History, composition and structure of the foundation of Elizabethgrad real school in the State archive of Kirovograd region

The purpose of the research is to research the history, composition and structure of the fund of the Yelisavetgrad Zemstvo Real School (ESRU) in the State Archive of the Kirovohrad Region, based on the work of its predecessors and the existing source base. The research methodology is based on fundamental general scientific principles (objectivity, comprehensiveness, complexity, historicism, determinism), which is the worldview basis of archival theory, as well as on the use of methods - analysis and synthesis, system analysis, historical method, scientific heuristics method, identification methods and classification of documents. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the composition and structure of the fund of the Yelisavetgrad Real School in the State Archives of the Kirovohrad Region was carried out, which includes cases with documents of various types: with normative and administrative documentation, business correspondence, with minutes of meetings, with reporting documentation, with personal documents, with educational documentation; the historical significance of the Yelisavetgrad Zemstvo real school as an educational institution of regional and national importance is substantiated, and its role in the formation of the educational, social and cultural sphere of the 19th and early 20th centuries is also considered. Conclusions. A study of the history, composition and structure of the "Elysavetgrad Zemstvo Real School" fund in the State Archive of the Kirovohrad Region confirms its significant informational potential. Yelisavetgrad Zemstvo real school, founded in 1870, was one of the largest educational institutions of that time. The fund provides rich opportunities for research in the history of education, administrative practice, as well as social and cultural processes that took place in Ukraine in the context of historical changes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Preservation of the fund in the State Archive of the Kirovohrad region is important for the preservation of the historical heritage of the region. Thirty-four cases in the analyzed fund of the EZRU were classified as particularly valuable, two - as a "unique documentary monument". Thus, the fund of Yelisavetgrad real school in the State Archive of Kirovohrad region is a rich source for research in the field of history of education, social changes and cultural heritage of Ukraine.