Rethinking student scholarships at Moscow University in the second third of the 19th century

Abstract

The article explores the system of student scholarships at Moscow University in the mid-XIXth century. The research aims to reconstruct the history of the development of the national scholarship system, identify the regulatory foundations of its operation, trace its further evolution, and examine its advantages and disadvantages for Moscow University students form the 1830s to the 1860s. The primary sources for the study include annual university reports, directives from the Ministry of Education, and memoir literature.The author shows that the tradition of providing financial support to students traces back to the era of Peter the Great. In the XVIIIth century, preference was given not to monetary payments but to organizing students' subsistence (food, clothing, textbooks), partly due to the limited amounts available and partly due to the authorities' distrust of students' ability to manage funds prudently. The same principle was incorporated by M. V. Lomonosov into the project for establishing Moscow University.In the XIXth century, state funding (kazenny kosht) became an increasingly significant alternative to scholarships, with students living in university buildings on full state maintenance. After the adoption of the University Statute in 1835, state funding became the primary form of financial support for students. Students made different choices between state funding and scholarships — some were content with the household comfort in exchange for strict control over their behavior and post graduation obligations, while others preferred greater freedom in urban apartments but had to solve their own daily problems.The Ministry of Education used scholarships as a tool to influence students' professional choices and attract individuals from the outskirts of the Empire to Russian universities. The abolition of state funding in 1858 made scholarships (along with mutual aid funds) the main form of student support, with an increase in the number of named, departmental, and charitable grants. Despite this, the living standards of students declined, leading to the radicalization of their attitudes.