revolutionary.

Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens

The decree of Catherine II stated that the purpose of creating the institution was “to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society.” The charter of the Institute was sent “to all the provinces, provinces and cities... so that each of the nobles could, if he wishes, entrust his daughters in their young years to this education established by Us.”

However, few of the nobility agreed to condemn their daughters to 12 years of endless study, after which the difficult question arose about the further marriage of an overly educated girl. And yet, in 1764, in August, the first recruitment took place.

However, instead of the expected 200 students, only 60 girls aged 4-6 years were recruited. These were children from low-income but well-born noble families. A year later, a faculty “for bourgeois girls” was opened at the institute. Peasant girls were not accepted into the institution.

The institute existed for 153 years, 85 graduates passed through it, the “spirit of enlightenment” disappeared, but barracks rules remained and the ability to bypass them was also a science.

All pupils were divided into parfetok and moveshek. The first title went to those who completely obeyed the rules and customs of institute life, were distinguished by obedience and excellent behavior, were perfection (from the French “parfaite” - perfect) in all respects: knew how to behave properly, answer politely, gracefully curtsy and always keep body straight.

Any violation of order was a deviation from institutional “good behavior” and was considered “bad behavior.” Therefore, naughty girls and shrews were called “moveshki” (“mauvaise” - bad). One could be included in their number for any deviation from the rules: talking too loudly during recess, a carelessly made bed, an improperly tied bow on an apron, a torn stocking, or a stray strand from a strict hairstyle.

Corporal punishment was not applied to violators, but those who committed any offense were treated with little ceremony: the apron was replaced with teak, they were transferred to a special table in the dining room, where they had to eat while standing, or they were left to stand in the middle of the dining room during lunch, pinning an uncleaned piece of paper or a torn stocking to go with a dress. But some students rebelled against the rules deliberately.

The appearance of the students was strictly regulated: neat uniforms, identical hairstyles, different for different ages - younger girls often had their hair cut short, and older girls were forced to strictly pin up their hair.

The uniform consisted of a dress with short sleeves and a neckline, an apron (apron), a cape and arm ruffles with ribbons. The color of the uniform depended on the class of study: the younger ones were given practical coffee dresses with white aprons, for which they were called coffee girls or kofulkas, the middle ones were given blue ones, and the older ones had white dresses with green aprons.

Pepiniers - those who stayed after completing the main course in order to receive further education and career growth to a classy lady, they wore gray dresses. Many girls were supported in Smolny through scholarships from private individuals. Such young ladies wore a ribbon around their neck, the color of which was chosen by the benefactor.

So, the scholarship recipients of Paul I wore blue ones, the Demidovskys wore orange ones, Betsky’s protégés wore green ones, and Saltykova wore crimson ones. For those who could not receive any scholarship, their relatives paid a fee. At the beginning of the 20th century it was about 400 rubles a year. The number of places for such students was limited.

The main criterion for selecting class ladies responsible for ensuring the decent upbringing of girls was usually their unmarried status. At a time when a successful marriage was the main and, accordingly, the most desirable event in a woman’s life, unsettled personal life had a very negative impact on character. Surrounded by young girls, realizing that life did not live up to expectations, the aging person began to take it out on her charges, prohibiting everything she could and punishing them for the slightest offense.

Male teachers at Smolny were hired exclusively from married men, if possible elderly or of very plain appearance, often with physical disabilities, so as not to lead virgin girls into temptation.

However, usually anyone who had anything to do with the institute had fans. This was associated with a specific institutional tradition - adoration, that is, the desire to find an object of worship, an idol in the person of whoever comes to hand. Girlfriend, high school student, priest, teacher, emperor. It was necessary to adore someone. Only classy ladies were not favored, this was a consequence of the fear of being suspected of open toadying.

The object of love was given gifts on holidays, experienced all sorts of ritual torments in order to be “worthy”, for example, the initials of the “deity” were cut out with a knife or pinned out with a pin, they ate soap or drank vinegar as a sign of love, and, sneaking into the local church at night, they prayed for his well-being.

The adoration of the emperor, encouraged by the leadership, generally crossed all boundaries. The institute girls collected and carefully stored “pieces of roast, cucumber, bread” from the table at which the tsar dined; they stole a scarf, which was cut into small pieces and distributed among the students who wore these “talismans” on their chests.

“Do what you want with me,” Alexander II said to the students of the Moscow Alexander Institute, “but don’t touch my dog, don’t even try to cut his fur as a keepsake, as they say was the case in some institutions.” But the girls not only cut off the fur from Alexander’s pet, but even managed to cut out the expensive fur of his fur coat in several places.

The curriculum included such disciplines as reading, spelling, French and German languages(later Italian was added), physics, chemistry, geography, mathematics, history, etiquette, handicrafts, home economics, the law of God, rhetoric and ballroom dancing.

At a dance lesson, 1901

It was common to alternate between French and German days, when girls were required to speak only these languages, even among themselves. For using the Russian language, a cardboard tongue was hung around the neck of the offender, which she had to pass on to the next person caught at the scene of the “crime.” True, they learned to easily bypass such punishment: before the Russian phrase they inserted in a foreign language: “How to say this in French (German)?” and then calmly switched to their native language.

An integral part of the training was the memorization of the ritual of receiving august persons. “I remember how, when all classes were fully assembled, the inspector “rehearsed” this ceremony with us: a deep, almost to the floor, bow-curtsey and a phrase of greeting pronounced in chorus in French. I remember her to this day,” wrote E.N., decades after graduating from the institute. Kharkevich.

Physical education and dance lessons were compulsory. However, given that it was forbidden to run or play outdoor games within the walls of the institute, and daily walks were short, there was no excess of physical activity.

There were good needlework teachers at Smolny, but they were engaged not so much in teaching as in making expensive embroideries, which were customary to give to those who visited the institute. important people. In addition, girls who did not show a particular inclination for embroidery preferred not to be taught this craft at all in order to save material.

The usual air temperature at the institute was approximately 16°C, and in some institutes it could reach 12°C, so a winter night spent under a thin blanket became a test for the students. Extra coverings were permitted as a rare exception.

The mattresses were hard, we got up at 6 a.m., and daily morning washing up to the waist with cold water was practiced. You could warm up and get some sleep at the local infirmary. It was warmer there than in the huge dormitories, enhanced nutrition was provided, and many young ladies, who had perfectly mastered the art of fainting, took “vacations” for themselves, feigning the corresponding illnesses. However, many did not have to pretend.

The specific attitude towards the few men and the absurd opinion of college girls about the rules of decency caused a lot of trouble for doctors. The very thought of undressing in the presence of a person of the opposite sex forced shy girls to endure pain to the end, sometimes tragically.

Elizaveta Tsevlovskaya wrote that when she fell down the stairs and severely injured her chest, the thought of having to appear naked to the doctor forced her to hide her ill health. It was only when she fainted from fever that she was taken to a specialist.

For winter festivities, the alleys of Smolny were covered with boards. Carrying an almost melted snowball into the room with you was considered great valor. The pupils walked exclusively on their own territory and only once a year - in the summer they were taken to the Tauride Garden, from where all visitors were first expelled.

Reading books outside the program was prohibited. To prevent schoolgirls from acquiring harmful ideas and to preserve the innocence of thoughts that their teachers cared so much about, strictly censored classics were used to study literature, in which there were often more omissions than text. Sometimes teachers reached the point of idiocy: the seventh commandment (the prohibition of adultery) was sealed.

Varlam Shalamov wrote that “the discarded places were collected in a special last volume publications that students could buy only after graduation. It was this last volume that was an object of special desire for college girls.” If it was possible to get a book, it had to be hidden well.

The ability to gracefully curtsy in the 19th century Smolny was valued more than success in mathematics; failures in physics were forgiven for good manners, but they could be expelled for vulgar behavior, but certainly not for unsatisfactory grades. The only science considered sacred was the study of the French language.

Meetings with relatives took place according to a schedule, in the presence of caregivers, and were limited to four hours a week (two visiting days). It was especially difficult for girls brought from afar. They had not seen their loved ones for months and years, and travel home was not allowed.

All correspondence was controlled by classy ladies who read the letters before sending and after receiving. In this way, the pupils were protected from the harmful influence of the outside world. The parents did not have the right to stop studying at will and take their daughter home; it was impossible to meet more often, but in order to send letters “bypassing censorship”, they only had to pay the maid.

The pupils were taught cooking and housekeeping, but the knowledge on these subjects was completely sketchy. For example, in high schools there was a kitchen duty, when institute girls, under the guidance of chefs, prepared food themselves, however, frying cutlets was limited to them only by modeling products from ready-made minced meat. No information was given about the choice of meat or further cooking of the dish.

The food was no frills, here is the usual menu for the day:
Breakfast : bread with butter and cheese, milk porridge or pasta, tea.
Dinner : liquid soup without meat, meat from soup, pie.
Dinner : tea with a bun.

On Wednesdays, Fridays and during Lent, the diet became even less nutritious: for breakfast they were given six small potatoes (or three medium ones) with vegetable oil and porridge, for lunch there was soup with cereal, a small piece of boiled fish, aptly nicknamed “dead meat” by hungry college girls ", and a miniature Lenten pie.

At one point, when more than half of the girls ended up in the infirmary with a diagnosis of exhaustion, the fasts were reduced to one and a half months a year, but no one canceled Wednesdays and Fridays. It was possible to expand the diet by paying a special fee and drinking tea with more nutritious food in the morning in the teacher’s room, separately from other institute girls.

If you had pocket money, you could negotiate with the servants and buy some food at exorbitant prices, but this was severely punished by classy ladies.

After lights out, there was to be silence in the dormitory. Stories about white ladies, black knights and severed hands were popular in bedrooms before bed. The walls were favorable for this, since the legend of a walled-up nun was associated with Smolny.

The storytellers staged a real theater of horror, moving from a terrible whisper to a menacing bass and periodically grabbing listeners by the hands in the dark. It was very important not to squeal in fear.

Was the life of the pupils after graduation a continuous holiday? When colliding with real world they experienced what is now called cognitive dissonance. In everyday life, the college girls were completely helpless. Graduate Elizaveta Vodovozova recalled:

Immediately after leaving the institute I had no the slightest idea that first of all you should agree on a price with the cab driver, I didn’t know that he had to pay for the fare, and I didn’t have a wallet.

All that remained was to make infantilism your highlight - to bat your eyes innocently and speak in a touching childish voice; there were those who loved to save the “innocent child”. Nevertheless, the names of many noble graduates of Smolny remained in history.

Among them are Princess Praskovya Gagarina - the first Russian balloonist, Baroness Sophia de Bode, who commanded a detachment of cadets in 1917 and was remembered by her contemporaries for her incredible courage and cruelty, Maria Zakrevskaya-Benckendorf-Budberg - a double agent of the OGPU and British intelligence, terrorist and intelligence officer Maria Zakharchenko-Schultz , the famous harpist Ksenia Erdeli, as well as one of the first futurists, the poet Nina Habias.

Institute girls were supposed to be distinguished by their purity of morals and lofty thoughts. In the 19th century, the word “institute” was pronounced with slight mockery. Comparison with a graduate of a women's institute was not flattering for any girl. What was hidden behind him was not admiration for education. On the contrary, for a very long time “institute” was a synonym for ignorance, as well as naivety reaching the point of stupidity, exaltation bordering on hysteria, a strange, broken way of thinking, a language, and absurdly fragile health.

Without a doubt, such a result was not at all what their founder, daughter-in-law of Catherine II, Empress Maria Feodorovna, wanted to achieve. On the contrary, the queen dreamed of putting an end to the dense ignorance of the women of the Russian nobility. She wanted to literally raise a generation of new noblewomen, filled with noble feelings and thoughts, who did not share the superstitions of their mothers and grandmothers. It was assumed that the new mothers of the noble class would raise more progressive and educated children.

Despite the name, the institutes for noble maidens received, firstly, not the highest education, and secondly, not only girls from noble families. Girls of noble birth could be accepted at public expense, without payment - but there was a competition for these places. Who would study among those who submitted petitions was determined not by an exam, but by the most common lot - it was called a ballot. In addition, in some institutes, those who managed to submit an application before others were assigned to government positions. The daughters of merchants, Cossack officers and honorary citizens could study on an equal basis with young noblewomen, but exclusively at their own expense.

Girls were accepted into places paid for by the treasury between the ages of 10 and 12. Girls aged 9 (in preparatory class) and 13 years old were also accepted for payment. In total, they had to complete seven grades, and start from the seventh - it was considered the youngest. But the graduates were first-graders. In total, since 1764, 30 institutes have been opened in Russia, the most prestigious of which was Smolny. But even in it, looking ahead, the rules that reigned were approximately the same as in any other establishment.

Pedagogical techniques in relation to college girls would seriously shock a modern parent.

Torn from family and society

It was believed that it was harmful for students to communicate with relatives

First of all, most of the institutes were boarding houses. Only four semi-open institutes (Donskoy, Nizhny Novgorod, Kerch and Tambov) gave girls the choice of attending classes from home or spending the night in dormitories. Of course, there were days when girls could be visited by relatives. But most of history of institutions, students were not allowed to go on vacation. They had to spend 7-8 years within the walls of the institute.

On the days of visits, there could be no talk of any free conversations. The teachers carefully watched that the girls behaved decently and did not spill anything unpleasant. Letters to relatives were also carefully read.

Such isolation from the family was intended to isolate him from the bad morals that reigned in many landowner houses. Taking into account the fact that the girls practically did not see any other people not related to the school - for example, before the students walked in the park, the park was necessarily closed from other visitors - it turned out that the children grew up talking Mowgli. They not only did not understand anything in the life of society and lost their emotional connection with their closest relatives. At best, they froze in their emotional and social development at the level of the pre-institutional period. At worst, they understood and considered vitally important only the rules invented by the teachers and the students themselves, switched to jargon that only they themselves understood, and deliberately developed in themselves a special sensitivity to the point of hysteria. Lacking the opportunity to experience events that would give food to feelings, the girls experienced feelings immediately, learning to inflate them literally from scratch.

The girls were also completely unprepared to run a household (and not every one of them later married a rich man capable of supporting a staff of domestic servants). Of course, many college girls had to learn how to sew up dresses and underwear, willy-nilly, since the fabric and seams of the uniforms and shirts given out free of charge were not of good quality.

The real torment was the compulsory wearing of free government corsets. Instead of steel plates, they held their shape using curved thin planks. The planks soon began to break, bristling with wood chips, digging painfully into the ribs and scratching the skin.

Home economics was also often included in the curriculum. During the lessons, girls had to cook simple and healthy dishes, learn how to handle food, and embroider. In fact, the cook who taught the young ladies was afraid that they would get burned or spoil the food, and the girls could only rely on their powers of observation during the lesson - they were not allowed to do practically anything with their hands.

As for embroidery, some of the good wool (and, especially, silk) was not given out. If a girl couldn't ask her parents to buy supplies, she spent most of the lesson fighting with breaking threads. Only those who learned it in advance, at home, could embroider well. But they shouldn't be happy. Often the institute authorities forced the craftswomen to embroider from morning to evening, to the detriment of lessons, so that they could later boast about what kind of craftswomen they were raising, presenting the girls’ embroidery to the temple or to important people. Showing off was generally more important than real work.

Adversity strengthens and disciplines a child

The schoolgirls were unaccustomed not just to pickles - to ordinary home-cooked food

The girls' health was cared for using the most advanced methods of that time. In the 18th - 19th centuries, it was believed that it was good for children to eat enough, especially meat, and it was good to be in the cold. He makes them strong and disciplined.

In reality, this meant that the girls lived from hand to mouth. They were fed very poorly. This affected not only his physique, making him, as the teachers most likely saw it, exquisitely fragile. Living from hand to mouth had a great impact on the psyche. The girls' thoughts constantly revolved around getting food. A favorite adventure was going into the kitchen and stealing some bread. Those to whom their parents gave money secretly sent servants to buy gingerbread or sausage, and the messenger charged an exorbitantly high price for his services, taking advantage of the desperate situation of the children.

Until the end of the nineteenth century, girls were required to sleep in the cold, under a thin blanket. If you were cold, under no circumstances should you cover yourself with a coat or put on something - you had to learn to be resilient. Wash only with cold water. During lessons, girls sat in dresses with a very open neck, without a cape, regardless of the time of year, and the classrooms were very poorly heated in winter. The girls were constantly sick. True, in the infirmary they had the opportunity to eat plenty and keep warm, so that illness, paradoxically, contributed to their survival and physical development.

Often the youngest students suffered from enuresis from nerves and cold. Such girls could be taken out to stand in the dining room in front of everyone with a soiled sheet tied around their necks. It was believed that this would fix it. It didn’t help much, but my classmates got down to business. Everyone who woke up at night woke up her sick friend to go to the toilet. But there were several dozen girls in the dormitory, and from such care the poor girl suffered from sleep deprivation and nervous exhaustion.

Developmental physical activity was also expected. Every day, in any weather, the girls were taken out for a walk, and they also practiced ballroom dancing. However, during walks there were few places where people were allowed to run or just look at the garden. More often, walks turned into marching in pairs along paths, without the right to live conversation, looking at flowers and beetles, or outdoor games. True, on ballroom dancing The girls were still seriously drilled. But they also became a torment if the girl’s parents did not have money to buy her normal shoes. The official one was made to look bad, it was painful and uncomfortable to even walk in, let alone dance.

Dancing was supposed to be practiced at annual balls in honor of holidays. At these balls, the girls were given some sweets. At the same time, they strictly ensured that the children did not laugh loudly, did not fool around, or play. As soon as they got carried away even a little, they dispersed, and the holiday was curtailed.

Grades are not the main thing, the main thing is who adores whom

For several years in a row, the girls spent time in close quarters and in full view of everyone

Due to their inability and impossibility to build normal relationships, college girls engaged in “adoration.” They chose a teacher or an older student as an object of adoration and demonstrated their feelings as exalted as possible. For example, they could pour a bottle of perfume on the object’s clothes or shout out loud when they met, “I love it!” - for which they were necessarily punished. They could eat soap, deliberately stay awake at night, sneak into church at night and pray until the morning. Meaning? None. Just hardships “for glory.” That's the romance.

Bullying, group boycott in the event of any conflicts or as a measure of censure for, for example, the inability to dress quickly and neatly were the norm. This was not stopped by teachers in any way, and sometimes was even encouraged.

As for the level of training, although the program included many subjects, in fact the only thing that the institute graduate knew for sure was foreign languages. In their regard, girls were drilled around the clock, but performance in other subjects was almost unimportant. Literature, history and other disciplines were taught to institute girls carelessly. That is, it is impossible to say that the graduates, although cut off from the world, at least shone with knowledge.

The girls constantly assessed each other according to criteria that were mysterious to an outside observer and built relationships based on the assessment. The most understandable criterion was beauty. High school girls constantly decided who in their circle was the first in beauty, who was the second, and so on. It was believed that the most beautiful ones would be the first to get married.

For a long time they also could not boast of good manners. Running away, frightened by a person, talking exultantly about some trifling and abstract subject, whipping up a hysteria out of the blue, getting scared to the point of fainting - this is the behavior with which society associated college girls. Memoirist Vodovozova recalls that her mother married immediately after college to the first man she talked to and who promised her to throw a real ball at the wedding. She did not consider his behavior at all strange and obscene, although in fact it was precisely obscene - it was not customary to care for girls so impudently.

A certain turn away from all these customs of closed women's institutes took place at the very end of the nineteenth century, when the outstanding Russian teacher Ushinsky started reforms. But very soon his project was canceled, and the world of college girls remained the same. Many modern children are surprised by the strange tearfulness and tearfulness of the heroines of the singer of the world of boarding houses for girls Lydia Charskaya. But in her characters there is not a drop of lies, grotesqueness, or unnaturalness. This is exactly what the girls around her were like when Lydia herself was studying at the institute. And through no fault of my own.

Alas, Charskaya herself, who became, perhaps, the most popular children's writer pre-revolutionary Russia, ended her life in poverty and loneliness, in the very hardships that her heroines constantly endured. Just without a happy ending.