The name of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov is known primarily thanks to his brilliant son, who made a revolution in Russia - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin).
However, Ilya Nikolayevich himself was an outstanding person for his time, a famous reformer of the education 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, which 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 that frees him from serfdom, but did not get it. 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 they became free from the landowner.
The head of the family mastered the tailoring craft, built a house, and the family lived more or less well off. However, when Ilya was 5 years old, his father was gone, 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, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, where he became close to the outstanding scientist N. I. Lobachevsky. Already at the university, Ilya received 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 Noble 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 develop his theory of pedagogy.
The talented scientist was noticed, and in 1863 he was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod as a teacher in a men's gymnasium. And they also gave a job in several educational institutions in parallel. This helped Ulyanov to study the education system in different institutions and begin to create his own pedagogical system in accordance with his views.
Reform of public education
Seven years later, in 1869, by order of the Ministry of Public Education, Ilya Nikolaevich 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 implement the education system that he had been creating for many years. After studying the state of the schools, he attracted the progressive people of the province to his side and began a 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 Poretsk Teachers' Seminary, which trained professional teachers. They were called so - "Ulyanovsk people". Before that, schools were taught by self-taught or priests who were not highly educated.
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.
Personal life
While in Penza, Ilya Nikolaevich met Maria Alexandrovna Blank, with whom he lived until the end of his days.
In this marriage, six children were born, most of whom became convinced revolutionaries, fighters against the tsarist autocracy.
The most famous of them are Vladimir and Alexander Ulyanov.
Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov died in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), at the age of 54. In the cities where he worked, monuments were erected to him, in Simbirsk there is a cabinet in which the scientist worked on his education system. The contribution that he made to the education of Russia was appreciated already during his lifetime, and is also highly appreciated by our contemporaries.
