The section “Vyatka in the Early 20th Century” features photographs of the celebrations dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Vyatka Zemstvo and an oval metal sign “The Workshop of the Vyatka Zemstvo”.
A zemstvo was an institution of local government set up in Russia by the zemstvo reform of 1864. Despite the fairly tight state control, zemstvos had considerable independence, elected their governing bodies, determined their areas of activity, and selected and trained personnel. They included all social classes.
In Vyatka, the zemstvo carried out many important activities. At the end of the 19th century, a zemstvo hospital was established with the motto of “public accessibility and free access”. Street paving began, while before that, there were only three paved streets in Vyatka. A garden was set up around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, trees were planted in the streets, the first boulevard was created on Nikolayevskaya Street, and the first cinema was opened in the Apollo Garden. Also, water supply was organized in Vyatka as well as a free library named after Alexander Pushkin, a telegraph station, and later a power station. The streets of the town were illuminated with electricity, an organization was set up to help the poor, and several new educational institutions were opened.
The Vyatka zemstvo strove to develop the school network, in order to ensure universal primary education in the governorate. Until the early 20th century, the Vyatka region was cut off from the rest of Russia due to the lack of railways. Steamboats navigated only two or three months a year. Textbooks published in St. Petersburg and Moscow were expensive. Under such conditions, the local authorities decided to establish the production of school furniture and textbooks by local handicraftsmen. For this purpose, a teaching aids workshop was opened in Vyatka.
Experience showed that the workshop was established at the right time: the requests of schools increased rapidly every year, and the workshops helped to improve the quality of education. Over several years, the workshop attracted the attention of schools not only in the Vyatka Governorate but also far beyond it. In just two years — 1909 and 1910 — the workshop sent textbooks and teaching aids to 58 Russian governorates and regions at the request of over 1,000 institutions and individuals. Orders came even from the Moscow and St. Petersburg Governorates. In 1909, Vyatka sold products for 63,000 rubles, in 1910 — for 79,133 rubles, and in 1911 — for 100,000. Finally, in 1918, the workshops sold products for the amount of over 250,000 rubles.
A zemstvo was an institution of local government set up in Russia by the zemstvo reform of 1864. Despite the fairly tight state control, zemstvos had considerable independence, elected their governing bodies, determined their areas of activity, and selected and trained personnel. They included all social classes.
In Vyatka, the zemstvo carried out many important activities. At the end of the 19th century, a zemstvo hospital was established with the motto of “public accessibility and free access”. Street paving began, while before that, there were only three paved streets in Vyatka. A garden was set up around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, trees were planted in the streets, the first boulevard was created on Nikolayevskaya Street, and the first cinema was opened in the Apollo Garden. Also, water supply was organized in Vyatka as well as a free library named after Alexander Pushkin, a telegraph station, and later a power station. The streets of the town were illuminated with electricity, an organization was set up to help the poor, and several new educational institutions were opened.
The Vyatka zemstvo strove to develop the school network, in order to ensure universal primary education in the governorate. Until the early 20th century, the Vyatka region was cut off from the rest of Russia due to the lack of railways. Steamboats navigated only two or three months a year. Textbooks published in St. Petersburg and Moscow were expensive. Under such conditions, the local authorities decided to establish the production of school furniture and textbooks by local handicraftsmen. For this purpose, a teaching aids workshop was opened in Vyatka.
Experience showed that the workshop was established at the right time: the requests of schools increased rapidly every year, and the workshops helped to improve the quality of education. Over several years, the workshop attracted the attention of schools not only in the Vyatka Governorate but also far beyond it. In just two years — 1909 and 1910 — the workshop sent textbooks and teaching aids to 58 Russian governorates and regions at the request of over 1,000 institutions and individuals. Orders came even from the Moscow and St. Petersburg Governorates. In 1909, Vyatka sold products for 63,000 rubles, in 1910 — for 79,133 rubles, and in 1911 — for 100,000. Finally, in 1918, the workshops sold products for the amount of over 250,000 rubles.
