“The Most Remote Household of Science”: the West Siberian Experience of Educational Colonization

Public education was as important military structure, entrepreneurship, and missionary work in developing frontier territories, all of which were used tools colonization by modern empires. Imperial experience includes both external internal colonization. This article presents a social historical reconstruction the educational Western Siberia, considered longest most extensive example Russian Empire. Colonial/peripheral universities essential to this process, serving advocates agents decolonization different circumstances. The analyzes origins higher drawing on discussions about nature soon-to-be Siberian university. Some discussants envisioned an authentic people's, “rustic” university, while others pictured particularly classical institution education. author concludes that two models organizing peripheral university took shape at turn 20th century first model involved creation green-field sending teachers from metropolitan periphery, is how Tomsk University established. second model, contrary, normal schools place base for establishing universities. Later, Soviet Union, primarily establish institutions regions.