State of Molotov railway schools in the late 1930s

The article based on the materials of the P-3 fund (Chita Regional Committee of the CPSU) of the State Archive of Zabaykalsky Krai studies the activities of schools in Chita Oblast in the pre-war period. We have analyzed the memos on the condition of schools under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat for Communications in Chita Oblast. With special reference to the secondary school No. 25 and the school of military technicians, we have revealed the key problems of Molotov railway schools in the late 1930s, such as qualified personnel shortage, poor methodical training, lack of teachers in a number of disciplines, problems with supplying students with the necessary teaching aids, uniform and healthy food. Many teachers did not have a pedagogical education, part of them or their relatives faced reprisals. We also have described the condition of school buildings, analyzed their sanitary state and heating. The study has revealed that the school authorities and Departments of Schools of the People's Commissariat of Railways did not always solve problems in due course or did not pay attention to them at all.