The Pedagogical Life of the Russian Emigration in London: From Hope to Disappointment

Abstract

This article considers little-known episodes of the pedagogical life of the Russian emigration in England. A relatively small number of Russian refugees, a lack of a legal framework, and financial difficulties prevented the Russian diaspora from establishing a system of national education similar to that created by the Russian emigration in Czechoslovakia, France, or Yugoslavia. The upbringing and education of children and youth became a social, cultural, and educational task for the Russian scientific and pedagogical community in London. The article shows the pedagogical life of “Russian” London through the prism of Russian educator N. Hans’ biography. His life and work have only recently become an object of close attention in Russian émigré studies. Hans’ life in England is a rare example of a Russian scholar’s integration into a foreign scientific and educational space. Hans actively participated in the establishment of Russian People’s University and children’s summer camps. The organisation of the Russian Teachers Group in London enabled the Russian pedagogical community to join the process of building the Russian émigré school, and Hans to become one of the most prominent figures in the social pedagogical movement. He participated in the work of conferences and councils of émigré pedagogical organisations and published articles in émigré periodicals about Russian and foreign schools and new methods of teaching. The authors introduce new archival documents and materials from émigré and English periodicals of the 1920s. Excerpts from teachers’ curricula vitae provide information about their everyday life in London. The pedagogical life of Russian London is a history of people’s lives which adds to the history of Russian emigration in the twentieth century.