F. C. La Harpe’s report on the education of the grand dukes Alexander and Konstantin during the year 1791

• Main Authors: Andrei Andreev, Vera Mil'china
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2017-12-01
• Series: Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Svâto-Tihonovskogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta: Seriâ II. Istoriâ, Istoriâ Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvi
• Subjects: Russia; Switzerland; Enlightenment; teaching; education; La Harpe; Alexander I; Catherine II
• Online Access: http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/5172

This publication puts into the scientific use an unknown previously report of Frederic-Cesar La Harpe, a Swiss mentor at the court of Catherine II, who described in detail an educational content relative to the grand dukes Alexander and Kontantin in the year 1791. The original of this report, addressed to the “gouverneur-en-chef” of the Catherine’s grandchildren, count Nicolas Saltykov, was written in French and is published here translated into Russian with some commentaries to the historical names in this text. This report has a direct link to the series of the similar documents, which were already known by historians and dedicated to the education of the elder grandsons of Catherine II; thus this publication fills a lacuna in the existing row of revealed sources on this problem. The text of the report can make us follow the characteristic features of the education process held under the La Harpe’s guidance. It draws attention the main pedagogical system of La Harpe, his principles of teaching, as well as his observations on the characters of the grand dukes, their and abilities and competencies. It shows the central role played be La Harpe in the whole education of the grand dukes Alexander and Constantin, besides that, the significance of this even report for 1791 lies in the fact, that it was the last year when La Harpe had a possibility to teach according to his own plan and yet not prevented by the disadvantages, appearing from 1792, which arose due to the preparation to the marriage of the grand duke Alexander and the beginning of realization of Catherine’s idea to proclaim Alexander as a future successor of the Russian throne.