Reviews of the Regions of the Russian Empire as a Historical Source on the History of Education (on the Example of the Regions of the Steppe Territory and Turkestan)

Reviews of the provinces and regions of the Russian Empire (appendices to the reports of governors) are a comprehensive source on the history of the regions. As the official statistical publication, the reviews are controversially assessed by historians for the reliability of the data. However, comparisons with other sources, as well as critical analysis, allow researchers to view the survey as a representative source. The article analyzes the source potential of reviews as a source on the history of the development of education in the outskirts territories of the Russian Empire. The characteristics of the information contained in the source on the development of education are given. As a result of working with the source, a set of issues in the field of education development that should be considered using the survey data as an independent or auxiliary source (quantitative growth of educational institutions, students, development of the network of educational institutions, its structure, features). The requirements for the structure of gubernatorial reports and their appendices were established at the beginning of the 19th century. However, the structure of reviews and the information presented in them differs significantly depending on the year or region. Matching of the information with other sections of the source and the historical context of the period under review allow us to conclude that the reviews in the education section are highly informative.