Commercial Schools

Commercial Schools

 

secondary schools in prerevolutionary Russia that trained students for commerce.

The first commercial school was established in Moscow in 1773. In 1804 a commercial school was opened at the expense of the merchant class of Moscow; in 1806 it was renamed the Moscow Practical Academy. In the late 19th century, commercial schools were created in various Russian cities on the initiative and at the expense of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie. Until 1906, all commercial schools were under the jurisdiction first of the Ministry of Finance and later of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. By the Statute of 1896, commercial schools became general-education schools charged with providing general and commercial education.

The fees of commercial schools were high, which meant that the great majority of students were children of the big and middle bourgeoisie. Boys and girls were taught together in many schools. They had seven-year or eight-year programs. In the upper grades, time was set aside for specialized subjects (including the study of commodities and engineering, bookkeeping, and accounting). Graduates could enroll in commercial institutes or higher technical schools. Commercial schools had more financial support than other secondary schools in Russia. In the 1913–14 school year, there were about 250 commercial schools in Russia (55,000 students, including 10,500 girls). Such well-known Russian pedagogues and methodologists as V. A. Gerd, V. N. Verkhovskii, and P. A. Znamenskii worked in commercial schools. The schools existed up to 1918.