Priest and educator of non-Russian peoples N. I. Ilminsky to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great teacher

Enlightenment is an important part of the history of education. The purpose of the article is to comprehensively reveal the activities and personality of the great educator of non-Russian peoples of the second half of the XIX century Nikolai Ivanovich Ilminsky, who developed a system of teaching non-Russian children. Its main components were teaching first in their native language with a gradual transition to Russian, the opening of national schools, the training of teachers from among non-Russians, and the publication of appropriate methodological literature. Ilminsky prepared a whole galaxy of national intelligentsia, initiated the opening of schools designed for representatives of the Middle Volga peoples. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the analysis of Ilminsky's methodological views, which received fruitful development in the following decades. The main conclusion of the study is that the methodological heritage of Ilminsky needs further study with a view to practical application in modern conditions.