Features of the development of education in Amur Cossack Army in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries

The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of the development of education in the Amur Cossack Army during the formation of a new region of the Russian Empire. The research methodology is based on a theoretical analysis of various types of sources devoted to the history of the development of education in the Far East during the chronological period under study. Using methods of analyzing archival materials and comparing data obtained from different types of sources, factors contributing to the development of a specific educational environment in the region were identified. One of them is the formation of the population of the Amur region as a result of the resettlement of Cossacks from the Transbaikal, Orenburg and Don Cossack troops. It is noted that the first documents concerning the life of the Amur Cossacks concerned increasing the literacy of the population. Cossack schools became the main type of primary education. They solved the problems of educating the younger generation in the spirit of military Cossack traditions. Fulfillment by parochial schools of an important mission to spread literacy among the Cossack population. The next factor was the lack of the required number of teaching staff. The existence of the practice of choosing a teacher from among the young people who were to go into military service by decision of the Cossack gathering. Women's colleges and pedagogical classes in women's gymnasiums played a significant role in the training of primary school teachers. There is a lag in the development of education in the region compared to the European part of Russia. A significant factor that influenced the development of education in the Far East was the holding of congresses of teachers of schools of the Cossack army of the Amur region at the beginning of the twentieth century. Discussion at congress meetings of the goals of educational development in the region, issues of the content of education in Cossack schools. Based on an analysis of various sources of information, the article traces the path of development of education in the Amur region from Cossack schools designed to provide basic literacy to the established network of educational institutions aimed at training the region’s own intelligentsia, worthy members of society.