«stagnation, Lethargy, Indifference and Drowsiness Are Observed Everywhere»: M. V. Frunze Crimean University in the First Half of the 20s of the Twentieth Century According to the Epistolary Legacy of P. A. Dvoichenko

The eventful period of the history of the first Crimean university is considered. After V. I. Vernadsky’s departure from the peninsula, the university, named after Commander M. V. Frunze, tried to defend in teaching practice and scientific life the high standards laid down since its foundation by rectors R. I. Helvig and V. I. Vernadsky. However, the socio-political situation in the first half of the 20s of the twentieth century did not contribute to the dynamic development of the university. The New Economic Policy dictated other norms for the organization of the educational process, which eventually led to the liquidation of the university and the organization of a modest provincial pedagogical university on its basis. An interesting source about the situation inside the M. V. Frunze Crimean University are letters from Professor Pyotr Abramovich Dvoichenko (1883–1945) to the former rector of Taurida University, Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863–1945). The article comments on the facts set out in the epistolary and the mentioned personalities, which makes it possible to get an objective idea of the scientific daily life of the Crimean university in this period.