“...Teachers work enthusiastically and have no complaints...”: ethnograph M. N. Khangalov in the service of education

The article presents to the reader’s attention the famous scientist-ethnographer Matvey Nikolaevich Khangalov as an enthusiastic, talented teacher. The key source for the analysis and description of Khangalov’s activities as the head of the Bilchir School was his diary of 1910-1911. It is divided into three parts: the first is devoted to the description of shamanic rituals, the second is an illustration of school daily routine, the third is a demonstration of fragments of rural life in Bilchir village. The description of school daily routine included various issues of the educational process from problems with the schedule to repair work. Diary shed light on the small number and poor qualification of teachers, the mobility of the quantitative composition of pupils, the constant shortage of educational facilities and their actual unsuitability, which significantly complicated the work of Matvey Nikolaevich. In conclusion, we come to the conclusion that educational activity was M. N. Khangalov’s lifework.