S. V. Yushkov at the Sverdlovsk State Pedagogical Institute in 1935–1938

This article studies the influence of leading scholars on the formation of higher education in history in the regions of the country. The author refers to the activity of Serafim Vladimirovich Yushkov (1888–1952), Professor, Dr. Hab. (History). Despite the existence of separate studies devoted to Yushkov’s biography in Sverdlovsk, most of them consider Serafim Vladimirovich as a law historian who worked at the Sverdlovsk Law Institute between 1936 and 1938. However, the professor simultaneously worked at the History Department of the Sverdlovsk State Pedagogical Institute. In the mid-1930s, there was a ‘U-turn’ to teaching history in both secondary and higher educational establishments. To provide the vast territories of the Urals with qualified teachers, a history department was established at the Sverdlovsk State Pedagogical Institute in 1934. The staff of the newborn historical department consisted of Party historians mobilised to join the Institute for pedagogical and administrative work, young specialists who had graduated from higher educational institutions in the central part of the USSR, and experienced scholars who had received higher education before the revolution. Yushkov was one of those scholars. Drawing upon archival materials, periodicals, memoirs and letters, the study restores the chronology of Yushkov’s teaching, scholarly, organisational, and social activities as a historian in Sverdlovsk. It is demonstrated that the professor, among other things, spoke at open city lectures and took part in the establishment of public historical entities. Based on the analysis, the author concludes that S. V. Yushkov made a significant contribution to the development of higher education in history in Sverdlovsk.