The management of public education in the North Caucasus in 1917–1920

The article is devoted to the study of the public education management system in the North Caucasus during the crucial period of 1917-1920. The subject of the research encompasses a complex of organizational, administrative, and institutional changes in the region's educational sphere, occurring against the backdrop of significant socio-political transformations in the country. The aim of the study is to identify and analyze the main models of educational management that succeeded one another in conditions of political instability, military actions, and frequent changes in power in the region. Special attention is given to the mechanisms of adaptation of the educational system to the changing political realities and their impact on the quality of the educational process. The research aims to reveal the specifics of management activities in the field of education during revolutionary transformations, when traditional power institutions were collapsing, and new ones were in the process of formation. The study is based on the analysis of archival documents, including those not previously introduced into scientific circulation (funds of GARF, CGA RSO-Alania, TsyAG), regulatory legal acts of the Provisional Government, White governments, and the Soviet authority, as well as on a historical-comparative method that allows for a comparison of various educational management models within one chronological period. The novelty of the work lies in the introduction of new archival documents, clarification of the biography of V.V. Sipovsky, and the identification of a unique situation in which the educational system maintained centralized management amidst political fragmentation in the region. The article identifies and characterizes the successive models of educational management in the North Caucasus: 1) liberal-democratic (Commissioner for the Management of the Caucasian Education District and the Council under OZA-KOM), 2) military-conservative (the restored Caucasian Education District under the White Army led by V.V. Sipovsky), 3) Soviet. The years 1917-1920 became a period of frequent changes in educational management models for the North Caucasus, none of which were fully implemented due to military actions and political instability. The liberal model of the Provisional Government proved ineffective due to the declarative nature of reforms and the retention of old structures. The military-conservative model of the Whites faced a total personnel crisis, devastation, and lack of resources. Final centralization and ideologization of the educational management system occurred only with the establishment of Soviet power in March 1920.