The name of Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov is known primarily thanks to his brilliant son who committed the revolution in Russia - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin).
However, Ilya Nikolayevich himself was an outstanding person for his time, a well-known reformer of the educational system in the Volga region.
For this work, he received the rank of Actual State Councilor, was awarded orders, including the Imperial Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, who was given mainly for military merits.
Ilya Nikolaevich was born in a peasant family in 1831. His parents tried to get "free" from their landowner - a document exempting from serfdom, but failed. Then the head of the family decides to flee to the Astrakhan province in order to free himself from the yoke of the landowner. And in 1791, the Ulyanov family arrived in Astrakhan, and six years later became free from the landowner.
The head of the family mastered tailoring, built a house, and the family healed more or less in abundance. However, when Ilya was 5 years old, his father died, and the family had a hard time. His father was replaced by his elder brother Vasily.
The elders saw that Ilya was growing very smart, so they tried to give him a good education: he graduated from the Astrakhan men's gymnasium with a silver medal.In 1854, he graduated from Kazan University, Department of Physics and Mathematics, where he became close to the outstanding scientist N.I. Lobachevsky. Already at the university, Ilya receives the title of candidate of mathematical sciences for his work in astronomy.
The beginning of pedagogical activity
The independent activity of the young scientist Ulyanov began at the Penza Nobility Institute, where he was appointed a teacher of mathematics and physics. It was at this time that he began to study the education system in Russia and to develop his theory of pedagogy.
A talented scientist was noticed, and in 1863 he was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod, as a teacher in a male gymnasium. And also gave work in several educational institutions in parallel. This helped Ulyanov study the educational system in various institutions and begin to create his own pedagogical system according to his views.
Education Reform
Seven years later, in 1869, by the order of the Ministry of Public Education, Ilya Nikolayevich was appointed inspector of public schools in the Simbirsk province. A few years later he became the director of public schools.
Now the scientist was able to introduce the education system that he had been creating for many years. After studying the condition of the schools, he attracted the progressive people of the province to his side and began real reform in this area. After a short time, the Simbirsk province became one of the best in the field of public education.
During this period, Ulyanov achieved the opening of the Porets teacher’s seminary, which trained professional teachers. They were called so - "Ulyanovsk". Prior to this, self-taught or priests who were not highly educated taught at schools.
A whole network of schools was also created where children from Tatar, Mordovian and Chuvash families were taught in their native language. In total, more than 200 new buildings for educational institutions were built in the province. Often the funds for these construction projects came from the personal funds of the Ulyanovs.
