Charitable initiative and formation of educational environment in Russia in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries (by the materials of Penza province)

Background. Russia of the late empire era was confidently moving along the path of accelerated modernization, which influenced on the formation of new patterns of social behavior, and, first of all, in charitable activities. One of the areas of civic engage ment was education, as low literacy remained one of the main factors holding back socio economic development. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to study the experience of implementing charitable initiatives in the public education system. The pur pose of the study is to analyze charitable activities as a factor in the development of the educational environment of the Penza province in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries. Materials and methods. The source base of the study consists of complexes of documentary evidence presented in the State Archive of the Penza Region, as well as materials from the local provincial periodical press and reporting documents of public as sociations. The methodological basis was a set of methods for studying the history of eve ryday life and local history, which contributed to the study of various forms of public par ticipation in charitable affairs. Results. Research on this issue contributes to the reactualiza tion of the experience of effective interactions between state and public mechanisms in order to optimally implement social policy. In the course of the analysis, various forms of public participation in the formation of the educational space of the province were identi fied. The role of local governments, as well as individual initiatives, is noted. Conclusions. The participation of individual citizens and public associations in supporting and assisting public education from the very beginning of the reforms was welcomed by the regional au thorities as a way to relieve social tension. Charity became one of the areas of freedom where the most daring undertakings could be realized, and, at the same time, a school of “civic growing up” of the province. Zemstvo institutions supported students of higher edu cational institutions, as well as students of gymnasiums. Assistance to students came fromvarious public associations. Due to private charitable initiatives, new educational institu tions were created. In this area, new patterns of social behavior were gradually formed, which ensured the assimilation of the values of the new era.