"Cultural and educational function of the state": evolution of meaning

In this article, the author analyzes the concept, the meaning and the evolution of the term «cultural and educational function of the state». The author pays his attention on the fact that the term originally appeared in Soviet jurisprudence in the works of legal scholars that became the founders of the theory of the Soviet state functions. The author expresses the idea that the cultural and educational function originally included an ideological function. At present, the ideological function has become independent and the cultural and educational function has acquired a somewhat different meaning.