V. I. and E. N. Vodovozov: family union for the benefit of Russian education. To the 200th anniversary of V. I. Vodovozov

In the middle of the XIXth century, a significant group of progressive educational figures, headed by K. D. Ushinsky, appeared in the Russian pedagogical movement. His loyal associates included Vasily Ivanovich (1825–1886) and Elizaveta Nikolaevna (1844–1923) Vodovozov. V. I. Vodovozov carried out an active practical teaching activity for a long time, which was forcibly interrupted by the authorities. He acted as one of the first organizers of pedagogical provincial and county courses (congresses) in Russia, which became an important form of teacher training. He wrote a huge number of works, mainly on the methodology of teaching Russian language and literature. In fact, he became the founder of this technique in the Russian school. E. N. Vodovozova was actively engaged in literary work, published wonderful memoirs about the time in which she lived and about the people with whom she communicated, including such important personalities as K. D. Ushinsky, V. A. Sleptsov, etc. She entered the history of the national pedagogy as the author of the first major scientific work on preschool and primary education. Her fascinating, informative books on geography and history were of great importance for the education of the younger generation. Contemporaries of the Vodovozovs, as well as literary critics of the XXth century, highly appreciated the works of Vasily Ivanovich and Elizabeth Nikolaevna. They paid tribute to the contribution of V. I. Vodovozov to the development of the methodology of teaching Russian and literature. E. N. Vodovozova is still appreciated today for her extremely interesting memoirs and other publications. The pedagogical heritage of V. I. and E. N. Vodovozov is deep and diverse. It deserves further study, and their works should be published in the interests of education.