Adaptation of the Pedagogical System in Wartime: Regional Experience of the Orekhovo-Zuyevo Teachers’ Institute (1941–1945)

The article examines the activities of the Orekhovo-Zuyevo Teachers’ Institute (now – the State University of Humanities and Technology) during the Great Patriotic War. Drawing on documents from the funds of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR and the All-Union Committee for Higher Education (ACHE) under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR (State Archive of the Russian Federation, SARF), the study analyzes the institution’s functioning under the extreme conditions of wartime. The relevance of the research lies in the need to explore adaptive mechanisms of the pedagogical system in crisis situations and to preserve the historical memory of educational institutions’ role in mobilizing resources for national defense. The work addresses a regional gap in the history of education by revealing understudied aspects of provincial universities’ operations during 1941–1945. The article emphasizes the importance of further investigation into the contribution of teachers’ institutes to preserving the nation’s cultural and educational potential, a key factor in shaping national identity.