Once I happened to hear from a French student who visited Russia a question that was a little uncomfortable for me. He asked: “Why are all the rich in Russia so rude? In France, the most polite people are the rich. And only the simple are rude.” To tell him our saying: “There will be no pan out of a boor,” it seemed to me too derogatory for our people. But if you think about it, then our new Russians are precisely the representatives of that common people who, due to a lack of culture and education, allows himself rudeness and arrogance towards others.

Education is a very important indicator in assessing a person's personality. Respecting another does not mean being weak and intimidated. And that's exactly how our rich people think. For them, gaining prestige and raising self-esteem consists only in rudeness and rudeness. That is why higher education, science and culture were so swiftly lowered into the mud. That is why the most disrespected professions were a teacher and a doctor. Authority is won by fists and arrogance only in the criminal stratum, only in the most declassed and uneducated element.
The new elite is trying to rank itself with the old Russian intelligentsia, the nobility, trying to show itself Orthodox, but without proper education and understanding of what a culture of behavior is, it will never come close to high society. The article below just gives an understanding of what high society is and how you need to educate yourself and your children in order to get there.
Yes, only the elite received such education as in Smolny, yes, we are talking about women's education, but something else is important: the understanding that a lot depends on women's education. And this upbringing lies not only in Orthodoxy, but also in the rules of etiquette and culture.
The history of women's education in Russia is inextricably linked with the name of Empress Catherine the Great. "Culture.RF" tells how the institute appeared noble maidens and how its emergence affected the lives of Russian women.

Educated women and useful members of society




European culture, which began to take hold in our country from the end of the 18th century, brought many innovations into the life of a Russian person. Under Peter I, schools for girls began to appear. This was the first step in the development of women's education in Russia. But the real breakthrough in this area was the initiative of Catherine the Great, under which the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens was founded in St. Petersburg. The first institution of higher education for women in Russia opened on May 5, 1764.

The creation of the institute was initiated by one of those close to the Empress - Ivan Betskoy, a public figure, educator, and an employee of the State Chancellery. He was educated in Europe, supported Catherine in her efforts to inculcate habits of Western life in her compatriots, and highly appreciated the role of women in the development of society. Betskoy believed that "boys of both sexes" should be brought up in equal conditions.

When founded, the Smolny Institute was called the Educational Society for Noble Maidens. His idea was written in official document: "to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society." Ekaterina herself actively participated in the life of the institution: she invested a huge amount of money, often came to the institute, where she had long conversations with cool ladies, talked with pupils and corresponded with managers, being interested in all the successes and difficulties. The Empress wanted the graduates of Smolny to become an example for all women in the country. According to her plan, the girls had to get a good education, develop culturally and morally.

The Smolny Institute accepted girls from well-born, but not rich families. They were both from Russia and from other countries - the daughters of Georgian princes, an aristocrat from Sweden. The training lasted 12 years. During this time, the students could not leave the institution either at will or at the request of the guardians. Girls were admitted to Smolny from the age of six, and the training program included three classes - each of them lasted four years. The relatives of the pupils drew up a receipt in which they agreed to give the child for 12 years without the possibility of meetings and trips outside the institution. So the empress was going to protect the pupils from the influence of the environment in which they grew up before entering the institute.

Getting into Smolny was not easy: potential students had to pass exams in Russian and French, and also have a good religious upbringing. But the most important criterion by which many applicants were eliminated is the origin.

“By no means make subjects of boredom out of the sciences”

In Smolny, girls were taught many sciences. The schedule included arithmetic, literacy, three foreign languages, religious studies, etiquette, culinary arts, drawing, music, vocals, geography, history and other subjects. However, many of them girls studied very superficially. For example, at cooking lessons, pupils of the Smolny Institute learned how to fry cutlets from minced meat. History was studied from a single textbook and often jumped over topics.

The main emphasis in the study was on the rules of behavior in society and the word of God. It was believed that the pupil of this institution, that is, the future maid of honor or a young lady serving at court, should be able to keep up the conversation about religion and behave in society with restraint and grace.

The physical condition of the girls was also given attention. Lungs sports exercises they worked out several times a week. Support slim figure the diet helped: the food was scarce, and sometimes simply of poor quality. Many graduates wrote in their memoirs that eating at the institute was one of their worst memories.

The temperature in the students' bedrooms did not rise above 16 degrees. They went to bed early and got up early, slept on hard beds, washed ice water from the Neva. All this was to temper the girls.

“The charter urgently demanded that children always look cheerful, cheerful, contented and “free actions of the soul.” Therefore, it was instructed not to make objects of boredom, grief and disgust out of the sciences, and to facilitate the assimilation of knowledge by all means, while paying attention to the degree of development and ability of each girl individually.
Zinaida Mordvinova, author historical outline"Smolny Institute in the Era of Catherine II"
Rules of conduct for noble maidens




The charter of the Institute of Noble Maidens spelled out in detail the rules of conduct. It was discussed how the teachers should treat the Smolensk girls and how the pupils should communicate with each other.

More than 20 teachers worked at the institute - they were highly qualified teachers. It is noteworthy that they were all unmarried ladies and usually older than 40. Physical punishment at the Smolny Institute were strictly prohibited, but the teachers did not hesitate to shout at the guilty pupils. Violation of order in the institute was considered "bad behavior", and naughty girls called "moveshki" ("mauvaise" - bad). There was another term - "parfettes" (distorted French "parfaite" - perfect). So they teased the students who never broke the rules and behaved perfectly.

All "Smolyanka" were supposed to be a model of modesty. They wore same clothes and hairstyles - smoothly combed braids. Uniform dresses were different colors, the approximate age of the student was easily determined from them. The smallest girls wore coffee-colored dresses, so they were called "coffee-makers", girls from 9 to 12 years old - blue, from 12 to 15 years old - blue, and the oldest - white. None fashionable accessories were not allowed. All this was due to the general atmosphere in the institution, where simplicity and monotony reigned, and discipline and order were valued above all else.

Despite strict rules and the inability to see the family, the girls were not kept locked up. all year round. They were taken to theatrical performances, art exhibitions, holidays at the court. Smolyanka women were taught to love the beautiful and understand the cultural innovations of that time.

Employment after graduating from Smolny was practically guaranteed. Many girls remained at the Institute for Noble Maidens after their studies and worked either as teachers or class ladies. For many years of work, they were awarded badges of honor: an orange bow "For Labor" and a silver with enamel "Sign of the Institutions of the Office of Maria Feodorovna." Some pupils of the Smolny Institute after graduation could become governesses.

Smolny Institute after Catherine II

After the death of Catherine, the management of Smolny was taken over by the wife of Paul I, Maria Feodorovna. Having stayed in this position for 32 years, the Empress changed a lot in the lives of pupils and teachers. First of all, the rules for entering and living at the institute have changed. Now the girls were giving away with more late age- from about 8 years old - and they studied there not for 12, but for 9 years. Maria Fedorovna changed the schedule in such a way that hourly lessons appeared. Twice a year, female students took exams, and depending on the results, they were assigned to certain classes. The class gradation now looked like this: the most successful students, then the girls with an average grade, and the third grade with the lagging behind.

With the advent of Maria Feodorovna, the goals pursued by the employees of the institution have noticeably changed. Now, from the pupils, they sought to make, rather than maids of honor, but complaisant wives. If in Catherine's time it was ordered here to read the book "On the Positions of a Man and a Citizen", now it has been replaced by "Fatherly Advice to My Daughter". The Institute for Noble Maidens was closed in 1917, but until then all the changes of Maria Feodorovna were strictly observed.

The Smolny Institute has existed for more than a century and a half. During this time there were 85 issues. Many of the tars became famous. Shortly before the closure of the institute, Maxim Gorky's lover, Maria Budberg, entered there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Nina Habias graduated from the institute, who later became a futurist poetess. In 1900, Maria Dobrolyubova, a poetess and revolutionary, the sister of the poet Alexander Dobrolyubov, graduated.

The Institute for Noble Maidens was a big step in the development of women's education in Russia. On the basis of this institute, other educational institutions for women began to appear throughout the country.

Xenia Mareich

In 1764, by a special decree of Catherine the 2nd, the "Educational Society for Noble Maidens" was created in St. Petersburg, which later became known as the "Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens". The purpose of this educational institution, as stated in the decree, "is to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society."
The Smolny Institute became a closed educational institution for girls from noble families. Girls of six years old were enrolled there, eighteen-year-old girls were released. The closedness of the educational institution was the main condition and the main idea of ​​Betsky, who spoke about the education of a "new breed" of people. In his mind, everything looked really perfect: young girls completely isolated from the influence of the environment, family, street, in twelve years of training and education they become adult women, free from vices. Becoming mothers, graduates of the Smolny Institute raise their children the same, the children pass on everything accumulated from their mothers to the next generation, and gradually all members of society will become respectable people.
The first reception of the pupils was held in 1764. But there were very few parents who wished to enroll their daughters in the Educational Society - the new in Russia has always caused concern and no one was particularly in a hurry to be the first. Only not very wealthy nobles decided to let their daughters go. Only six months later the vacancies were filled. Among those accepted were seven titled pupils and many daughters of petty officials and impoverished nobles, a total of 60 girls.

Portrait of Ivan Ivanovich Betsky

Smolny Institute and its pupils.

Its closeness was controlled in the first place: parents could visit girls only in certain days and only with permission from management. In 1764, 60 girls of 5-6 years old were admitted to the "Educational Society" for the first time. Training and education went "by age" (by age groups): at first, when the training lasted 12 years, there were four ages, then, when the training period was reduced to 9 years, there were three ages.
Girls of each age group wore dresses of a certain color: the youngest (5-7 years old) - coffee-colored, so they were often called "coffee houses", 8-10 years old - blue or blue, 11-13 years old - gray, older girls went in white dresses. The daily routine was also quite strict: getting up at 6 o'clock in the morning, then lessons, then a little time for walking under the supervision of a lady assigned for this. Girls were taught reading, spelling, languages, the basics of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In addition to general education subjects, it was necessary to learn everything that virtuous mothers should be able to do: sewing, knitting, dancing, music, secular manners.

How noble girls were brought up
From the memoirs of Elizaveta Nikolaevna Vodovozova (nee Tsevlovskaya, after her second husband - Semevskaya; 1844-1923) - a graduate of the Smolny Institute:

Now it is even difficult to imagine what a Spartan life we ​​led, how unwelcoming, uncomfortable the environment around us was. It was especially difficult to go to bed. The cold that followed us everywhere and to which the "newcomers" had such difficulty getting used to, made itself felt most of all when we had to undress in order to go to bed. In a shirt with a collar so cut out that it often slipped off our shoulders and fell down, without a night blouse, which was allowed only in cases of emergency and at the request of a doctor, barely covered from nakedness and shivering from the cold, we threw ourselves into bed. Two sheets and a light flannelette blanket with nap worn out from old age did little to protect the bedroom from the cold, in which in winter it was no more than eight degrees in the morning. The liquid mattress made of bast, worn out by several generations, was so thin in some places that the iron bars of the bed hurt, prevented sleep and woke me up at night when I had to turn from one side to the other.
As soon as the bell rang at six o'clock in the morning, the attendants began to run from bed to bed, pulled the blankets off the girls and shouted: "Get up! hurry up!"

In addition to getting up early and cold, the pupils were also depressed by hunger, from which they always suffered.

At breakfast we were given a small, thin slice of black bread, slightly buttered and sprinkled with green cheese - this tiny sandwich was the first meal. Sometimes, instead of green cheese, there was a thin piece of meat on the bread, like a postal leaf, and on the second we got a tiny portion of milk porridge or pasta. That's the whole breakfast. For lunch - soup without beef, for the second - a small piece of beef fried from the soup, for the third - drachen or a pie with a modest lingonberry, blueberry or cranberry jam. This food, though rarely of bad quality, was extremely poor in nutrition, because the portions were incredibly small. In the morning and in the evening, one mug of tea and half a French roll were supposed to be. And in other institutions of that time, as far as I heard, they were also poorly fed, but at least they gave plenty of black bread, but we didn’t have that either: it’s clear that the pupils suffered severely from hunger. Fasting, on the other hand, tormented us completely: the miniature portions we received then were even less nutritious. Lenten breakfast usually consisted of six small potatoes (or three medium size) with vegetable oil, and for the second they gave a slurry with the same oil or haber soup (oatmeal soup (from German Haber).). For lunch - soup with cereals, the second - boiled fish, which we call "dead meat", or three or four fried smelt, and for the third - a tiny lean pie with lingonberry jam.

The Institute strove to make great fasters out of its pupils. We fasted not only on Christmas and Lent, but every Friday and Wednesday. At this time, the pupils felt such hellish hunger that they went to bed with tears, moaned and cried for a long time in their beds, not being able to sleep from the cold and excruciating hunger. This famine in Lent once brought to the point that more than half of the institute girls were sent to the infirmary. Our doctor finally declared that he had no places for the sick, and said directly that all this was due to malnutrition. There was a buzz about it in the city. Finally, a commission of doctors was appointed, who admitted that the sickness of the pupils was caused by the lack of food and the exhausting fasts. And the latter were shortened: in Great Lent they began to fast only for three weeks, and in Christmas Lent - no more than two, but on Wednesdays and Fridays they fasted as before.

The rudeness and swearing of the classy ladies, to match the whole soldier's system of our life, was distinguished by complete ease. Our ladies, except for a German who spoke German to us, addressed us only in French. They certainly knew a lot of swear words. French words, but for some reason they were not satisfied with them and, when they began to scold us, they used both languages, preferring even Russian. Perhaps this was due to the fact that by expressive Russian scolding they hoped to more strongly impress their pure, poetic image in our hearts! Be that as it may, they uttered some swear words only in French, others only in Russian. Here are the most frequently repeated Russian expressions and words from their lexicon: “you will be pulled out like Sidorov’s goats”, “scoundrel”, “durynda-horn”, “deck”, “club”, “whore”, “creature”, “stupid”; from French words were invariably pronounced: "brebis galeuse" (black sheep), "vile populace" (bastard).

The infirmary served as the only consolation and rest from the unattractive institute life. All his staff - the doctor, the warden, the infirmary lady - were simple, kind creatures who stood aloof from institute intrigues; they all treated us sympathetically and respectfully. The doctor was well aware that the cause of the anemia and fevers that the pupils suffered in the first year of their institute life was poor nutrition and a harsh life, and willingly kept in the infirmary in poor health, and after leaving it he prescribed milk to many or for a while hospital food - he could do nothing more. The infirmary, in which the pupils could get enough sleep, where they rested in body and soul, saved many of them from premature death.

Despite the extremely unfavorable conditions of institute life at that time, the mortality rate among pupils was relatively negligible. According to one doctor who was seriously engaged in the study of the causes of this phenomenon, this was primarily due to the fact that with the most insignificant illness of fever, headache, with a slight indigestion, the pupils were immediately sent to the infirmary and put to bed - thus, at the very beginning of the disease, they interfered further development illness. The strong spread of infections and diseases was also prevented by the cleanliness and neatness of well-ventilated rooms, regular life and strictly fixed times for sleeping and eating, which greatly weakened the excited, nervous state pupils. But if the mortality rate among the pupils was relatively small, then there were extremely many sickly, emaciated, anemic and nervous.

The training and education program was divided by age:

The first age (6-9 years old) was taught: the Law of God, Russian and foreign languages ​​(French, German and Italian), arithmetic, drawing, needlework and dancing.
The second age (9-12 years) was added to the above subjects: history, geography, practical acquaintance with the household.
The third age (12-15 years old) continued teaching the same subjects with the addition of verbal sciences, experimental physics, architecture and heraldry (the latter was excluded from the program in 1783).
The fourth age (15-18 years) was devoted to the repetition of the past and enhanced practical exercises home economics, needlework, accounting. Geometry was added later.
Another important decision on the classes of pupils of this age was that they were appointed daily, in turn, to teach in the lower grades, which meant accustoming them to teaching practice necessary for future mothers-educators.

IN common system education included questions about physical development children and care for their health. It was considered useful for children to move on fresh air both summer and winter. Pupils spent a lot of time in the garden on the banks of the Neva. In winter they went skating, skiing from the mountains; in the summer - rounders, tags - for the younger ones - ball games, lawn tennis, croquet - for the older ones. In 1840, in addition to pedagogical gymnastics, medical gymnastics was introduced. And from the beginning of the 20th century, compulsory gymnastics was introduced for everyone. Rhythmic gymnastics was introduced in grades 6-7. The charter required that "maidens have a clean and neat look"so that "fresh and ventilated air is in the rooms."

In 1853 there were daily employment: lessons in cutting, sewing, embroidery, knitting, turning. Throughout the training, economy and home building were studied with applied classes. Girls 12-15 years old were taught housekeeping in practice.

Teaching was entrusted to twenty-four foreign teachers, mostly French women, for there were not enough Russian teachers even for men's schools. Naturally, the teaching was in foreign languages. Only the Law of God was taught by a priest, and Russian literacy was taught by nuns. Drawing, music and dancing were taught by teachers.
There was never any corporal punishment in Smolny, but the classy ladies did not need any rods. The girl who rustled with a piece of paper at the lesson, this piece of paper was pinned to her dress, on her shoulder. A poorly darned stocking could also be pinned there. If the pupil, God forbid, happened to wet herself at night, then she had to go to breakfast in a wet sheet over her dress.

Smolny Institute teachers

Catherine II often visited the institute, corresponded with the pupils, delved into all the affairs of the Educational Society, and granted the institute a lot of personal funds.

One of the most important events The life of the Smolensk women was a public examination, which was usually attended by the emperor and members of his family. On the eve of the exam, each Smolyanka received a "ticket" and tried to prepare well. At the end of the institute, the six best graduates received a cipher - a gold monogram in the form of the empress's initial, which was worn on a white bow with gold stripes.

The last graduation of the Smolny Institute - the photo was taken in 1917 in St. Petersburg, and the graduation took place in 1919 in Novocherkassk.

View of the Smolny Monastery. 1841

In 1812, a free department for "military orphans" was immediately created for 100 vacancies with a shortened course of study ...
In 1848, a pedagogical class was opened, the graduates of which no longer became class ladies, but teachers. The tuition fee was 350 rubles a year, but ministries and departments paid for many students (they were also taken under their care by members of the imperial family). The school sometimes gave the student in marriage, and if this did not work out, then she was appointed as a teacher, negotiated for her and received a salary for her. The girls who did not settle down anywhere had the right to live in the institute, receiving a room, food and candles there, paying the institute for this with "needlework, diligence and virtue."

Girls sewing Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

Smolny Institute. In a sewing workshop Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

Smolyanki in the dining room Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

Bedroom at the Smolny Institute Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

Every summer, sick pupils were sent free of charge for treatment to Staraya Russa, to the sanatorium of Dr. Wels. In winter, pupils visited the Hermitage, the Public Library, exhibitions at the Academy of Arts, Botanical Garden, Tauride Palace. The ten best graduates, who were awarded ciphers, went with their boss and class ladies to a special ceremony at the Winter Palace, where they were introduced to the emperor. The latter, just in Russian history, had a somewhat tragic moment - this is how Emperor Alexander met his future wife Ekaterina Dolgoruky.

Physical education lesson at the Smolny Institute Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

Smolny Institute. Singing lesson Photo from the beginning of the century

Choir of students of the Smolny Institute Photo of the beginning of the 20th century

Smolny Institute. Dance lesson Photo from the beginning of the 20th century

In the summer of 1917, the pupils of the institute were transferred to other educational institutions. In October 1917, the Smolny Institute left for Novocherkassk, where in February 1919 latest release. In the summer of the same year, the teachers and the remaining pupils fled Russia, and an institute in the form of a gymnasium appeared already in Serbia.

Collected information:

Publications in the Traditions section

History of the Smolny Institute

And the history of women's education in Russia is inextricably linked with the name of Empress Catherine the Great. Kultura.RF tells how the Institute of Noble Maidens appeared and how its emergence affected the lives of Russian women.

Educated women and useful members of society

Smolny Institute. 1800s Photo: pressa.tv

Smolny Institute. 1917. Photo: petrograd1917.ru

Smolny Institute. 1940s. Photo: istpravda

European culture, which began to take hold in our country from the end of the 18th century, brought many innovations into the life of a Russian person. Under Peter I, schools for girls began to appear. This was the first step in the development of women's education in Russia. But the real breakthrough in this area was the initiative of Catherine the Great, under which noble maidens were founded in St. Petersburg. The first institution of higher education for women in Russia opened on May 16, 1764.

The creation of the Institute was initiated by one of those close to the Empress - Ivan Betskoy, a public figure, educator, an employee of the State Chancellery. He was educated in Europe, supported Catherine in her efforts to inculcate habits of Western life in her compatriots, and highly appreciated the role of women in the development of society. Betskoy believed that "boys of both sexes" should be brought up in equal conditions.

When founded, the Smolny Institute was called the Educational Society for Noble Maidens. His idea was spelled out in an official document: "to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society." Ekaterina herself actively participated in the life of the institution: she invested a huge amount of money, often came to the institute, where she had long conversations with cool ladies, talked with pupils and corresponded with managers, being interested in all the successes and difficulties. The Empress wanted the graduates of Smolny to become an example for all women in the country. According to her plan, the girls had to get a good education, develop culturally and morally.

The Smolny Institute accepted girls from well-born, but not rich families. They were both from Russia and from other countries - the daughters of Georgian princes, an aristocrat from Sweden. The training lasted 12 years. During this time, the students could not leave the institution either at will or at the request of the guardians. Girls were admitted to Smolny from the age of six, and the training program included three classes - each of them lasted four years. The relatives of the pupils drew up a receipt in which they agreed to give the child for 12 years without the possibility of meetings and trips outside the institution. So the empress was going to protect the pupils from the influence of the environment in which they grew up before entering the institute.

Getting into Smolny was not easy: potential students had to pass exams in Russian and French, and also have a good religious upbringing. But the most important criterion by which many applicants were eliminated is the origin.

“By no means make subjects of boredom out of the sciences”

Music lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

Drawing lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

Needlework lesson. Photo: opeterburge.ru

In Smolny, girls were taught many sciences. The schedule included arithmetic, literacy, three foreign languages, religious studies, etiquette, culinary arts, drawing, music, vocals, geography, history and other subjects. However, many of them girls studied very superficially. For example, at cooking lessons, pupils of the Smolny Institute learned how to fry cutlets from minced meat. History was studied from a single textbook and often jumped over topics.

The main emphasis in the study was on the rules of behavior in society and the word of God. It was believed that the pupil of this institution, that is, the future maid of honor or a young lady serving at court, should be able to keep up the conversation about religion and behave in society with restraint and grace.

Gymnastics. Photo: nrfmir.ru

On the rink. Photo: birdinflight.com

Gymnastics. Photo: birdinflight.com

The physical condition of the girls was also given attention. They were engaged in light sports exercises several times a week. The diet helped maintain a slender figure: the food was scarce, and sometimes simply of poor quality. Many graduates wrote in their memoirs that eating at the institute was one of their worst memories.

The temperature in the students' bedrooms did not rise above 16 degrees. They went to bed early and got up early, slept on hard beds, washed themselves with ice-cold water from the Neva. All this was to temper the girls.

Bedrooms of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

Canteen of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

Washroom of the Smolny Institute. Photo: birdinflight.com

“The charter urgently demanded that children always look cheerful, cheerful, contented and “free actions of the soul.” Therefore, it was instructed not to make objects of boredom, grief and disgust out of the sciences, and to facilitate the assimilation of knowledge by all means, while paying attention to the degree of development and ability of each girl individually.

Rules of conduct for noble maidens

Smolny Institute teachers. Photo: birdinflight.com

Teachers of the Smolny Institute and their students. Photo: birdinflight.com

The charter of the Institute of Noble Maidens spelled out in detail the rules of conduct. It was discussed how the teachers should treat the Smolensk girls and how the pupils should communicate with each other.

More than 20 teachers worked at the institute - they were highly qualified teachers. It is noteworthy that they were all unmarried ladies and, as a rule, over 40 years old. Corporal punishment at the Smolny Institute was strictly prohibited, but the teachers did not hesitate to shout at the guilty pupils. Violation of order in the institute was considered "bad behavior", and naughty girls were called "moves" ("mauvaise" - bad). There was another term - "parfettes" (distorted French "parfaite" - perfect). So they teased the students who never broke the rules and behaved perfectly.

All "Smolyanka" were supposed to be a model of modesty. They wore the same clothes and hairstyles - smoothly combed braids. Uniform dresses were of different colors; they easily determined the approximate age of the student. The smallest girls wore coffee-colored dresses, so they were called "coffee-makers", girls from 9 to 12 years old - blue, from 12 to 15 years old - blue, and the oldest - white. No fashion accessories were allowed. All this was due to the general atmosphere in the institution, where simplicity and monotony reigned, and discipline and order were valued above all else.

Despite strict rules and the inability to see the family, the girls were not kept locked up all year round. They were taken to theatrical performances, art exhibitions, holidays at the court. Smolyanka women were taught to love the beautiful and understand the cultural innovations of that time.

Code of the Smolny Institute. Photo: calend.ru

Sign of the Institutions of the Office of Maria Feodorovna. Photo: auction-imperia.ru

Employment after graduating from Smolny was practically guaranteed. Many girls remained at the Institute for Noble Maidens after their studies and worked either as teachers or class ladies. For many years of work, they were awarded badges of honor: an orange bow "For Labor" and a silver with enamel "Sign of the Institutions of the Office of Maria Feodorovna." Some pupils of the Smolny Institute after graduation could become governesses.

The Smolny Institute has existed for more than a century and a half. During this time there were 85 issues. Many of the tars became famous. Shortly before the closure of the institute, Maxim Gorky's lover, Maria Budberg, entered there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Nina Habias graduated from the institute, who later became a futurist poetess. In 1900, Maria Dobrolyubova, a poetess and revolutionary, the sister of the poet Alexander Dobrolyubov, graduated.

The Institute for Noble Maidens was a big step in the development of women's education in Russia. On the basis of this institute, other educational institutions for women began to appear throughout the country.

It is difficult to overestimate the role played by the Smolny Institute in the life of Russia. This, of course, is not about its role in the days of the Bolshevik coup of 1917, but about the fact that it was the first secular educational institution for women in Russian history.

Smolny graduates contributed greatly to the enlightenment of Russian society. It was they who, creating families or, due to circumstances, forced to raise other people's children, instilled in them a love of culture, respect for the history of their country, and a thirst for knowledge. The Educational Society for Noble Maidens marked the beginning of women's education in our country, on its basis and in its likeness, not only women's institutes and gymnasiums of the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria, but also women's institutions of other departments of Russia and even beyond its borders were subsequently created.

The beginning of the education of women at the state level was laid by Catherine II, who energetically supported the initiative of I. I. Betsky to found the first secular women's educational institution. Even her predecessor, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709–1762), wanting to quietly end her life in the monastery, ordered the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build on the left bank of the bend of the Neva, on the site of the suburban Smolny Palace, the Women's Resurrection Monastery. In 1748 it was laid. Years passed, the Seven Years' War began, and there was not enough money to complete the construction. The monastery was never used for its intended purpose. After the death of Elizabeth, it was the Smolny Monastery that Catherine made the seat of the Educational Society for Noble Maidens. According to the will of its founder, it was called upon to fulfill a high state task - to educate a new generation of Russian women and thereby serve the cause of renewing Russian life. In the decree of the Empress of May 5, 1764 on the establishment of an educational institution for 200 noble maidens at the Smolny Monastery, it is said that its goal is "... to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society." The main principle of the first women's institute was proclaimed "education in beauty and joy."

Smolny was created as a narrow-class, purely noble institution. Catherine II ordered that a decree be sent "to all provinces, provinces and cities ... so that each of the nobles could, if they wish, entrust their daughters in their young years to this established upbringing from Us." At first, there were quite a few who wanted to enroll their children in the Educational Society (later called the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens). Russian nobility, quite recently forced by Peter the Great to live in a European way and very reluctantly releasing their wives and daughters from tightly closed rooms to the famous Peter's assemblies, by the time of Catherine II, she still did not understand at all the need for a serious education for women. In Russia there was not a single school where girls would study. Noblewomen, at best, were taught at home with the help of foreign tutors, and girls from poor families, as a rule, were not taught at all.

It was far from clear to everyone why a woman who relatively recently left the tower after several centuries of imprisonment in it needed knowledge in mathematics, history, geography, heraldry and much more. All this seemed unnecessary and even dangerous: all of a sudden, a newly educated girl would pick up “debauchery”, begin to “play tricks”, “understand a lot about herself” and rebel against male supremacy - the basis of the patriarchal order tested and time-honored. I really didn’t like the categorical requirement of a subscription from parents or guardians, that before the expiration of the 12-year period set for training, “the girl will not be demanded under any circumstances.” This condition stemmed from the fact that the mores of Russian society, according to Catherine and her associates, were still rude even in the circle of the nobility, so it was necessary to protect the child from such an environment.

For many, a serious incentive to send their daughter to a new institution was its charitable nature. This attracted primarily poor people. Indeed, the girls presented for the first reception were almost exclusively from low-income noble families. There were 60 first Smolensk women, of which only seven were titled, the rest were the daughters of petty officials, chief officers and even lower court servants. Many studied at the expense of the state. A large number of pupils were supported by special scholarships established both by the Empress herself and by her entourage. Moreover, in 1765, under Smolny, despite the fact that it was formed as a closed privileged educational institution for the nobles, a department was opened “for petty-bourgeois girls” (non-noble estates, except for serfs) - School for young girls.

Starting from 1766, Catherine II began to place orphans in Smolny with her boarders, as well as girls whose fathers died in the war or stood out for their merits. These students were accepted in excess of the set and regardless of the established time of admission. Catherine's inner circle followed suit. The heir, Pavel Petrovich, supported at his own expense six girls admitted to the institute in 1773 and 1776; In 1770, Chamberlain E. K. Shtakelberg bequeathed her estate to Smolny so that the money received for it would be used to raise young girls from the poor noble families of Livonia and give them scholarships upon graduation. Princes Orlov, Golitsyn, Demidov made annual contributions for the maintenance of scholarship holders.

It should be noted that this tradition was preserved until the very end of the existence of the Smolny Institute. Smolyanka, trained at someone's private expense, wore a ribbon around their neck, the color of which was chosen by the benefactor. So, the scholarship holders of the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich wore blue ribbons, Demidov - orange, Betsky - green, Saltykov - raspberry.

First, the boarders (from 6 to 18 years old) were divided into four "ages", the training continued for 12 years. Then they left three "ages", the girls studied for 9 years. The first, younger "age" wore dresses of coffee or brown color, the second - blue, the third - gray, the fourth - white. Accordingly, the younger pupils were called “coffee houses”, the middle ones were called “blue”, and the girls of the older “age” were called “white” (although they came to the lessons in green, only their ball gowns were white).

Clothes were sewn from camlot, ordered from England. on holidays and Sundays relied on silk dresses of the same colors. Empress grantees wore green dresses with white aprons. The students were also given hairpins, pins, combs, powder and gloves - three pairs of leather a year and one pair of white kid for three years for assemblies.

The first head of the Smolny Institute was appointed a representative of one of the most noble families, Princess Anna Dolgoruky. This was done in order to give the institution more weight in the eyes of the nobility. However, the princess turned out to be an arrogant, poorly educated, superstitious woman and, moreover, completely devoid of pedagogical and administrative abilities. The Empress very quickly had to set her aside. Next choice turned out to be much more successful - Sofya Ivanovna de Lafon, the widow of a French general in the Russian service, managed not only to improve her life and study at the institute, but also to win the love and trust of Smolensk women. Ekaterina herself paid a lot of attention to her offspring - she often visited Smolny, knew all the boarders by name, and even corresponded with some.

The empress encouraged the passion of pupils theatrical performances. They put on short translated plays, comic operas, but mostly they played performances in French and German, which was supposed to help the girls learn them better. In addition, Catherine allowed the cadets of the gentry corps to participate in performances, which, of course, made it possible for many young people to get to know each other.

In general, despite the frivolous mores of that era, the institute maintained strict rules: getting up at 6 in the morning, then 6 or 8 lessons. Play time was very limited. The students lived in dormitories of nine people with a lady assigned to them. In addition, there was also a cool lady who monitored the behavior in the classroom.

At the same time, the nature of teaching at Smolny was not dry and pedantic. Lessons turned into conversations between teachers and pupils. The former had to take special care that the latter "were not accustomed to being overly conceited and showing a dull look." In teaching, it was prescribed to take into account the characteristics, character traits and abilities of each girl and, in accordance with this, make demands on them. The pupils devoted their free time to reading (mainly moralizing treatises and books of historical content) under the supervision of mentors.

The training program of the first Smolensk girls was quite versatile. IN primary school studied the Law of God, arithmetic, Russian, foreign languages ​​(French and German, then added Italian), drawing, dancing and needlework. In the second "age" history and geography were added, in the third, verbal sciences were introduced, studied by reading historical and moral books, architecture, heraldry and experimental physics. IN last class they repeated everything that had been covered earlier, with special attention being paid to the Law of God and classes in "economy", that is, housekeeping, which prepared the graduate for family life. Girls of the last "age" were appointed in turn to junior class for practical acquaintance with the methods of education and training. One of the most important events in the life of Smolensk women was a public exam, which was usually attended by imperial family. On the eve of the exam, each student received a ticket and tried to prepare well.

Although the original program was multi-subject, it was not too extensive. The influence of Catherine, who attached the main importance moral education and wished that education, being of the highest quality possible, would not develop “smartness” in the pupils.

Immediately after the death of Catherine, Paul I entrusted his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, with the command over all charitable and women's educational institutions created on the model of Smolny. First of all, these are the Catherine Institute in St. Petersburg (opened in 1798) and boarding schools for noble maidens in some provincial cities, as well as the Catherine Institutes in Moscow (1802) and Kharkov (1811), already open under Alexander I.

Maria Fedorovna immediately changed the curriculum of Smolny. According to the provision proposed by her, the “coffee” class was canceled, children were now accepted from 8-9 years old and remained in Smolny for nine years. Each "age" was divided into two departments (classes) of 50 people, that is, 100 people studied in each "age". With regard to petty-bourgeois girls, the empress believed that their education should be limited to "the act of their good wives, good mothers and good housewives, which is quite enough for six years." Therefore, she proposed to accept the Meshchansky School from the age of 11-12, so that 100 people study at the school. At the next reception, Maria Fedorovna intended to accept only 20 bourgeois women. Paul I did not agree to this and approved a set of petty-bourgeois pupils of 200 girls.

According to the new plan, reading, writing, and Russian, French, German grammar, geography, history, and arithmetic were taught at the first "age," and all subjects were introduced gradually. At the same "age" it was supposed to teach the boarders "dancing, drawing, the beginnings of music and needlework, female gender inherent." All these items were supposed to be 42 hours a week. The duration of each lesson is 2 hours.

The reform of Maria Feodorovna radically changed the character of Smolny. The broad social tasks set by Catherine II essentially disappeared and were replaced by narrower, purely feminine ones. Maria Fedorovna recognized a woman as a "worthy and useful member of the state" only as a housewife. Therefore, instead of the book "On the Positions of a Man and a Citizen", which was read under Catherine, under Maria Feodorovna they began to read and explain the book "Paternal advice to my daughter." It says: "God and human society they wanted a woman to depend on a man, so that she would limit the range of her activities to the home, so that she would recognize her weakness and the advantage of her husband in any case and win his love and affection with modesty and humility. A woman should be “a perfect seamstress, weaver, hosiery and cook; must divide her existence between the nursery and the kitchen, the cellar, the barn, the yard and the garden.”

Maria Feodorovna advocated a strict delimitation of classes, she saw "great inconvenience in mixing noble maidens with petty-bourgeois ones, for it is undoubted that the duties and appointment of the latter in many respects differ from the duties and appointment of noble maidens." At first, she canceled the teaching of foreign languages ​​to petty bourgeois women, but at the reception in 1797 it turned out that “many of the newly admitted pupils are already fairly trained French petty-bourgeois women released from the same Society. Upon learning of this, the empress ordered the teaching of French and German at the Meshchansky School, in order "to give its pupils the means of life in the future." At the same time, the teaching of natural history was abolished a year later. The system of education, worked out in 1797, existed in all women's institutes for almost half a century.

In the 19th century, the Smolny Institute became an increasingly closed, privileged educational institution, where special preference was given to everything foreign, secular manners, piety, sentimentality and admiration for the imperial family were instilled in the students.

In 1859, K. D. Ushinsky was appointed inspector of classes at the Smolny Institute. The famous teacher reorganized the process of education and upbringing: he introduced a new curriculum based on a small number of subjects, subject lessons, experiments in physics, organized a two-year pedagogical class in excess of the usual seven classes, etc. But due to intrigues and denunciations, he was forced to leave Smolny in 1862, after which his main innovations were eliminated. Until 1917, the Smolny Institute remained one of the most conservative educational institutions in Russia.

And so, in October 1917, gloomy comrades from the Bolshevik Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin and Trotsky, settled in Smolny, and the Smolny Institute was closed. And now the main reminder of the former brilliant times is, perhaps, only the beautiful portrait series "Smolyanka", painted by the wonderful Russian artist D. G. Levitsky.

The Institute for Noble Maidens was established at the Resurrection Smolny Novodevichy Convent. Architect F.B. Rastrelli.

On the left bank of the Neva bend, at the end of Suvorovsky Prospekt and Shpalernaya Street, stands the light and graceful Smolny Cathedral, looking up, crowning the ensemble of buildings belonging to it.

A long time ago there was a legend in St. Petersburg that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-1762) wanted to quietly end her life in a monastery and ordered the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build the Resurrection Monastery for women on the site of the suburban Smolny Palace. In 1748 it was laid. Years passed, the Seven Years' War began, and there was not enough money to complete the building according to the architect's plan. For its intended purpose, the monastery was never used.

Giacomo Quarenghi. Facade of the Smolny Institute (c. 1806)

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine II already became in charge of the fate of the Smolny Monastery. At that time in Russia there was not a single school where girls would study. Noble girls were taught at home, and girls from poor families, as a rule, were not taught at all. And Catherine II decided to open the "Educational Society for Noble Maidens" in the Smolny Monastery in order, as the decree said, "... to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society"

The purpose of its creation was, as usual, the most good - "to give the state educated women, good mothers, useful members of the family and society." Another thing is that over time, initially giving good results (especially against the backdrop of the then social situation), the system degenerated into a self-sustaining swamp, categorically opposed to any changes. It was then, a hundred years later, that ironic remarks began to be heard about “pretentious fools”, “gentle white-handed women” and “sentimental young ladies”, who believe that “rolls grow on trees” and “after the tour of the mazurka, the gentleman must marry”, and the word “institute” became synonymous with excessive sentimentality, impressionability and narrow-mindedness.

Karl Petrovich Beggrov - View of the Smolny Institute.

Initially, in order to enter the institute, it was necessary to pass exams (a little from French, even less from Russian, plus the presence of a certain religious education) and pass the selection by origin, which significantly reduced the ranks of those who wished.

For example, in the first sets, only the daughters of those nobles whose births were included in the III, V and VI parts of the noble genealogies, or those who had ranks of at least 9th class (captain) could count on admission. military service or 8th grade (college assessor) in civilian. However, few of the nobility were willing to doom their daughters to 12 years of study without leaving the country, after which the difficult question arose of the further marriage of an overly educated girl. That is why the main composition of the students was well-born, but poor.

By the way, after 1825, many children of the Decembrists studied at institutes: both daughters of Kakhovsky, for example, completed the course with silver medals. They say that when the princesses came to the institute, the daughters of the emperor and the daughters of the leaders of the uprising played merrily together.

"Foreigners" also studied here: Shamil's granddaughter and daughters of Georgian princes, princesses of Montenegro and Swedish aristocrats. Despite the fact that, according to pretentious official sources, the head of Smolny, Princess Liven, said to the young classy lady: “You may not yet know the traditions of Smolny. It is necessary to demand double and triple from the princess, because the fate of her subjects will depend on her character, ”the attitude towards them, of course, was not usual. For example, although august persons and wore uniform institute dresses and went to regular lessons, they were provided with other accommodation and own kitchen, the girls spent their holidays in the estate of the head of the institute, and on holidays they went to the imperial family.

Smolny Institute. Dormitory. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

In addition to "state" places for pupils, a fairly large number of girls were supported by special scholarships contributed by both the imperial family (by the way, the Kakhovskys were boarders of Nicholas I) and simply rich people. I. I. Betskoy, who initially headed the Educational Society, taught ten girls from each appointment, putting special capital in their name in the bank. And in 1770, the chamberlain E.K. Shtakelberg bequeathed the money received for the estate to pay for the maintenance of girls from poor families of the nobles of Livonia in Smolny and the issuance of benefits to them upon graduation. They made annual contributions for the support of scholarship holders Orlova and Golitsyn, Demidov and Saltykov.

Smolyanka, trained on someone's private capital, wore a ribbon around their neck, the color of which was chosen by the benefactor. So, among the scholarship holders of Paul I, they were blue, at the Demidovskys - orange, Betsky's protégés were tied green, and Saltykov - raspberry. For those who could not get any scholarship, relatives paid. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was about 400 rubles a year. The number of places for such students, however, was still limited.

Smolny Institute teachers.

The daily routine at the institute was strict: getting up at 6 o'clock in the morning, then 6 or 8 lessons. Play time was very limited. The girls lived in dormitories for 9 people with a lady assigned to them. In addition, there was also a cool lady who monitored the behavior of girls in the classroom.

With the exception of the early years of the Smolny and the short period of Ushinsky's inspectorate, dialogue between teachers and girls was not encouraged. It was not supposed to ask questions on the topic being studied either.

Smolny Institute. In the sewing workshop. Graduation album of the Institute in 1889.

Grades were put on a twelve-point scale, ratings were compiled based on performance results and intermediate insignia were issued - somewhere cockade bows, the colors of which indicated the success of the wearer, somewhere - laces with tassels that were tied to the hair.

Physical education lessons (a little gymnastics) and dancing were obligatory. However, considering that within the walls of the institute it was forbidden to run or play outdoor games, and daily walks were short, an excess physical activity did not have.

A. Belousov, Meadow in front of the Smolny. Girls on a group walk

The ability to curtsey gracefully in the Smolny of the 19th century was valued more than success in mathematics, for good manners they forgave failures in physics, but they could be expelled for vulgar behavior, but certainly not for unsatisfactory grades. The only science considered sacred was the study of the French language.

The criteria for vulgarity and obscenity were determined on the spot by the parties concerned. Sometimes, protecting institute girls from sinful vices, educators reached idiocy: the seventh commandment (the prohibition of adultery) was sealed. There is also a fact in the memoirs that strictly censored classics were used to study literature, in which there were often more omissions than actual quotations.

Smolny Institute. Girls in class.

Family visits were limited to four hours per week (two visiting days). It was especially hard for girls brought from afar. They did not see their relatives for months and years, and all correspondence was strictly controlled by cool ladies who read letters before sending and after receiving

The main criterion for the selection of cool ladies, who are obliged to monitor the worthy upbringing of girls, was usually unmarried status.

Harp lesson. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

Corporal punishment for pupils was not accepted, however, those who committed any misconduct were not particularly ceremonious: shouting, scolding, punishment - such was the usual arsenal of means and methods of institute pedagogy. Punishments were considered common when the violator was disgraced in front of the entire institute: they took off their apron, pinned an untidy piece of paper or a torn stocking to a dress, and left them to stand in the middle of the dining room during lunch. It was very difficult for children suffering from, say, enuresis - such a pupil had to go to breakfast with a wet sheet over her dress, which was considered a terrible shame not only for her personally, but for the entire dormitory. After that, the girls, so that such a misfortune would not happen again, usually woke up a classmate at night. There were a lot of people in the room, each student pushed the unfortunate woman a couple of times, one can imagine how “positively” this method affected the nerves of an already humiliated child.

Smolny Institute. Needlework lesson.

It was possible to earn a reprimand for any deviation from the rules: talking too loudly at recess, a carelessly made bed, a bow tied on an apron that was not according to the charter, or a curl that had escaped from a strict hairstyle. Complete obedience to the rules and customs of institutional life was highly valued here, as indicated by the very definition of pupils who were distinguished by obedience and excellent behavior - "parfettes" (distorted French "parfaite" - perfect). Any violation of order was a deviation from the institute's "good manners" and was considered "bad behavior." Therefore, naughty and shrews were called "movies" ("mauvaise" - bad). Even the appearance of the students was strictly regulated: the same hairstyles, different for different ages(younger girls were often cut short, and older girls were forced to pin up their hair strictly), neat shape. It consisted of the actual dress with short sleeve and a neckline, an apron (apron), capes and armlets with ribbons.

Smolny Institute. Singing lesson. Photo 1889

The color of the form depended on the class of study. Initially, under Catherine II, the pupils wore, respectively, dresses of brown ("coffee" class, the youngest), blue, gray and white. The first three ages were given white aprons, the oldest were given green ones. With a decrease in the period of study in the Nikolaev half gray dresses were "reduced", and the white class began to be given green with a white apron. There was no blue class in the Alexandrovskaya half. The same colors - coffee, blue, green - were most often used in other institutes. Pepiniers usually wore gray dresses. (Pepinieres were called girls who remained after completing the main course to receive further education and further career growth to a cool lady. They read an additional course in pedagogy and used them as assistant teachers as practice).

Smolny Institute. Pupils in the classroom.

Graduates passed exams in all subjects. The real tests, on which the awards were distributed, were inspectors, public (in some institutes with the presence of royal people) - a mere formality: the best students told memorized tickets in advance.

Based on the results of the training, awards and codes were issued. The cipher is the metal cypher of the reigning empress; it was worn on the left shoulder on a bow of white colored stripe ribbons. The color of the stripes depended on the educational institution. In the event that an institute girl who had a cipher complained to the ladies-in-waiting, to whom the cipher was assigned as a sign of a court rank, then the bow was double, from an institute ribbon and a blue maid of honor. (This often happened in the Nikolaev half of the Smolny, in other institutes - almost never). Gold and silver medals of various sizes (or orders) were also awarded.

Code for the best graduates of the Smolny Institute

The very first institutes were fenced off from the influence of the family, but not from the world in general. They were often taken out for walks and court events; ceremonial dinners and performances were held within the walls of Smolny. In the 19th century, the concept changed and they tried not to let the pupils go into a different, non-barracks life. If once a year they were taken out to the Tauride Garden, then under strict control, doing everything to prevent contact of institute girls with other walkers. Several times a year (on the name day of the emperor and empress, on New Year) balls were held, at which all the pupils and the authorities were present.

For several hours, the girls danced with each other, not being able to laugh or fool around so as not to be punished. Occasionally (and by no means everywhere) balls were held with the invitation of gentlemen-relatives (kinship was considered prerequisite), and in some places (oh, licentiousness!) And pupils of friendly male educational institutions ("Junker" Kuprin). And with the outbreak of the First World War, these few holidays also ceased: it was considered prejudiced to have fun when battles were going on.

Pupils of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens at a dance lesson. 1901

Even the men who were allowed before the eyes of institute girls were tried to be optimized. Teachers were recruited mainly from married people, but if a bachelor came across, then either at an age, or of a very nondescript appearance, often with handicapped lest he lead the immaculate maidens into temptation.

Smolny Institute. At leisure. Photo 1889

However, this did not help much - usually anyone who had at least some relation to the institute had fans. This was due to a very specific institutional tradition - adoration, that is, the desire to find an object of worship, an idol in the face of someone who comes to hand. A friend, a high school student, a priest, a teacher, an emperor... Only classy ladies weren't favored, but this was a consequence of the fear of being suspected of outright sycophancy. The adorer gave gifts to the object of love for the holidays, experienced all sorts of ritual torments in order to be “worthy”, for example, she cut out the initials of the “deity” with a knife or gouged out with a pin, ate soap or drank vinegar as a sign of love, made her way to church at night and prayed for the well-being of the adored, rendered various practical services: mended feathers or sewed notebooks.

The adoration of the emperor, encouraged by the leadership, generally crossed all boundaries - the institute girls collected and carefully stored "pieces of roast, cucumber, bread" from the table at which the king dined, stole a scarf, which was cut into small pieces and distributed among the pupils who wore these "talismans" on their chests. “Do what you want with me,” Alexander II told the students of the Moscow Alexander Institute, “but don’t touch my dog, don’t try to cut his hair as a keepsake, as it was, they say, in some establishments.” However, they say that the girls not only cut off the hair from Alexander's pet, but even managed to cut expensive fur from a fur coat in several places.

Smolny Institute. Drawing lesson. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

The usual menu of the mid-19th century in Smolny:

Morning tea with a bun
- Breakfast: a piece of bread with a small amount butter and cheese, a portion of milk porridge or pasta
- Lunch: thin soup without meat, for the second - meat from this soup, for the third - a small pie
- Evening tea with a roll

During fasting, the diet became even less nutritious: for breakfast they gave six small potatoes (or three medium ones) with vegetable oil and porridge, for lunch there was soup with cereals, small piece boiled fish, aptly nicknamed "dead meat" by hungry schoolgirls, and a miniature lean pie.

Smolyanki in the dining room. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

In this way, they fed not only during long fasts, but also every Wednesday and Friday. At one fine moment, more than half of the girls ended up in the infirmary with a diagnosis of "exhaustion" - fasting was reduced ... to one and a half months a year. Wednesdays and Fridays have not been cancelled.

If the girl had pocket money, then it was possible, by paying a special fee, to drink tea in the morning with more nutritious food in the room of the educators, separately from other institutes, or to agree with the servants and buy something from the food at an exorbitant price. However, the latter was severely punished by cool ladies.

Smolny Institute. Teachers.

infirmary

It was warmer in the infirmary than in the huge dormitories, enhanced nutrition was given out, and many girls arranged "vacations" for themselves, feigning the corresponding illnesses. However, many did not have to pretend.
Usually there were two rooms: a spare infirmary, which was used during epidemics or for the seriously ill, and the usual one, where all the other patients were placed.

Smolny Institute. Medical checkup. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

The specific attitude towards the few men and the absurd opinion of the institute girls about the rules of decency caused a lot of trouble for the doctors. The very idea of ​​undressing in the presence of a person of the opposite sex made shy girls endure pain to the end. Periodically - tragic.

Smolny Institute. The last issue of 1917

Smolny Institute. Rolling down the hill. Photo 1889

Smolny Institute. Admission - an exam for knowledge of good manners. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

Girls for sewing.

Choir of pupils of the Smolny Institute.

Smolny Institute. Tea with guests. Graduation album of the institute in 1889.

Smolny Institute. Gymnastics lesson. Photo 1889

Smolny Institute. Washing room. Photo 1889

Pupils of the Smolny Institute for a walk.

On the skating rink. Photo 1889