Problems of school education in the Urals in 1909-1913 in the coverage of the liberal press

Based on a study of materials from the liberal Ural periodical press, the article examines various aspects of autocratic policy in the field of education in the Ural region during the years of industrial boom (1909-1913). The main focus is placed on the indirect restriction of access to education for children from low social standing due to the high cost of education; the chronic shortage of schools and the lack of necessary conditions for the educational process, especially in rural areas; the strictest regulation of school and extracurricular life of students; and forms of student protest against the tightening of the rules of education and violation of their rights. In the course of our study, we came to the conclusion that the protests performed by students were academic in nature and limited to the educational space - they did not address the socio-economic and political problems of the local, regional, and national (Russian) levels. Despite the growing need for educated personnel and the efforts of the authorities in this direction, newspaper materials show that these measures were insufficient to increase literacy levels and were of a pronounced protective nature, aimed at educating young people in the spirit of loyalty to the existing regime.