The Activity of Petr Ivanovich Makushin in the Field of Librarianship and Public Education

Abstract

The author considers the activity of bookseller and educator P.I. Makushin on the organization of public libraries, open general education courses and the People’s University in Tomsk. The aim of the article is to assess the contribution of the Siberian philanthropist not only to the development of the specific educational institutions, but also to the cultural and educational level of the entire Tomsk region in the late 19th-early 20th century. In 1873, P.I. Makushin left the service in church educational institutions and organized the bookselling enterprise in Tomsk. He provided with books not only shops, but also many educational institutions in the Tomsk province. In 1884, P.I. Makushin was directly involved in the opening in Tomsk of the first free people’s library in Russia, special building for which was built in 1887. The establishment of free rural libraries by P.I. Makushin in Tomsk province was of utmost importance in spreading knowledge in Siberia. For a long time, the philanthropist nurtured the idea of opening the first People’s University in Siberia. In 1905, he appealed with this proposal to the Tomsk city Duma, which supported his initiative and decided to allocate a land plot for the construction of the University on the Salt Square in Tomsk. The University building was constructed in 1912; and the official approval of the Charter of the Institution took place in 1916. The long time from the idea to the implementation of the project was connected with the obstacles arisen from the negligence of local officials and the reluctance of the Minister of public education L.A. Kasso to open another University in Tomsk. The First World War had a devastating impact on the life of the People’s University: from the second half of 1916, its building was used for the barracks of war prisoners; the work of the academic Department was episodic. In 1919, the University was nationalized, then various organizations housed the building, and its founder was almost without means of livelihood. Referring to the historiographical coverage of P.I. Makushin’s charitable activities, the author confidentcy concludes that Soviet historiography deliberately suppressed Makushin's contribution, like the contribution of many Russian entrepreneurs, to the development of intellectual sphere of certain regions; therefore, interest to this problem has largely intensified in recent decades.