The Presidential Library’s webinar spotlighted "the golden age of childhood"

On May 31, 2023 the online webinar "The Golden Age of Childhood" was broadcast on the Presidential Library's portal, which presented the most interesting materials from the library's collections regarding the transformation of the perception of childhood in the 19th century. The event was timed to coincide with Children's Day, which is celebrated on June 1.

Issues of upbringing, communication with the younger generation and far from "childish" problems were not always surrounded by the close attention of adults. The turning point in this respect was the second half of the 19th century. It was at this time that not only increased interest in pedagogical and children's literature, in the styles of children's clothing and a variety of children's toys, but the very attitude towards a child changed.

Numerous historical evidence of the era illustrate the transformation of the perception of "childhood" in Russia and record differences in the upbringing, life and living conditions of children from families of different classes and different incomes. As part of the webinar, participants will be invited to learn about the most interesting memoirs, such as the memoirs of V. Figner, S. Kovalevskaya, A. Delvig, M. Bashkirtseva, F. Buslaev, D. Mamin-Sibiryak, V. Meshchersky and E. Borozdina.

The library’s collections fully represent the sources that reflect the children's world in the families of the nobles and the intelligentsia. Of particular interest is the work of A. Kazina "Pictures of home education", which contains references to the practical application of various educational strategies. No less interesting are the works of A. Charushin, I. Nechaev and A. Yatsevich, describing the life of families of taxable estates.  

In the 19th century, all kinds of manuals began to be actively published, designed to help in choosing activities and entertainment for children. For example, the Presidential Library’s collections contain a book for educators "Mental and moral development of children", "Pedagogical leaflet", "Guide to the upbringing, education and preservation of children's health", an index of P. Litvinsky's games, "Album of photographs illustrating the physical development of children”, as well as archival files, for example, “The case of satisfying the petition of the former teacher E. Lomtev, who invented a pedagogical manual in the form of the game “geographical lotto””.

Not only numerous alphabets, letters and educational publications, but also catalogs, for example, “What to read to children under 15 years old?” by M. Lemke or "Reference book for reading all ages" by M. Sobolev also received distribution.

An important indicator of the change in attitudes towards the theme of childhood was the periodical press. Thanks to the Dobroye Utro, Zorka, and Drug Detei magazines, one can get a lot of valuable information about the leisure of small townspeople and children living in remote estates. The Presidential Library’s collections involve publications containing descriptions of events and holidays attended by children, for example, “How the Russian people celebrated and celebrate Christmas, New Year, Epiphany and Maslenitsa” by I. Bozheryanova, “Life of the Russian people. Fun. Games. Round dances” by A. Tereshchenko.

As accompanying visual materials, the webinar featured ABC in Pictures by A. Benois, illustrations from children's books, magazines and educational materials as well as photographs.

These and many other materials about childhood issues are available in more than 1,400 remote access centers opened in the Russian Federation and 33 foreign countries. The Presidential Library’s electronic collections are publicly available.

Webinars on various topics are regularly held at the Presidential Library. With their help, one can discover the unique collections of the national electronic repository, learn about rare historical documents, publications and other materials little known to a wide audience.

The Presidential Library’s portal contains information about past and upcoming webinars in Webinars section as well as information about remote access centers - in Remote access centers section.