a continuation one of the other. They were two different types of schooling 
It is true that during the last years there was a strong tendency to establish 
a certain coherence between these two systems. 
The variety of types of schools which existed in pre-revolutionary times 
in Russia was a great asset from the pedagogical stand-point. Thanks to 
it, children of different social and mental standards, possessing different 
talents and inclinations, were not obliged to be pressed into the limits of 
one and the same program. The parents had the possibility of choosing 
between schools of different programs and systems for the education of 
their children. 
In 1914 there were 1800 standard second-grade schools (with an atten- 
dance of half a million children) standing under the jurisdiction of the 
Ministry of Education. Besides these state high-schools there existed a great 
number of private high-schools, giving the same rights as the state schools 
and. moreover, every Ministry had its own second-grade schools, which, 
besides pursuing special aims were capable of giving a full second-grade edu- 
cation to an additional 200,000 children, boys and girls. This type of 
instruction was a preparation for the University. 
The development of these second-grade schools was worked out according 
to a systematic program. The Ministry of Education alone founded 60 new 
second-grade schools yearly. Even during the World-War, in 191), some 
new schools were founded, notwithstanding the difficulty of coping at that 
period with such great expenses. 
The programs of these schools had been much modified during the 
last years. Count Ignatieff was Minister at that time, and his idea was that 
the second-grade school program should not only be a preparation for a 
University education, but should in itself be a complete education. The best 
type of this kind of education was the “Commercial School”: also the 
second-grade special technical schools of which we have already spoken. The 
cost of schooling was not above 40 to 60 roubles per year (about 4 to 
6 pounds). Children of all classes were admitted. There was only one small 
group of privileged institutions, specially set apart for the children of civil 
servants or for the children of military officers. 
Great attention was constantly paid to the perfection and improvement 
of the educational system. This was done both by the State institutions 
and by the social institutions. These systems did not present something 
stereotyped and unchangeable; they were constantly being modified and 
elaborated to suit the demands of the times. During the last 20 years the 
Committee, whose business it was to go into these questions, worked 
unintermittenly. In this respect both the legislative institutions and the 
Government strove to meet the expectations of public opinion, expressed 
in the press and in the activity of the so-called “Parents Committees”. The 
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