РУССКИЙ УЧИТЕЛЬ В КАРЕЛЬСКОЙ ДЕРЕВНЕ В КОНЦЕ XIX — НАЧАЛЕ XX ВЕКА: ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИНКУЛЬТУРАЦИИ И АДАПТАЦИИ

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show the spheres in which the enculturation of Russian teachers took place in the Karelian rural society of the late 19th — early 20th centuries, during the period of rapid growth of this professional group. Teachers, along with other representatives of the emerging rural intelligentsia — priests, feldshers, agronomists, as well as rural administration workers — constituted an ethno-dispersed group of Russians in the territory of Karelia. The novice teacher, carrying out the “Kulturtrager mission”, had to fit into the local society, to gain the understanding and trust of the Karelian peasants in order for the school to solve the problem of strengthening the position of Orthodoxy, role of the Russian language and enlightenment of the Karelian population, to win their loyalty through “soft power” as opposed to forced Russification. To that effect different personal strategies were implemented, the poles of which can be considered to be, on the one hand, acceptance of Karelian cultural peculiarities and enculturation, which became the basis of the adaptation process, and, on the other hand, distancing from the locals, maladaptation and social deformation. Adopting local taboos and behavioral rules, mastering the Karelian language, adjusting school pedagogy to the basic folk ideas of child rearing are typical components of social and professional adaptation of the Karelian village teacher. Based on the reports of teachers and school inspectors, teachers’ publications in the press, travelers’ notes and other sources, it is shown that in everyday life there was a spontaneous, largely situational borrowing of elements of ethnic culture, while in the professional sphere advanced teachers consciously took account of local cultural specifics, which resulted, in particular, in the adjustment of the school calendar and disciplinary practices at school.