The study of the history of the development and activity of educational institutions of different form and status makes it possible to more effectively investigate the issue and determine, at the same time, similar and distinctive features in their functioning and characteristics. An important role is played by carrying out, in particular, a comparative characterization of the social status and standard of living of the teachers of these institutions. In particular, in our research, a comparative analysis was conducted of the Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium and the Hlukhiv Teacher’s Institute, which over time received the name of the Hlukhiv State Pedagogical Institute). These educational institutions functioned in Hlukhiv, Sumy Oblast, from the 1870s to 1917. A four-grade male high school was opened in Hlukhiv in 1870. In 1873, after the visit to Hlukhiv by the Minister of National Education of the Russian Empire, Dmitri Tolstoy, with the support of the then leadership of Hlukhiv, a decision was made to open a teachers’ institute in Hlukhiv the following year. The document we found “Announcement from the authorities of the Kyiv educational district” reports on the foundation of the teachers’ institute in the 1874-1875 academic year. In 1875, the pro-gymnasium became a sixth-grade school. In 1889, this educational institution received the status of a classical eight-grade gymnasium. The director of the gymnasium, Mykola Lazarenko, paid considerable attention to the improvement of the high-quality composition of the institution. Oleksandr Belyavskyi, the first director of the institute, also played a significant role in improving the quality of teachers at the teachers’ institute. During his leadership, the institute was imbued with the spirit of pedantry and monumentality of pedagogical sciences. Over time, the Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium became a kind of cultural and educational center of the region, where a large number of graduates of various higher education institutions were able to teach. In particular, ten graduates of the Nizhyn Institute of Prince O. Bezborodko, who graduated from the historical and philological field, worked there during different periods of the educational institution’s operation. Another ten people from the University of St. Volodymyr in Kyiv, five from the Imperial Moscow University, three graduates from the Hlukhiv Teachers’ Institute and six from the University of St. Petersburg. There was also one person who graduated from the medical faculty of Yuriy University, three teachers from the Theological Academy and two more from the Chernihiv Theological Seminary and the Novorossiysk Theological Academy. Both in the men’s gymnasium and in the teachers’ institute, there was a clear and strict regulation of the hiring of teaching staff. According to the rules of the educational system of the Russian Empire at that time, persons who graduated from a higher education institution (university, academy or institute) received the VIII class. But graduates of secondary education institutions lower than IX or X classes. Also, for example, in ten years of teaching it was possible to go from VIII to VI grade. A vivid example of this system was, for example, teachers of the grammar school V.A. Malchenko, P.A. Adamov and A.K. Nikolaev. They alternately passed the classes: collegiate assessor, court adviser, collegiate registrar and state adviser. The Hlukhiv Teacher’s Institute has always been equipped with highly qualified teachers. According to the legislation, the salary of the teachers of the Hlukhiv Male Gymnasium depended on various factors. However, the salary at the Hlukhiv Teachers’ Institute was lower. Under such conditions, the employees of the Hlukhiv Teacher’s Institute tried to get a job at the gymnasium, in particular, the male one. Thus, as a result of the processing of statistical data, we came to the conclusion that the salary of the teachers of the Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium and the Hlukhiv Teacher’s Institute, in particular, at the beginning of the 20th century ranged from 1300 to 3000 rubles. for a year. These were relatively the highest indicators among the salaries of teachers of institutions corresponding to the levels of general secondary education and professional preliminary education according to the current legislation. Due to the fact that the city of Hlukhiv was a small county town at that time, the prices based on the types of goods were somewhat mediocre. In this regard, the teachers of these educational institutions had a fairly high standard of living. Gymnasium teachers (mostly all of them graduates of higher education institutions) were considered officials and had a number of privileges. The salary of the teachers of the Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium was quite high and ranged from 1,350 to 2,100 rubles per year. This amount consisted of the salary, as well as a number of additional payments: for additional lessons, checking written works, etc. At the same time, the amount of salary of the teachers of the teachers’ institute with a similar amount of additional payments and years of service was 10-30% lower, which indicates a higher social status, and, of course, the socio-economic level of teachers of the gymnasium in comparison with the status presentation Chiv Teacher’s Institute.

The article characterizes the initial stage of a large-scale campaign to eliminate illiteracy, which took place in Ukraine in the 20s-30s of the ХХth century. It’s stated that general illiteracy hampered the economic and cultural development of the whole country. Therefore, after the October Revolution of 1917, along with the military front and the front of the struggle against economic destruction, there was a third – cultural, whose primary task was the struggle for literacy of the population. For the first time, documents from the State Archives of the Sumy Region on the process of a liquidation illiteracy in the region are being introduced into scientific circulation. The documents provide an idea of such activities as agitation of the population for literacy, encouragement of adults to study in illiteracy institutions and the ideological factor of the campaign to eliminate of illiteracy in Sumy region. One of the most important stages in the history of education and culture of the early twentieth century was the work to eliminate illiteracy, which unfolded widely after the adoption of the Decree of the People’s Commissar of the RSFSR «On the elimination of illiteracy among the RSFSR population» of December 26, 1919. The document provided for the complete elimination of illiteracy throughout the country. Liknep in Ukraine was initiated by the resolution of the SNC of the USSR «On Combating Illiteracy» of May 21, 1921, which virtually duplicated the previous decree of the People’s Commissar of the RSFSR, thus giving it effect in the Ukrainian SSR. Boyko, V. Kozyr, V. Motuz, and S. Svistovych dealt with the issue of eliminating illiteracy in Ukraine in various aspects. The elimination of illiteracy in the Sumy region is not represented by extensive historiography. Mostly local historians developed the topic of Ukrainization in the Sumy region in the 1920s and 1930s. In recent years, there has been interest in the topic, in particular, the issue of the liknep campaign is the subject of articles by L. Epik and N. Petrenko, the latter is working on thorough work on this issue. The source base of the study consists of documents of the 20-30s of the XX century of the State Archives of Sumy region. The term «liknep» (likvidatsiia nepysmennosti – elimination of illiteracy) meant the elimination, ie elimination of illiteracy, in other words, the teaching of basic literacy to those who cannot read, write and count at all. In contrast to the broad understanding of the word, in the system of likneps the word «literacy» meant only the initial, alphabetic literacy. The elimination of illiteracy was carried out by the educated part of the population in the order of labor service. Not only educational institutions, but also cultural and educational institutions, trade unions and committees of poor peasants took an active part in the dissemination of education. To solve the complex of problems related to the elimination of illiteracy, a system of special educational institutions has been created within the framework of public education. Working on the funds of the State Archives of Sumy region, we managed to find documents that characterize the initial stage of the campaign to eliminate illiteracy in Sumy region. In general, various forms of agitation for writing were used to attract illiterate citizens to the lyceums: reports at the meeting, devoted to substantiating the importance of writing with examples of its practical use; evenings of agitation for education, lectures. In addition, the agitation was also obvious. In particular, printing houses offered organizations a variety of campaign posters and illustrations. The agitation was successful. However, the authorities also understood that the population needed an incentive to study. That is why the authorities sent out documents with detailed instructions on benefits for students and those who have already learned to read and write. In particular, the hours of work with the preservation of wages were reduced for students, as well as certain benefits were provided when applying for and paying off loans, when insuring property, during market operations, and so on. All this was done in order to instill communist ideology, because from the first days of the Bolshevik revolution, the fight against illiteracy was considered by its ideologues as the most important political task, without which the success of social transformation was unlikely. Therefore, the elimination of illiteracy had a dual purpose: the Bolsheviks followed the general idea of the need for knowledge and the ideal of creating a full-fledged personality, on the other – setting the task of industrialization, the country needed a more literate worker. But this worker could fully meet the demands of the new government only if, along with knowledge, he mastered the advanced ideology. The policy of eliminating illiteracy was implemented on the territory of Ukraine, and a certain range of archival documents gives reason to believe that this political campaign was successful in Sumy region. The documents presented in the publication provide an opportunity to consider in more depth the initial stage of the campaign to eliminate illiteracy not only in Sumy region, but in Ukraine as a whole, as most of these documents were sent by the central government to all educational institutions. Documents are published with the original language and punctuation.