The Russian Schools 
under the Yoke of the Bolshevics.*) 
By E. Kovalevsky, 
Chairman of Committees and Introducing Speaker in matters of public Instruction 
in the 3rd and 4th Duma. 
CONTENTS: Pre-revolutionary times; The School in present-day Russia; Abolition 
of Local Self-Government; Condition of the teachers; The ruined schools; The 
increase of illiteracy; The decrease of schools and pupils; The education — a Monopoly 
of the State; Programs and methods of the Bolshevist schools — Dalton plan, 
Complex method; The results of these Systems; Education .in Bolshevist schools — 
“What we need is hatred”; Awakening of sex mstincts: Struggle against religion; 
Communistic propaganda and party organisations in the schools; Children are obliged 
to spy. 
Pre-revolutionary Times. 
I no other sphere have more high-flown and exhaustive promises been 
made by the Bolshevics than in the realm of education. Figures have 
been most shamelessly faked; things have been twisted so as to give them 
the desired appearance in order to bluff credulous foreigners, little versed 
in this question. At the same time there is nothing in the activity of the 
Bolshevics which has brought as much harm to the Russian people as their 
school policy and system of public education. Perhaps this will be the most 
difficult and painful problem which future Russia will have to solve. 
We have also every reason to insist that this question concerns Western 
Europe very intimately. The policy of the Bolshevics tends to establish in 
all countries organizations for implanting among pupils of all ages ideas 
that are to pave the way for the triumph of Communism. This is no 
secret for anyone; and yet no one struggles against it; no one even seems 
conscious how grave the danger is. It is high time to try and clear up two 
false and very harmful conceptions. Unfortunately they are upheld not 
only by foreigners who are quite indifferent to Russian history and culture; 
but also by some Russian emigrants. The first mistake is the jdea that 
before the Revolution nothing, or very little had been done for the people’s 
education in Russia; the second is that the Bolshevics have, in a certain 
*) Much has been written regarding this question. I have generally made use 
of the data found in Bolshevist sources, such as the official programs (translated into 
French), circular letters, decrees, anthologies of political instruction, text books, 
pedagogical books and journals, etc. However, there also exist some very valuable 
articles among the Russian publications edited abroad, such as “The Russian School 
Abroad”, and the articles published by the Russian Pedagogical Bureau in Prague 
‘Articles of Prof. I. Hessen, of A. Boeme, and of others). 
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