THE STATUS OF EDUCATORS IN PODILLIA DURING THE NEP YEARS (1921–1928)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze, based on archival sources and historiographical achieve-ments, the material conditions of schoolteachers and university lecturers during the years of the New EconomicPolicy (NEP), as well as the implementation and outcomes of the colonial authorities' policy toward educators in the Podillia region. Research Methodology. To achieve the objective of the study, the following methods were employed: the historical-comparative method enabled the analysis of the political and socio-economic status of educators at various stages of NEP policy implementation; content analysis facilitated the formation of a qualitative sample of archival documents for analysis, verification, and interpretation; modified methods of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, borrowed from financial analysis, made it possible to assess the effectiveness of the colonial authorities’ policy toward educators. Scientific Novelty. This research is the firstto systematically examine the situation of educators in Podillia during the NEP period, trace the evolutionof their material conditions, reveal the Bolshevik authorities’ attitude toward the teaching staff, and analyzetheir actions aimed at forming a loyal corps of educators. Conclusions. In the course of building the Soviet education system in the region, all remnants of both the pre-revolutionary education system and the system of the national liberation struggle period were completely eradicated. Throughout the NEP period, the materialsituation of teachers and lecturers remained difficult despite salary increases from 1926 onward; in the early 1920s, it was catastrophic. Moreover, educators were involved in numerous public assignments, were regularly subjected to persecution by punitive bodies in search of ideologically hostile elements, and were subjected to repressive actions. Overall, this led to a chronic shortage of teaching staff, which negatively impacted the pace of transition to universal education for children aged 8–11. At the same time, the colonial authoritiessucceeded in forming a loyal corps of educators.