The Bestuzhev Courses in the mirror of its own Library

In 1878, the Bestuzhev Courses were established in St. Petersburg, and almost instantly gained a reputation for being the best women’s higher education institution in the Russian Empire. Unofficially, the Courses were called the "Bestuzhev’s", named after their first director K. N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, course participants and graduates called themselves "bestizhevki".

From the first years of the course existence, its directors were focused on St Petersburg University as a gold standard in higher education. The Bestuzhev Courses established faculties similar to those at the University: Historical-Philological Faculty, Physics-Mathematics Faculty, and since 1906 — Faculty of Law. There was also established a four-year course of study with transitional examinations, and the first educators were University professors included Dmitry Mendeleyev, Alexander Butlerov, Alexander Veselovsky, Vladimir Solovyov and many other distinguished scientists.

The Courses turned into a full-fledged women’s university, comparable to the St Petersburg University for men both in terms of the high level of teaching and the number of students. After women in Russia were allowed to receive academic degrees on an equal basis with men, it was the Bestuzhev students who became the first Russian women to receive a master’s degree: M. Ostrovskaya (1914, Russian history), N. Gernet (1915, mathematics), and O. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya, who after defending her master’s dissertation (1915, general history), also became the first woman doctor of sciences (1918).

The pride of the Bestuzhev Courses was the Library, which was collected almost entirely through donations from scientists, benefactors and scientific societies. In 1900, it moved to a new building, its interior was designed in the northern pseudo-gothic style, by the architect A. Krasovsky. By 1918, when the Courses became part of the University, the library’s collection numbered about 70,000 volumes. Its Gothic interior and fortress-like arrangement of books created a unique image of the "all-encompassing beauty of knowledge". Today, the library retains its historical appearance and composition, remaining not only a monument to the Bestuzhev Courses, but also an active book depository.

Lecturer

Alexey Vostrikov graduated from the Philological Faculty of Chelyabinsk State University. Since 1988, he has been working at the Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University. In recent years, he has been the head of the sector and custodian of the book collection of the library of the Higher Women’s (Bestuzhev) Courses. 

The meeting will be held online in Russian with simultaneous translation into Spanish, as part of the events to mark the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University, the oldest University in Russia.

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