The participation of student youth in the social, cultural and political life of the Ural region in the second half of the 19th -early 20th centuries

The article highlights the participation of student youth in cultural, sport, social and political life of the Ural region in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Based on the archival documents discovered by the authors, it offers the first description of major activities of the student youth on the territory of Orenburg, Ufa, Perm, and Vyatka provinces. Secondary school students helped the local authorities to spread literacy among rural population and render medical aid to the peasants, particularly, during epidemics. Besides, the student youth was involved in urban planting and other environmental activities. The students of the Ural region played a substantial role in the development of physical culture and sports in Russia. It is at this period that the youth takes up sports on a regular basis, with the training process and a network of competitions in different sports coming into practice. A lot was contributed by the student youth to the development of theatrical and concert amateur activities raising the population’s cultural level. The authors pay a special attention to the analysis of the student’s youth participation in the political life, especially, in their struggle for political freedoms and for the democratization of secondary education system in Russia. At the same time, attention is paid to the manifestations of moral immaturity and deviant behaviour among the student youth of the Ural region: alcoholism, foul language, rudeness, and street fights.