"All the best is born in the province...": university as a cultural and educational phenomenon in the provincial region

The article presents the Yelets State Ivan Bunin University as a cultural and educational phenomenon of the provincial region; discusses strategies for its further development; shows the multidimensional definition of "province" and reveals the specifics of the provincial region as a cultural and symbolic space. In the research field of the author Yelets State Ivan Bunin University is positioned as a scientific coordination center for the study of the creative heritage of Ivan Bunin, Mikhail Prishvin, Vasiliy Rozanov and others, thanks to which the international center "Bunin Russia" was created, the main activities of which were to conduct scientific events aimed at popularizing not only the life-making of Ivan Bunin, but also the historical and cultural heritage of the region as a whole. Currently, the University is not only a "place of power" and a special center of attraction of the provincial region, but also a unique science city, constantly multiplying the merits of previous generations. The author comes to the conclusion that in the most intense historical periods of both the state and individual individuals, it was the province that accumulated universal harmony and enduring values that contribute to the preservation of national identity.