Bunakov, Nikolai

Born Nov. 26 (Dec. 8), 1837, in Vologda; died Dec. 8 (21), 1904, in St. Petersburg.

A Russian pedagogue, Bunakov was a follower of K. D. Ushinskii; he was a theoretician and practitioner of early childhood education, a methods specialist, and an author of textbooks and educational aids in the Russian language. He advocated universal, compulsory, free education and demanded that the level of public primary school education be raised and that education be made relevant to the demands of life. In the school he opened in Voronezh (1867-84), he conducted important methods work. Settling in the village of Petin (Voronezh Province) in 1884, with his own funds he built a public primary school, taught in it himself, opened a school for adults and a public library, and was the organizer and leader of the first peasant amateur theater in Russia. In 1873-83 and 1896-1901 he directed several province zemstvo (elected district administration) summer teacher courses-congresses. In 1902 the Petin school and other educational institutions that he established were closed, and he himself was deprived of the right to engage in educational and public activities. He was exiled and placed under police surveillance.