Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin

Medical and social conditions of daily life in colleges of the Mariinksy establishment (second half of nineteenth – beginning of twentieth century)

Ponomareva V.V.

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of History, Pr. Lomonosovsky, d. 27, 4, Moscow, 119992, Russia

Ponomareva Varvara V., Ph.D., ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1707-2281, e-mail: varvarapon@mail.ru

Abstract

The study of the specific cultural phenomenon that were colleges of the Mariinksy establishment (also known as closed privileged girls’ boarding schools) was conducted based on the principles of objectivity and historical accuracy, with the additional use of the comparative method. In the cultural history studies, this dual-discipline approach, which takes into consideration various aspects of social, academic and cultural life, remains the leading approach. It is impossible to recreate the dynamic and evolving daily life of the girls’ colleges without addressing the problems, which came into light in the second half of nineteenth – beginning of twentieth century, without medicine, hygiene and sanitation being the most important. Materials used in this work were: official documents from the establishments of empress Maria, both published and archived, materials about female and male colleges, specific medical literature of the time, press cuttings (professional and daily), and personal documents (memoirs, correspondence, diaries). There were more than 30 ladies’ colleges at the start of the twentieth century, with some 9 thousand students, which was indicative of the importance and popularity of such establishments in the society. The colleges had gathered a lot of experience in upbringing of young people. From the second half of eighteenth century doctors kept a constant eye on the wellbeing of the students, and guest consultants were invited in serious cases. Sources show that death rate in the colleges was comparatively very low for that period. Medical supervision became even more regular, systematic and all-encompassing with the expansion of colleges and influx of students. The formalisation of medical work in colleges and the publication of medical reports of the Mariinsky establishment played an important role, attracting the attention of the colleges’ management and of society to a wide range of medical and hygiene problems. Doctors systematically examined the students, at the same time looking for correct ways of measuring various parametres and working out the norms and systemasing the materials. It became habitual to gather information from parents and relatives of the students as they started their studies about previous illnesses, body and character traits, and where possible, predicting inherited conditions. Methodical examination of large groups of adolescents gave the medics a fair ground for scientific study. There were many students from non-wealthy families, orphans and semi-orphans. Despite the fact that majority of students belonged to very privileged classes – the aristocracy – the doctors saw among them a very high percentage of adolescents with ill health (above 33 percent and around 55 percent in general). In the colleges, the medics learnt to prevent infectious diseases or at least to keep them under control (small pox, scarlet fever, influenza, diphtheria). ‘Sick bay’ rooms were set up, and quarantine and disinfectant policies were maintained. Among serious medical conditions of that time were “the English disease” (scoliosis), TB, and uncurable cholera, which flared up repeatedly at the end of the nineteenth –beginning of twentieth century. The medics were faced with problems, which had to be resolved as soon as possible. For example, a scientific approach towards nutrition began to form during that period, and the medics had to develop and implement a balanced diet for adolescents. The doctors were faced not only with medical problems, they had to promote cautionary measures, and to educate the society, which was often skeptical about their cause. This multi-dimensional approach led to a considerable improvement in the general health of the young girls. The doctors’ efforts were supported by the government and local authorities, which controlled the strict following of the doctors’ instructions. It was in the girls’ colleges that a wide spectrum of medical and sanitary measures was established in Russia for the first time, which was later developed in the Soviet system of school welfare.

Keywords

historical anthropology, cultural history, daily city life, women’s education, modernisation, school medicine, empress Maria’s establishments, closed girls’ colleges

Цит.: Ponomareva V.V. Medical and social conditions of daily life in colleges of the Mariinksy establishment (second half of nineteenth – beginning of twentieth century) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 1/2014; с. 17-29

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