TY - JOUR

T1 - Общество вспомоществования студентам Императорского Санкт-Петербургского университета

AU - Rostovtsev, Evgeny A

AU - Sidorchuk, Ilya V

N1 - Export Date: 09 February 2026; Cited By: 0; Correspondence Address: R. Evgeny A.; National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, 36, pr. Lenina, 634050, Russian Federation; email: eugene.rostovtsev@gmail.com; S. Ilya V.; National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, 36, pr. Lenina, 634050, Russian Federation; email: eugene.rostovtsev@gmail.com

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - The 300thanniversary of St. Petersburg University has become a powerful incentive for researchers to intensify scientific research on various aspects of its rich history. The present study is devoted to such a relatively neglected subject in historiography as issues related to the retrospective analysis of economic factors in the life of the Russian higher school of the pre-revolutionary period. Using the example of the history of The Society of Assistance to Students of the Imperial St. Petersburg University founded in 1873 and existing until 1918, the features of the implementation of various financial initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of students are shown, the role of the teaching staff, the university administration and the authorities in the success of such initiatives is shown. It was concluded that the history of The Society of Assistance to Students as a whole reflects the process of formation of a “civil society” in pre-revolutionary Russia, when a significant part of the population was ready to participate in various charitable initiatives. The authors also came to the conclusion about the contradictory influence of the socio-economic and political context of the epoch on Society. On the one hand, such initiatives met with a sincere response, and a high degree of self-organization allowed them to be successfully implemented. At the same time, the Society existed in a situation of political polarization of Russian society, which directly affected universities. Management ideas and projects of the Society’s management often encountered the impossibility or difficulty of their implementation for purely political reasons. © 2025, Saint Petersburg State University. All rights reserved.

AB - The 300thanniversary of St. Petersburg University has become a powerful incentive for researchers to intensify scientific research on various aspects of its rich history. The present study is devoted to such a relatively neglected subject in historiography as issues related to the retrospective analysis of economic factors in the life of the Russian higher school of the pre-revolutionary period. Using the example of the history of The Society of Assistance to Students of the Imperial St. Petersburg University founded in 1873 and existing until 1918, the features of the implementation of various financial initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of students are shown, the role of the teaching staff, the university administration and the authorities in the success of such initiatives is shown. It was concluded that the history of The Society of Assistance to Students as a whole reflects the process of formation of a “civil society” in pre-revolutionary Russia, when a significant part of the population was ready to participate in various charitable initiatives. The authors also came to the conclusion about the contradictory influence of the socio-economic and political context of the epoch on Society. On the one hand, such initiatives met with a sincere response, and a high degree of self-organization allowed them to be successfully implemented. At the same time, the Society existed in a situation of political polarization of Russian society, which directly affected universities. Management ideas and projects of the Society’s management often encountered the impossibility or difficulty of their implementation for purely political reasons. © 2025, Saint Petersburg State University. All rights reserved.

KW - history of higher education

KW - science and state power

KW - St. Petersburg University

KW - student movement

KW - The Society of Assistance to Students of the Imperial St. Petersburg University

M3 - статья

VL - 70

SP - 861

EP - 878

JO - ВЕСТНИК САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА. ИСТОРИЯ

JF - ВЕСТНИК САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА. ИСТОРИЯ

SN - 1812-9323

IS - 4

ER -