Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 177 Alexander's headache about school regulations

The only comprehensive university Russia had at that time was the Moscow Imperial University, which was officially established in 1755 under the order of Empress Elizabeth. It was originally built according to the model of classical European universities and had departments of philosophy, law, and medicine, which was a relatively basic structure.

After 1767, universities developed colleges from faculties, but the scale was still relatively limited. Even the affiliated libraries were not officially established until 1770. Moreover, there were no theological seminaries in Russian universities, but theological seminaries also taught scientific knowledge.

Talents like Speransky transferred from seminaries to secular life. As for the seminaries in Georgia, they produced the Iron Uncle.

Alexander's idea was to replicate some institutions based on the Moscow Imperial University, that is, Moscow University after 1917, and to establish five imperial universities in St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Tartu, Vilnius and Kazan. These schools were all comprehensive full-time universities.

The idea is good, but even the operation of the Moscow State is not that easy. In addition to the appropriations, it is also necessary to raise funds from the society. Russia is so big that if the nobles are stingy, and military expenditures account for the vast majority, it will not be possible to rely solely on state funding.

In the early days of the school in 1755, although there was an edict from Queen Elizabeth, it was not easy to operate. There were very limited native Russian professors, and when learning Russian, the course content was often taught in Latin. It was not until 1767 during the Queen's period that it began to be gradually standardized.

By 1801, a new university charter had not yet been passed, and Alexander wanted to establish such a system.

He himself did not study hard, but the queen would read while eating walnuts when it was inconvenient for her to exercise. It is said that Louisa heard from somewhere that the child in the belly also has cognition. Considering that she would be "punched and kicked" by the child in the belly at any time, this seems to make some sense.

So this kind of "prenatal education" began. Reading was only one of the links. Louisa also loved cleanliness. She insisted on taking a bath every day and asked the female officer to read the etiquette norms to her.

Even Solovyov, who quietly proposed this concept, felt a little embarrassed. It was true that Louisa was a quiet and bookish person, but she also had a problem of being too serious. In particular, she loved children very much, not only her own, but other people's children as well. Even when Naryshkinna's eldest daughter came, she liked her too. Her maternal love was a bit excessive.

Alexander felt that his brain was not enough for the school's charter. Just looking at the large number of memorials on taxation and justice, as well as Speransky's proposal to liberate the serfs, gave him a headache.

If he wanted to seek happiness, he knew he had to go to Maria Naryshkina, but if he wanted advice, he certainly couldn't count on the Queen Mother, because the Queen Mother's show would not cost a ruble, and he knew that the only woman who could help him at the moment was Louisa.

The Queen Mother's method of managing girls' schools was to set up a department to unify the management of relief, welfare, schools and other departments when she was still the Queen, and the department itself was relatively extensive.

However, during the time when Louisa moved to the Tauride Palace for recuperation, she held many activities for the girls from the two girls' schools by the pond in the palace. Since they were boarding schools, it was always possible for them to participate in the activities as a group. Although the queen was quiet, she was still very caring towards the girls. She probably had some experience in managing girls' schools, and she always listened to the reports from the two principals of the girls' schools.

If it weren't for the children coming and going so often, this place would be very deserted even in the summer.

The nobles of St. Petersburg would go to Gatchina to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager every month, but the Queen's place was usually visited only by the Tsar himself and his entourage, as well as the faculty and students of the girls' school.

When Alexander arrived at the Tavrid Palace, he found that Louisa was not in the palace. She was so depressed that she asked her servants to carry her to the shade of the trees by the pond to cool off.

"Your Majesty, do we need to report further?"

"No need for that, Sonya. You and Peter go and relax, and I'll go down to the pond by myself."

He was still very good at assisting others. Knowing that his attendant general and the queen's maid were distant cousins ​​and had a close relationship, he gave them all a holiday and went to the pond with only two of his followers.

The beautiful sight of Louisa is this, leaning back in a recliner, looking lazy and dazed.

When Alexander saw her like this, with his wavering mentality, he turned his attention back and sat in front of Louisa. Looking at her, he wanted to kiss her, but was afraid of waking Louisa up.

When the young queen opened her eyes, she saw Alexander sitting in front of her with a smile on his face.

"Lisa, you're finally awake."

"Your Majesty, why are you here at the Tafrid Palace at this hour?"

"Come and see you, Sleeping Beauty, and"

Alexander took Louisa in his arms and began to explore.

"You look the best you have in over two years, just like when we visited Tsarskoye Selo."

"It sounds like it's been a long time. Your Majesty, I'm in this state now and I haven't dressed up properly."

"But I just like you like this, poor little cat, and the kittens in your belly"

His purpose was still the same as before, to make Louisa blush and her heart beat fast, but although Louisa had been more polite to him recently, her attitude was also very dull. What he wanted from Naryshkina, he often couldn't get here.

"Your Majesty, putting aside those frivolous words, you must have something to come here."

"Yes, you have always said that you want to manage the girls' school. Although it is under the jurisdiction of the Queen Mother's department, she is in Gatchina every day. You can take care of this matter and wait until our child is born again."

"Don't beat around the bush, Your Majesty. I know you have something on your mind, otherwise you wouldn't have come to visit me so suddenly." "I think it was when you were setting up the school. There were some problems. You were managing the girls at the Smolny School for Girls, and you worked so hard, but you still submitted a memorial to me. You are very attentive, Lisa. Let me feel it for yourself."

"Your Majesty, I'd better lie down. If you have any confusion, you can tell me, I can only help you resolve it."

That being said, Alexander let Louisa share her thoughts.

"The girls' school is always in need of money. I have used the 20 rubles allocated to me to support the operation of the school. I have used part of it, but I have to save most of it. I never know when I will need money. Your Majesty, you have spent much more money on the school than I have on the two girls' schools."

Alexander himself recalled that the annual funding for Moscow Imperial University and Yaroslavl Technical College was indeed not enough. The president of Moscow Imperial University would write letters and organize professors and students to submit petitions to explain Moscow Imperial University's financial difficulties and lack of proper management methods.

Here, even Alexander performed worse than his daughter-in-law. The royal expenses allocated by Louisa were enough to maintain the operation of all existing schools in St. Petersburg.

As for Alexander, it seemed that he was in charge of too many affairs. He gave a lot of funding to the education department but did not manage it properly. He had just become the Tsar and actually still had a lot to learn.

Since Peter the Great, these Russian emperors and empresses may have some similarities in character between father and son, but their styles of doing things are very different. Every emperor has his own ministers, and every emperor kills people, and each has his own hobbies.

Alexander himself was also adapting. Since he had to issue an edict, there had to be a department or minister to manage such matters. During the government reform, he himself had been considering establishing many departments.

This task can be entirely entrusted to the establishment of a Ministry of Public Education.

It was not that Louisa was unprepared, but she had the servants carry her here. Even if she had brought her shoes with her, she could not have walked far. She had to summon the servants to carry her back to the palace, ending her morning of sunbathing.

"Your Majesty, here is a report submitted by the Smolny Palace Girls' School. I think it can be used for reference. Although the management of a girls' school is much simpler than that of an ordinary school, the girls do not need to become civil servants or managers. Instead, they need to become housewives who know how to manage the family, do housework, and perform court etiquette. The direction of training is different."

Although Alexander has always been a little distant from Louisa, his daughter-in-law still pays attention to helping him collect various information and assists him as a good wife. Maria Naryshkina can only make him happy physically and mentally. Although the two of them have a big gap in physique and temperament, they are both very simple in behavior. If Alexander hadn't stood in the middle, they might have become very good friends.

"I think so. Karamzin has been telling me these days that when a new department is established, there must be a Ministry of Public Education, which is used to manage schools and replace the previous committees, including girls' schools, of course. Lisa, do you mind this?"

As for Louisa, there was nothing to mind. She herself might be the most mysterious queen in Russian history, simply because she had no sense of existence and always locked herself in the palace. Even when the gears of fate went astray, she mainly took care of the family and gave birth to children for her husband. The power in her hands was extremely limited.

After all, there is a queen mother who is very particular about pomp and circumstance. She can only find her own peace in a quiet place like the Tavrid Palace.

"Your Majesty, if you need a school charter, I have the charter of Heidelberg University here, Your Majesty may be able to use it."

However, the current situation of Heidelberg University is similar to that of Moscow University. It lacks funds and also needs donations. This embarrassing situation did not improve until Heidelberg University was assigned to Louisa's grandfather Carl Friedrich.

It is not easy to run such a university with such a long history. When Louisa was corresponding with her family, she learned from her grandfather's reply that Baden had taken over the territory of Heidelberg, and the school was now managed by the Margrave of Baden - in fact, their family was not rich. From Louisa's own description of her family life, although she was nominally a princess before she got married, her living environment was just at the higher end of the third class in terms of quality of life.

This school was still supported by the money earned by the sisters Louisa and Frederica from their marriages. Of course, the situation in Baden was better than that in Württemberg. At least because of Karl Frederick's neutral attitude of not helping either side, the French could not find any fault with him.

"Is this something that came with Grandpa's letter?"

"Yes, I think it has something to do with the territorial changes on the other side of the Rhine, perhaps."

Letters from relatives are also useful. The fact that the Marquis of Baden wrote to him at this time was also a reminder to his granddaughter's husband in St. Petersburg after the peace between France and Russia, and it would also help improve his granddaughter's status in the palace.

Louisa wrote frequently to her family. Her grandfather and mother knew that she had been wronged in St. Petersburg, but they had limited ways to help her, so they could only include these contents in their correspondence.

"At this time, Louisa, grandpa really helped a lot!"

Alexander knew that the French wanted to seek complete peace at this time and had to show goodwill to Russia. This could not be seen from other places, but Baden and Württemberg happened to be relatives of the Russian royal family, and the maiden homes of the Queen and the Empress Dowager.

As for the issue of schools, the university charter sent from Baden, together with the charters of schools such as the Sorbonne University in France brought back by Alexander's teacher Laharp from his visit to Switzerland, can all be used for reference.

As for the funding issue, he himself may have neglected it. The money saved by his wife can still be used to cover it.

At this time, Alexander felt that he owed Louisa a lot. A wife who loved writing letters could always bring him a lot of news from her distant parents' home. Especially since Baden was squatting at the doorstep of France, he could find a way to contact her at the slightest sign of trouble.

This kind of royal letter still has some immunity and privacy. For the sake of decency, the French will not check it easily, and they can inadvertently see a lot of useful information.

It also includes the fact that Alexandra finally arrived in Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg after going through untold hardships. This female poet who grew up in the court also mentioned in a letter to her mother and brother that she could not return to St. Petersburg to attend her brother and sister-in-law's coronation ceremony. William loved her very much, but the quack doctors in Stuttgart were not very reliable, so she hoped that her brother could send a reliable doctor to Württemberg.

The following is also about the story of Arkady Suvorov's former fiancée Wilhelmina, who was tortured to death by the doctors, but in the end nothing serious happened.

(End of this chapter)