DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_1_62

D. A. Barinov, E. A. Rostovtsev. Graduates of the faculty of history and philology of St. Petersburg
University at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries: Collective portrait and career prospects //
Petersburg historical journal, no. 1, 2025, pp. 62–73

Abstract:

Throughout the imperial period, St. Petersburg University functioned not only as the largest
scientific and educational center in the country, but also as a training ground for the political and cultural elite, thus serving as the most significant source for the formation of the domestic intelligentsia. This study examines the role of the historical and philological faculty of the capital’s university in the formation of the national elite. The primary research method employed by the authors involved the compilation of a collective biography of бfaculty graduates, encompassing an analysis of their career trajectories, social compositions, and other relevant
factors. A sample of issues from the turn of the 19th–20th centuries (1895–1904) was taken for analysis. The analysis revealed that the further professional paths of graduates developed in three main ways: a bureaucratic career, a career as a teacher in gymnasiums and colleges, and a scientific career, usually associated with work in higher education or the Academy of Sciences. Concurrently, the proportion of teachers and scientists among the graduate population increased, while the proportion of bureaucrats decreased. However, many individuals who opted for careers in the government apparatus did not forsake scientific studies, continuing to publish
works, compilations, or organise expeditions. The article also provides comparisons with analogous indicators for other faculties, including law, physics, mathematics, and oriental languages. One of the objectives assigned to the article was to identify the connections that students established during their studies and that influenced the trajectory of their future careers. A thorough analysis of biographies revealed that these connections played a pivotal role in the development of academic and political careers, where the ties of student friendship could
prove to be a significant asset.

Key words: St. Petersburg University, Faculty of History and Philology, history of higher education, history of elites.

Author:

Barinov, Dmitry Andreevich — PhD in History, Researcher, St. Petersburg State University (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: barinovdima1990@yandex.ru
ORCID: 0000-0003-3592-8557

Author:

Rostovtsev, Evgeny Anatolyevich — Dr. of History, Associate Professor, Professor, St. Petersburg
State University (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: eugene.rostovtsev@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0002-5833-448X

References:

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