The establishment of the Karelian State Pedagogical Institute

On August 24, 1931, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the Karelian ASSR announced the establishment of the Karelian State Pedagogical Institute in Petrozavodsk, the first higher educational institution in the history of Karelia. Its grand opening took place on November 8, 1931. The initiator of its creation and the first director was Ivan Vikhko - lecturer, professor of pedagogy, political economy and the theory of the Soviet state. He also had been a People's Commissar of Education of the Karelian ASSR from 1932 to 1936.

At the beginning, the first Karelian University faced many difficulties: there was a lack of lecturers, teaching aids, classrooms and campuses. In the beginning, the institute had only Physical and Technical Departments with 48 students.

In 1932, the Faculty of Natural Sciences was opened. In 1933, the University launched the Department of History and Philology. From 1932 the Correspondence Department began its work. In 1934, the Karelian State Pedagogical Institute launched a two-year Teacher's Institute, which prepared teachers for seven-year schools. In 1935, both educational institutions merged into the Karelian State Pedagogical and Teacher's Institute.

The first pedagogical staff included Arnold Pedder, Associate Professor of the Department of Physics, Head of the Section of Natural Science in Karelia, and Pyotr Lupanov, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Chemistry. In 1931, Lupanov created a series of lectures and instructions for chemical experiments, considering a lack of textbooks for students. In the first years of the educational institution, Eduard Gyulling, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Karelian ASSR (1923–1935), delivered lectures on the socio-economic development of Karelia. The Herzen Leningrad Pedagogical Institute assisted in the building of the pedagogical staff. From 1935 to 1940, the educational institution has trained 610 graduated lecturers.

In 1940, the Karelian State Pedagogical Institute launched its branch - the Karelian-Finnish State University. During the Great Patriotic War, it was evacuated to Syktyvkar.

In 1951, the Petrozavodsk authorities relaunched the Karelo-Finnish State Pedagogical Institute. It became the largest pedagogical educational institution in the northwest of the country. In 1981, the University received the Order of the Badge of Honor for its successes in pedagogical training. It was awarded according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The pedagogical staff contributed much to the teachers' training. The distinguished people were rectors V. T. Antonov, M. V. Shugrin, P. I. Ihalainen, A. N. Britvikhin, V. F. Bryazgin, S. P. Grippa; vice-rectors: Ya. I. Ogienko, V. S. Aleksandrov, I. L. Osipov, V. G. Bazanov, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences; professors: D. V. Bubrikh, G. S. Prozorov, J. A. Balagurov, A. S. Lutta, M. Ya. Marvin, N. A. Meshchersky, S. V. Gerd, A. F. Titov, L. V. Savelyeva, Yu. V. Linnik; associate professors: A. G. Bonch-Osmolovskaya, N. A. Boyko, G. E. Vlasyev, O. K. Afanasyeva, G. V. Gorodysky, L. P. Mikhailova and others.

In the 1990s, the University established international relations with universities in Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and the USA. At present, it continues to develop joint scientific projects and international scientific conferences based on partnership relations.

In 1996, the Karelian State Pedagogical Institute was transformed into the Karelian State Pedagogical University, in 2009 - into the Karelian State Pedagogical Academy, in 2013 - into the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Petrozavodsk State University.

Lit.: Калинин Р. П. Карельский государственный педагогический университет // Карелия: энциклопедия. В 3 т. Т. 2. К–П. Петрозаводск, 2009. С. 33–34; Карельский государственный педагогический институт: 50 лет. Петрозаводск, 1981; Карельскому государственному педагогическому институту — 60 лет // Календарь памятных дат Карельской АССР, 1991 год. Петрозаводск, 1990. С. 32–34; Карельский государственный ордена "Знак Почёта" педагогический институт. Петрозаводск, 1991; Карельский государственный педагогический университет в цифрах и фактах, 1931–1996. Петрозаводск, 1996; Карельский государственный педагогический университет в цифрах и фактах: 70 лет. Петрозаводск, 2001; Карельский государственный педагогический университет // Петрозаводск: библиографический указатель литературы. Петрозаводск, 2003. С. 108–109; Карельский государственный педагогический университет, 1931–2006: биографический справочник. Петрозаводск, 2006; Об организации Карельского педагогического института: постановление № 369 Совета Народных Комиссаров АКССР от 24 августа 1931 г. // Карельский государственный педагогический университет в цифрах и фактах: 75 лет. Петрозаводск, 2006. С. 5; Ректоры Карельского государственного педагогического университета: биографические очерки. Петрозаводск, 2006.

The article is prepared by the National Library of the Republic of Karelia