Lesson of historical truth for the authorities of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia: it is the time to pass tests...
The Russians who are living now in the countries of the Baltic States would be happy, if they were treated as the Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians in Siberia...
Mikhail Nikolaevich Kolotkin is the known Siberian historian, the doctor of historical sciences, the corresponding member of Academy of Sciences of the higher school of the Russian Federation, the academician of the Siberian academy of political sciences, is known for the researches of ethnopolitical and social processes in Siberia. His new work recently was published:
“Socio-political history of the Baltic settlers of Siberia (1917 - the middle of 1930)”. The book is devoted to studying of the Baltic diasporas in the Siberian region from time of beginnings and to the middle of 1930th year. Many unique materials are presented there.
The cultural life of the Baltic diasporas in Siberia in the twenties of the last century … If to trust some modern politicians from the countries of the Baltic States, there couldn't be such, as there was only one oppression. Is it actually so? Our conversation with professor Kolotkin about this:
- When the natives of the Baltic States appeared in Siberia?
It was in XVI century. The basic contingent was made by exiled persons, state convicts, prisoners of war. Then the first settlements have been based also. The land-poor and landless peasant mass of the Baltic States searched for an exit from a heavy economic situation in resettlement with the capitalism development. The resettlement in Siberia has accepted the wide scope in the late nineties of the XIX century, but the basic peak of agrarian migrations falls on 1907-1911, as the consequence of Stolypin reforms. Then there were the steady and numerous Baltic diasporas. The world war has caused a new splash in growth of number of the Baltic population of Siberia when the unorganized stream of refugees has rushed here.
So-called “the western nationalities” on terminology of 1920 -1930th years mad about 70 % of the non-Russian population of Siberia. More than 400 thousand persons, namely the natives of the Baltic States – the Lithuanians, Latvians, citizens of Latgale and the Estonians have appeared here to1920 year.
- We have agreed to talk about the cultural development of the Baltic settlers in first half of twenties when “the new world” was built. Built with that was and who was. For example, were the illiterate persons much there?
- There was a mass of problems in the conditions of multinational Russia in the decision of problems of cultural development. The main was reduced to the elementary illiteracy, more expressed on suburbs, particularly in Siberia. According to the population census of 1920, 5 300 212 or 57,3 % were illiterate from 9 257 825 inhabitants of region. The share of citizens was even lower and made 10-15 % among the representatives of national minorities. And the quantity of the illiterate persons reached 91 % among women.
- So, maybe, it is valid, that the authorities have no time to solve the questions of culture development of national minorities?
- No matter how the actions of the communistic management of Russia in twenties of the last century in a historiography and political journalism were qualified, so the steadfast attention to the culture development of national minorities, removal of all restrictions of pre-revolutionary time, creation of material resources of education and preparation of qualified personnel certainly can be written down in their merit. Completely not casually the Siberian department of national education already was created on January 25, 1920 at the Siberian Revolutionary Committee in which the section of national minorities was formed. The Latvian Ivan Karo became its head. The Soviet national minorities of national education departments have been opened in all provinces and districts with multinational structure of the population.
The Siberian Bureau of the Central Committee demanded to pay the most steadfast attention to destruction of former isolation and alienation of the non-Russian people in the special letter of the work with the national population dispatched in 1920. In the circular of the Estonian section of the Siberian Bureau of August 12, 1920 it was noticed that the cultural level of the Estonians is necessary to raise sharply. It was recommended to open the new schools, to develop various forms of out-of-school education, to create clubs, mugs. It was marked in the circular sustained in the spirit of that time: “It is necessary to start all this work immediately, each minute of delay is a crime before revolution”.
- And what about the material resources? After all it isn’t possible to solve the problem with circulars only…
- The certain resource base for the culture development of the Baltic settlers has been created by 1922 year. 1439 national schools of the first step, 11 schools of the second step, 222 clubs, 182 libraries, 470 log huts-reading rooms, 54 preschool institutions, 113 theatrical circles were in Siberia. Only the Estonian settlers in region had 58 clubs, 90 log huts-reading rooms, 110 libraries.
- What were the clubs which were the centers of cultural life?
- The majority of club establishments combined the cultural and educational and especially ideological functions in the activity. The Latvian clubs have opened in Irkutsk and Barnaul in the spring of 1920 year. In May two Estonian working clubs have appeared on Anzhersk mines of Kuznetsk Basin. The Estonian club in Tomsk had the name “Working society”. According to incomplete data, by the end of this year nine Estonian working clubs functioned only in Omsk province, in Altay – five. Unique Lithuanian club in Siberia has appeared in April, 1921 in Omsk. The choral section worked at it.
The cultural and educational establishments began to appear in the countryside. A number of clubs and log huts-reading rooms are opening in the Tatar district of Omsk province, including the Estonian colony Rosental. Performances became the most widespread form of their work.
- I have the impression that all went to theater then.
It was an epoch of changes and the theater tried to show, explain these changes to people what occurs in life by own means. The work of mobile drama schools and the troupes serving the national minorities in the remotest corners of Siberia actively used. So, the performances “Doctor against the will” and “Lottery ticket” have been made in village Estonia of the Altay province during visit of drama troupe.
The activity of mobile Latvian drama troupe at corresponding section of the Siberian department of the national education, created in April, 1920 with the purpose of “raisings of class consciousness of the Latvian working and country mass” got the big popularity in Siberia. The collective totaled 17 persons. Frants Murnek, the skilled professional who has finished three-year courses in Riga and who was the head of the Moscow Latvian working theater in 1917 became the director. The special “bureau of plays” was created for repertoire replenishment, the problem of which was the selection and transfer of dramaturgic works into the Latvian language.
Independent theaters were created in villages. The Estonian folk theater had been organized by the population forces on the Vyishevsk lot of Shoshinsk volost of Krasnoyarsk district which gave the representations in the evenings in a local log hut-reading room. The elements of traditional national culture were in rural national settlements rather for long time. So, the singing holiday was regularly done on the termination of spring sowing in the Estonian village Vambola of Mariinsk district of Tomsk province on which the peasants were flown down from the neighboring villages.
- What is it possible to say about a state of affairs at national schools?
- The all-Siberian week of the help to national school has been spent in February, 1921 at the initiative of sections of Siberian Bureau of the Central Committee and Department of National Education of the Siberian Revolutionary Committee. The investigations directed on the improvement of school works were everywhere carried, the possible measures of the help were done. The Latvian section of Yenisei provincial committee used the students who have arrived on vacation from the Moscow high schools, having directed them as teachers of the Latvian schools.
In many respects thanks to population support, it was possible to change a situation to the best to spring of 1923. Then the newspaper “Soviet Siberia” wrote that “appreciable revival” in school education of national groups recently is planned. The network of national schools in Novonikolaevsk province has increased half, in the Yenisei province on 40 % in comparison with previous year by April, 1924. 23 national schools have renewed the work in new educational year in Tomsk province.
The edition of the educational literature in languages of the Baltic people has considerably extended also. 42 thousand textbooks in the Estonian language the part from which has been sent free of charge have been received from the People’s Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR to the middle of 1923 for Siberia.
Gradually the resource base of schools became stronger. For example, the network of the Estonian schools in Siberia in 1924 has been presented as follows:
Omsk province - 17 schools served 40 % of children
Tomsk province - 12 schools - 75 %
Yenisei province -11 schools - 45 %
Altay province - 4 schools - 26 %
Irkutsk province - 1 school - 25 %
Novonikolaevsk province - 2 schools - 26 %.
The quantity of points on liquidation of illiteracy among the adult population has increased the total number in Siberia of which by February, 1925 has made 258.
- Let’s return to clubs: what were they doing?
- If by the end of 1920 across all Siberia 25 national clubs worked, so by April, 1923 103 clubs, theatrical circle and cultural and educational societies successfully worked. Especially the big work on revival of work of national clubs has been spent in Kuznetsk Basin during a special biweekly (October, 1922) when the miners have mined more than 11 thousand poods of coal on the days of unpaid work and have transferred the earned means for the building of new clubs.
And after all there were also the log huts-reading rooms. 8 Latvian log huts-reading rooms and 6 common rooms worked in Omsk province, in the Yenisei province - 4 log huts-reading rooms, 5 common rooms and 2 cultural and educational societies. It was noticed in the report of Omsk provincial department of national education that “The Estonian population sees a common room in a log hut-reading room. The Estonian log huts-reading rooms are always full of the people, and, unlike other nationalities, the old men are regular visitors”.
A professional training with higher education was carried out. The branch of national minorities has been opened on the basis of Omsk institute of national education. The branch included five sections – the Latvian, Estonian, Polish, Ukrainian and Tatar-Kazakh where 150 students were trained in total.
Thus, the analysis of cultural and educational activity among the Baltic people allows to judge on its regularity and many-sided nature. In difficult conditions of the New Economic Policy it was possible to keep a considerable part, and soon and completely to restore a network of national education and cultural and educational establishments which has been developed subsequently more. This challenge could be solved only by means of workers, thanking their selflessness and the initiative. Various forms of work and the differentiated approach to various groups and layers of the Baltic settlers have allowed to cover the wide ranges by the education.
- What was the situation with the national press?
- The purposeful and constant support of the national press was carried out. And it has brought the results. Already to the beginning of 1923 all periodicals of Siberia have surpassed pre-revolutionary editions in the general circulation. Both Baltic newspapers have been included in the state network of newspapers that has led to circulation and format increase. The maintenance of published materials has qualitatively improved, the quantity of subscribers has increased. It was possible to capture to 60 % of the Latvians of region with the subscription to the newspaper “Sibiriyas Tsinya” in the beginning of September, 1924. The growth of subscribers number of the Estonian newspaper “Siberi Teataya” which has increased four times was especially appreciable.
The press created for the Baltic population of Siberia, confidently entered into an everyday life and a life of people. Its authority has grown up, the communications with the population became spread. There was gradually a circle of the working and country correspondents round the newspapers, who were writing from the most remote corners of Siberia. The press acted as the initiator of many undertakings, school of development of public activity of the people, constantly expanding their spiritual needs. It helped the readers to raise the cultural level.
- Is it possible to say that the Baltic diasporas in Siberia didn't have the chance to develop the national culture?
- No, though in Siberia in first half of twenties, as well as across all country, the interests of traditional national culture should submit to the interests of a communistic regime. It had been penetrated all activity of party bodies, including the national sections, the Soviet machinery, education and culture establishments. But it is necessary to notice that in comparison with the previous period, the resource base of the cultural development of national minorities have been created, the quantity of schools has essentially increased, there were cultural and educational establishments, newspapers in the languages of the Baltic people began to be published.
- You are the known expert in history of national diasporas in Siberia. In your opinion, what is urgency of that subject today?
- The international relations were one of the important components of life of the country throughout all Russian history. And now the whole complex of internal and geopolitical factors has been fastened in hard knot. The consequences of “parade of sovereignties” of 1990th years, the sharpest questions of economic, legal and social interrelations left traces on the problems of the international relations which we have got in the inheritance from the past.
The national elite, having rejected the communistic ideology and having added to the arsenal national idea, in race for power try to provide the rights and freedom of the “titular” nation by violation of the elementary human rights of the representatives of other nationalities living together with them. The sates of the Baltic are the example in this respect where the Russian-speaking diaspora is put in position of derelicts by their deducing in unlawful field and actual replacement.
I want to tell about one important thing: the national minorities are capable to carry out noble mission at the true policy - to cement Russia, providing the process of international mutual understanding and adaptation. Namely such problems were solving in the country and particularly in Siberia in critical 20-30s years. From this point of view the historical experience of folding and genesis of the Baltic diasporas of Siberia, certainly, deserves the most steadfast attention.
Viewed : 3482 Commented: 5
Author: Владимир Кузменкин
Publication date : 28 September 2011 15:33
Source: The world and we
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