Mikhail Kolotkin: there is confrontational aggressive culture in Latvia!

Our portal already published the interview with the known Siberian historian Mikhail Nikolaevich Kolotkin. It was devoted to the new book of the corresponding member of Academy of Sciences of the higher school of the Russian Federation and the academician of the Siberian academy of political sciences: «Socio-political history of the Baltic settlers of Siberia (1917 — the middle of the 1930th.» We received many responses and offers to continue the conversation. Today it will be a question of life of the Baltic diasporas in Siberia in the twenties of the XX centuries.

— Your research has wider chronological framework — up to the middle of the 30th years, isn’t it?

It is exactly so. The situation wasn’t invariable: in the country the political and economic processes passed which couldn’t but influence as the development of Siberia and the people occupying it. Including the national diasporas, certainly.

I will give such example. On June 18, 1926 the decree of Council of People’s Commissars of RSFSR was adopted «According to the report of a national commissariat of education on educational work among ethnic minorities" — the main tasks of lifting of cultural level of the national population were called there: expansion of a network of schools of the first step, increase in number of preschool institutions and strengthening of personnel structure of teachers.

— This decree had practical consequences?

- Certainly, in Siberia this work was started in 1927. Inspection revealed the existence of 27 Estonian, 25 Latvian and 16 Latgale schools in Siberia. But if the Latvian one had 39 teachers, so there were only 11 teachers in the Latgale schools. Therefore in five Latgale schools the teaching was conducted by the Russian teachers, and three schools for the lack of teachers should be closed. Rather safe situation with schools was in Achinsk and Tomsk districts where there were 8 and 6 schools respectively, including eleven schools of the first step.

In June, 1927 the first regional meeting on work among the national population took place. It passed under the sign of differentiation in cultural work that «along with the strengthened service of more backward of them, steady deepening and expansion of educational work and cultural developed would be provided» to which the natives of Baltic related.

«It seems, open-and-shut case — the calculation of children with the Russian-Latvian population, A. Rozin wrote — it is not so subtly to agree concerning settlements … but the Latvian children often aren’t allocated in special groups though the inspectors counted these children more, than it is required for loading of groups». There were many problems.

— What was the most essential?

- Big elimination of pupils from poor families and also mass outflow of school students in the spring and in the fall for participation in agricultural works was a serious hindrance in education during the whole considered period. This circumstance needs to be meant also now. Mass planting of «farmer» farms conducts to the termination of study of children of this category of the population after receiving primary education and to the truancies caused by need to help the parents.

How it looked in the second half of the 20th — the first half of the 30th years it is possible to judge by the following examples. By May, 1933, judging by messages from the Asinovsk area, the general elimination of pupils reached 13%, and on separate schools reached 45−50%. In a number of national schools of the Tarsk area by April of the same year the attendance decreased to 70%. Local administration, resolving economic issues, often officially allowed to pass the tasks. One of chairmen of collective farm openly declared: «I won’t let the children to school. Child labor replaces the adult workers. Work for us is more important than education».

As a whole the average level of elimination across West Siberia in 1933 — 1934 academic year remained high. About a quarter of pupils left the school. At national school in four years from each 100 first graders, only 59 pupils remained.

— Was the money for national schools allocated?

- Serious problem of functioning of national schools in the late twenties was their financing. The forced industrialization led to sharp decrease in crediting of national education. Therefore on places there was the search of alternative sources of a financing of education that became off-budget receipts on a voluntary basis (self-taxation), covering a quarter of all expenses on elementary school.

For example, in Estonian settlements of the Omsk district in 1928/1929 economic year 5450 rubles were collected on school due to self-taxation. The national peasantry willingly responded to an appeal to help the cultural development. The population actively participated in construction of school buildings, fuel preparation. There were made the decisions on carrying out of self-taxation for needs of education on rural descents.

— Did the children willingly go to schools?

- In Siberia in 1927 — 1929 there were the events for ensuring general availability of school at its voluntary visit. And from the second half of 1929 in the most prepared areas of Siberia there was a general compulsory education. To 1929−1930 in Siberia the network of schools of the first step only on Latgale settlements made 27. However the problem was that in the majority there were the school of three years training. People’s commissariat of Education demanded that national schools provided the obligatory five-year term of training.

And existing schools couldn’t contain everyone. The average level of coverage among Latvians of the Omsk district in 1927/1928 academic year reached 71%, Estonians have 88%, and Estonians of the Slavgorod district have nearly 100%. As a whole across Siberia to the middle of 1930 among the western settlers it was captured by a general compulsory education of 70−75% of children that, it should be noted, was very high rate within RSFSR.

— How were the affairs with teachers? There was lack of personnel everywhere …

- This problem was sharp. In 1929 in Siberia there were only 27 teachers — Latgales, but only three persons from them were with vocational education. Other teacher’s vacancies were occupied by people with the elementary education, graduates from Soviet party schools and simply promoted workers from among the former pupils. But in 1931 at Achinsk pedagogical technical school the Latgale office was created where about 90 pupils were trained. At the same time through short-term teacher’s courses almost all working teachers passed retraining at technical school — Latgales increased qualification. By 1935 125 people were trained already in Latgale office.

West Siberian Regional Executive Committee in 1932 founded the staffs of inter district national school instructors — methodologists. For Latgales one instructor fell on 50 schools. Certainly, it was very little, however nevertheless allowed to conduct all school work in the Latgale villages.

— The main task was to win against illiteracy?

- Executive committees of Councils developed plans of elimination of illiteracy among separate nationalities with the indication of concrete terms. Across Western Siberia it was planned to finish illiteracy elimination among the western nationalities by October, 1931, and in Eastern Siberia — by October, 1932. The task was quite real as in 1928 the illiteracy among adult population, for example, at Latvians of the Omsk district made 20%, and Estonians had 15%.

For realization of this task West Siberian Regional Executive Committee approved the staffs inter district national instructors-methodologists for 40 Latvian, 57 Estonian and 50 Latgale schools which are available in the region, previously having organized for them twenty-day courses of retraining. At meeting of editors of national newspapers it was decided to develop a network of national broadcasting for educational activity. Soon the programs began to be three times a month for 45 minutes.

— Textbooks should be created on places?

- At regional meeting of the western nationalities which took place on February 15, 1930 in Novosibirsk, the Latgale delegation sharply raised a question of drawing up the textbooks for the Latgale schools of the first level and the organization of points of elimination of illiteracy.

During discussion it was decided to concentrate efforts at the beginning on drawing up two textbooks — for schools of the first level and reading and writing schools. It was thus noted that textbooks have to be made on the Siberian material. Work was headed by the commission where V. Abolin and two skilled teachers — Yu. Vutsan and S. Zagorsky entered from Taysneyba newspaper editorial office.

The edition of educational literature was adjusted. In respect of the edition of the Latgale textbooks approved by presidium of the West Siberian committee on affairs of publishing house on May 8, 1934, 10 names which are with a general circulation of 12,5 thousand copies appeared. Among authors of «Arithmetics» there were Eroman and Grover. «Reading book» and «Grammar» made Datskevich, «Geography» — Lots, «Social science» — Mezhul, «Natural sciences» — Yurgel. Regional Association of State Book and Magazine Edition and printing house were actively connected to this work, which were asked «to pay special attention to improvement of quality of registration of textbooks».

Intense work of people on whom the destiny of textbooks depended, was crowned with success. By new 1934/1935 academic year over 15 textbooks on various disciplines for the Latgale schools were published. As for Estonians, this task for them was almost solved in 1931. So, according to regional meeting of nationalities of Siberia the Estonian children were provided with educational literature for 94% - it is very high rate.

— Problem of teacher’s staff was solved too?

- At the beginning of 1935 in summary there was the shortcoming of 23 teachers on pedagogical staff of West Siberia while at Estonians deficiency made two teachers and at Latvians the teacher’s staff was fully completed. However already by the beginning of new academic year the prepared in the central and Siberian educational institutions experts arrived: four graduates of Communistic university of ethnic minorities of the West, fourteen of Achinsk pedagogical technical school and ten graduates of the Soviet Party schools.

Directed for check and control of a condition of national education among the Baltic settlers the inspector S. Yuzhakov, having visited earlier incomplete schools, noted with satisfaction: «There is no need for pedagogical staff for elementary schools».

In Siberia it is possible to judge recognition of the done work on that fact that by results of All-Union competition Latvian and Latgale schools in 1934 four schools were recognized as winners and awarded monetary awards! So, the Latgale Okunevsk incomplete high school was noted for full coverage of all children of school age, progress in educational work. In Siberia the innovators — teachers — the manager of Akimo-Annensk elementary school Zalyan, the teacher of Vitebsk incomplete high school Zmilten, the director of Borokovsk incomplete high school Plotsin, the teacher of Kreslavsk elementary school Krepsh had wide popularity.

- That is, as a matter of fact, in five years there was a quantum leap in case of national education of the Baltic people in Siberia.

- Yes. And the figures show it. Progress of pupils at schools averaged 94%, and attendance — 95%. The selective examination conducted in 1935 at ten schools, showed that there were only 26 repeaters. Here the theatrical, choral and sports circles actively worked.

It is necessary to tell also about such form of education, as a reading room. Developing network of reading rooms in the Baltic settlements, especially where the population took place compactly, was supplemented with country red corners. Granting is free or for the contractual sum. The country personal dwelling turned into a peculiar cultural center. The workers, so-called «red corners» or «red readers» gave classes, propagandized the last state and party decisions.

Agronomical study the task of which included acquisition of skills of work in new conditions, promotion of agricultural cooperation became an important element in the Latvian, Latagle and Estonian village. Here on a practical training the advanced methods of managing, skills of work with arriving agricultural machinery were shown, exhibitions were organized.

Literature release in languages of the Baltic people was gradually adjusted. A great work in this plan was done by the all-union society «Prometheus» which had Estonian, Latvian and Latgale offices.

— And what about the theater? Such idea was discussed long ago…

- The Latgale inter collective-farm theater was created in November, 1934 at the initiative of educational «Prometheus» and editions of «Taysneyba». The city of Achinsk of Krasnoyarsk Krai became a place of a dislocation of troupe.

P. Lipen who was replaced soon by V. Spogis was appointed as the first director and the director was D. Tsirul. The creative collective originally consisted of only eight actors and replenished from young and collective-farm workers. In repertoire there were performances in the Russian and Latgale languages, songs, chastushkas, national dances, execution of verses of the Latvian, Latgale, Russian poets. The string band worked.

Only for a year of work after the creation the theater served all Latgale collective farms of the West Siberian and Krasnoyarsk edges, gave 196 performances and 80 concerts at which there were over 25 thousand audience. Actors passed over 4 thousand kilometers on the Siberian off road terrain, served 15 areas, 86 Latgale, 9 Latvian, 20 Russians, and also the Lithuanian, German and Tatar collective farms, 8 state-farm farms and crews.

Besides purely theatrical work, the actors let out 36 wall newspapers and 28 «live» newspapers, gave 72 lectures on a political perspective, organized 16 rural theatrical circles. The activity of the theater quickly gained wide popularity and caused a great interest of the population.

— When we speak about the history of the Baltic diasporas in Siberia, there is an involuntary wish to tell about the provision of the Russian community in Latvia today. That occurs there, has no relation to democracy. Probably, everything occurs exactly on the contrary, something about what we spoke.

- I agree with you. In many respects it is connected with that in some former Soviet republics, and, in particular, in Latvia the confrontational political culture bearing in intolerance to representatives of other nations was approved. In my opinion, it strongly simplified the approach which has no future. In fact it is a deadlock which leads to growth of interethnic intensity both on personal and institutional level. It is important to remember that the world changed, it became more open in the conditions of globalization.

We still live, adhering to a dichotomy «own" — «other», mainly ethnic interpretation though the tendency of the present and future world order as the main reference points of development provides dissolution of the national and state sovereignties, a support not on ethnic, but universal values. The principle «share and dominate» is very actively used by political elite today. The Latvian authorities aren’t an exception in this sense.

I am the optimist. I believe that multinational Latvian society eventually will find peace and harmony.