Management of the Odesa Educational District in the Second Half of the 19th Century (on the Example of Bessarabia and Kherson governorates)

The article examines the peculiarities of the development of education in the Bessarabia and Kherson Governorates in the context of the administrative policy of the Odesa Educational District. In the second half of the 19th century, the article traces the attempts of the Russian Empire to fulfil two main tasks: to overcome any national influence (Romanian, Moldovan, German, Bulgarian and Jewish) through gradual Russification and to expand the network of institutions through the financial participation of local communities. It was the region's ethnic diversity that led to greater attention to educational development in Bessarabia and Kherson Governorates, and the distrust of the local population towards assimilationist innovations only slowed plans to rapidly integrate existing schools into the Russian-speaking space for a few years. Officials of the Odesa Educational District openly criticised the educational institutions of ethnic communities, accusing them of being unsuitable for practical life, inertia, and a lack of interest in the rural population. By the end of the 19th century, the authorities neutralised all threats with several decisions: the abolition of the study of the “Moldovan language”, the re-subordination of former colonial schools, the renewal of teaching staff, the transition to Russian-language education, centralisation of management, and the expansion of the number of inspectors of public schools. K eywords: education, district, trustee, inspectors, Russification, ethnic, colonists. Rezumat. Managementul Districtului e ducațional Odesa în a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea (exemplul guvernămintelor Basarabia și Herson). Sunt examinate Copyright © 2025 “Codrul Cosminului”, XXXI, 2025, No. 1, p. 37–56. 38 Volodymyr Mylko particularitățile dezvoltării învățământului în guvernămintele Basarabia și Herson în contextul politicii administrative a Districtului Educațional Odesa. Pentru a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea, sunt urmărite încercările Imperiului Rus de a îndeplini două sarcini principale: de a înlătura orice influență națională (românească, moldovenească, germană, bulgară și evreiască) printr-un proces treptat de rusificare și de