Karl May School - 20th Century

20th Century

In autumn 1918, the private educational institution of K.I. May was nationalized and turned into the Soviet United Labor School, 1st and 2nd degree. Here, according to the decrees of the new authorities, co-education was introduced, while grades and the attestat degree were abolished. Later the brigade-laboratory method of study was introduced and utilized until 1932.

In the pre-war years the director of the school, its name and number (15, 12, 217, 17), the length of study (seven, nine, or ten years) changed repeatedly (see appendix 2). The “May” pedagogical traditions were in one way or another preserved until the winter of 1929, when as a result of an extensive anti-bourgeois press campaign and the publication of unfounded accusations in the newspaper “Leningrad Pravda,” from 15 January 1929 the school’s educators and management were largely replaced—even the bas-relief above the entranceway was destroyed. In the beginning of the 1930s, K.I. Polyakov (1902-1946) became director of the school and recreated a good pedagogical collective; the life of the school was put to rights. The physical education instructor R.V. Ozol’, organizer of the “Spartak” circle, was an especially bright figure at this time. Pioneer and Komsomol organizations were also created.

Starting in the fall of 1937, in accordance with government resolution, the school also housed the 6th Special Artillery School (6 SAS), formed on a volunteer basis of students from the 8-10th classes of this and other nearby general education schools. Between 1938 and 1941 the 6 SAS graduated four classes. On 5 February 1942, during the cruel winter of the blockade, starving schoolchildren were evacuated to Tobolskt—nevertheless, 63 of them died of hunger on the way. Graduates of the 6 SAS distinguished themselves brilliantly on the fronts of he World War II, defended and liberated their native Leningrad, stormed Berlin and the Reichstag; 111 of them died courageously. Since 1984 in the current School no. 5 (13th line, no. 28) there has been a museum devoted to the 6 SAS, founded thanks to the efforts both of the school director at that time and of the current museum director L.V. Chernenkova. The museum directs the students in active patriotic work, with the aid of veterans, led by General-major V.G. Rozhkov.

After the lifting of the Leningrad blockade, from September 1944, lessons were begun again, only now the educational institution was called the Men’s High School no. 5 (and from 1954, with the institution of co-education, simply High School no. 5). In 1966, on the initiative of the director of studies A.S. Baturina, a museum was created in the school. Along with the expositions devoted to the labor and military works of former students, there was a stand devoted to the pre-revolutionary period and the school’s first director, K.I. May. However, this museum did not exist for very long, and, sadly, almost none of its exhibits were preserved.

In connection with a collapse of ceiling plaster in 1976 (requiring a renovation), the collective of educators and students were temporarily moved to another building on the 13th line (no. 28). The renovation was not completed due to lack of funds, and school activities were not reinstated in the old building. All the unique classroom equipment, the furniture, memorial plaques with the names of former graduates of various years, busts of writers and scholars, and the decorated interiors were left to the whims of fate. All of it was quickly plundered and irretrievably lost.

Graduates of the school achieved great successes in various branches of science and culture. More than 100 of them became Doctors of Science, 29 were elected active members or member-correspondents of the Academy of Science or the Academy of the Arts (see list below). Among other former students: three members of the State council of pre-revolutionary Russia—University rector D.D. Grimm, Petersburg governor A.D. Zinov’ev and Minister of Internal Affairs, later Minister of Justice A.A. Makarov; Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin; University rector E.D. Grimm; Technological Institute rector N.A. Bartels; military leaders—infantry general N.A. Epanchin; general-majors S.V. Belov, V.V. Volkov, V.G. Rozhkov; vice-admiral E.I. Volobuyev; contra-admirals V.A. Petrovskii, P.V. Rimskii-Korsakov, I.V. Kossovich; cultural figures—members of the association “The World of art” A.N. Benois, N.K. Roerich, V.A. Serov, K.A. Somov, A.E. Yakovlev, as well as O.G. Vereysky, P. Ya. Pavlinov, I.A. Puni, S. N. Roerich, the sculptor B.E. Kaplyanskii, the composers V.I. Tsytovich, F.D. Shevtsov, the writers G.I. Alekseev, V.S. Golovinskii, V.A. Knekht, A.A. Liverovskii, V.V. Uspenskii, L.V. Uspenskii, O.A. Khazin, F.K. Einbaum, the poet Yu. A. Liverovskii, the theatre figures F. N. Kurikhin, P.P. Podervyanskii, and M.F. Stronin. Two-time Hero of the Soviet Union, doctor of physics and mathematics, cosmonaut and former May student G.M. Grechko also warmly remembered the school. We should also mention that O.D. Khvolson was one of the first to be given (in 1926) the title “Hero of labor”, and that three graduates—V.V. Volkov, D.S. Likhachev, and V.V. Novozhilov—were distinguished with the title “Hero of socialist labor”. Five other graduates—V.V. Belomorets, M.A. Elyashevich, L.L. Kerber, V.D. Nalivkin, and V.V. Novozhilov—became laureates of the Lenin Prize.

From 1978 to the present day, the former school building has been occupied by the St. Petersburg Institute of Information Technology and Automation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The director of the Institute,Professor-Emeritus of science and technology of the Russian Federation and doctor of technological sciences, member-correspondents of the Academy of Science R.M Yusupov, with the active support of T.I Golubeva, then head of Administration of Education and Culture of the Vasilievskii district—in 1994 made the decision to create a museum of the history of the K.I. May School.

On a clear cool day, 12 May 1995, the oldest living student, the academic D.S. Likhachev unveiled a memorial plaque—the bas-relief of a May bug, recreated by the museum and the sculptor S.N. Smirnov. After two days one more plaque appeared on the building, immortalizing the memory of the presence of the 6th Special Artillery School. The museum, which is located in the former hall of the school’s educational council, boasts an exhibit of 15 showcases and 25 stands, reflecting all of the founding stages of the school’s 150-year history.

In the following years the museum tripled in size, and its archives now contain more than 4000 preserved items: objects, documents, photographs, audio- and videocassettes. For the museum's 10-year anniversary, in 2005, the N.K. Rerikh Art School donated a bust of K.I. May, sculpted by I.V. Volle. During this period about 500 groups—consisting of schoolchildren, educators, scholars, representatives of various associations, ordinary residents of Petersburg and other Russian cities, as well as guests from Linz, London, New York, Paris, Seoul, Sofia, Torino, Ulan-Bator and even Sydney and Brisbane were introduced to the history of the school and left grateful messages in the visitor's book.