A retrospective on care and denial of children with disabilities in Russia

Table 1.

Types of social care institutionsFunctions of the institutionsYear of foundationPrivately funded institutionsA medical-educational institution established by Dr. I.V.Malyarevskii in St. PetersburgThe improvement of children's medical health; education and upbringing with the aim of developing the interest and skills for a hard-working life1882A boarding school for mentally retarded children established by Professor Grigorii Troshin in Saint-PetersburgEducation, upbringing, training for a life of labour, but also the development of psychological understanding of the children1906A school–sanatorium for defective children established by Professor Vsevolod Kashchenko in MoscowTo give medical-pedagogical care, education, encourage the development of manual skills, research investigation of pupils, methodological development1908Public-philanthropic institutionsThe Asylum of St. Maria for mentally retarded children and the terminally ill established in MoscowEveryday childcare, familiarization with the church service in the chapel, teaching by special program1873Shelters of the charity organization
‘Brotherhood of the Queen of Heaven’: E.Gracheva's shelter
- in St. Petersburg
- in the province of Kursk
- in Moscow
- in VyatkaCharity, medical treatment, teaching, training of children in literacy and productive labour, schooling for religious rites1894
1902
1905
1907The Evangelical Refuge of Saint Emanuel for children with epilepsy and/or feeble-minded established in St. PetersburgEveryday childcare, schooling for religious rites in the chapel. Only for Lutheran children1881Philanthropic research institutionsPsycho neurological Institute founded by M.Bechterev:Epileptic clinic;Institute of morally defective children;Special Institute of child development studyComplex study of child’ early stages development, early upbringing, training of teachers;a clinical observation, a medical treatment, a labour therapy, training of child psychiatricians1907–1917
1912–1917Public pedagogical societies:The Society of education and upbringing of abnormal children, chaired by professor L.Blaumenau, S-Petersburg;The Society of experimental pedagogy, founded by A.Nechaev, S-Petersburg;The Moscow Teacher's house, MoscowScientific discussions of educational and upbringing methods for abnormal children; practical education and upbringing children1909–1910
1909–1917
1911–1917

Table 2.

People's commissariat of educationPeople's commissariat of healthPeople's commissariat of social affairs1917 – ‘School-sanitary Council’ with the subdivision Combat Child Defectiveness1917 – ‘School-sanitary Council’, with responsibility for organizing public catering and hygiene1917–1918 – Private charity and philanthropic institutions are transformed into state institutionsOctober 1918 – Subdivision of social upbringing. Transference of all educational institutions from the Commissariat of Social Affairs to the Commissariat of Education1918 – ‘School-sanitary Council’ with the subdivision Combat Child Defectiveness, whose function is to make recommendations for committing mentally retarded and morally defective children to institutions1918 – Custody of the feeble-minded1919 – The first special state schools (vspomogatelnii shkoli) are established for mentally retarded children.
A medical-pedagogical consultation unit is attached to the ‘Childcare Department’ with its main function to give methodological support to educational institutions through specified literature, instructions, curricula, etc.1919 – The Council of Child Protection is established with the function of providing children with food, clothes and accommodation1920 – Establishment of baby homes1920 – Adults and children with learning disabilities (the feeble-minded, idiots) as well as the blind and the deaf are transferred to the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Social Welfare1921 – Department of Social and Legal Protection of Minors established1921 – The Commission to Combat Hunger starts relocating children from territories suffering starvation to other territoriesSome reform examples 1920 – 1931:
1920 – By the Decree ‘On coordination of functions between the People's Commissariats of Education and of Health’: Those ‘incapable of learning’ – whether adult or children – are together with the deaf and the blind placed under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Social Affairs. Any treatment and teaching in these cases becomes secondary to the task of custody.1926 – The first Acts passed on types of special institutions: children's homes for preschool children; schools with and without boarding facilities for school-age children; schools with professional-technical orientation for teens, with and without boarding; schools with and without boarding for children of different ages; special groups (vspomogatelnii gruppi) for children and teens at ordinary schools.1926 – ‘On the selection of children for placement in special institutions’ (vspomogatelnii uchrezhdenia)1928 – Establishment of a five-year school for the mentally retarded (vspomogatelnaia shkola).1931 – General compulsory education for defective children; a special school for the mentally retarded (vspomogatelnaya shkola) becomes a seven-year factory school.

Table 3.

Pre-revolutionary1917–19361936 constitutionEvents1880–1917. Agrarian society but growing conflicts in urban areas. New social movements. Riots. World War I.
October revolutionWorld War I ends. Civil war. Stalin's terrorThe Stalinist system consolidated.
The Constitution of Victorious SocialismType of state leadershipTsarist monarchyDifferent political voices, more and more eradicated by the BolsheviksCommunist Party hegemony (Constitution ‘Rukovodjashee jadro’ [leading core])IdeologyIdealist position heritage of powers (social position given by divine rights)Experimental, dream of homo sovieticusDogmatic materialist (Marxism-leninism) The collective is important. Enforcement of a work ethicChildren and disabilityChildren with disabilities mostly kept at home but growing ideas of different upbringing and education from philanthropistsThousands of homeless children. Socialist humanism, collective upbringing, extensive use of institutional care and/or camps/coloniesAmong disabled children, educable children go to boarding schools, non-educable children to other institutionsScience related to disabilityPluralistic: psychology, pedology, defectology
Strong behaviouristic tradition from PavlovStrong pedagogic influence; VygotskyScience subordinated to politics; psychology more behaviouristic, pedology expelled, defectology increasingly importantActors in disability careMostly philanthropicPhilanthropic and StateState control, basically through People's CommissariatsInternational contacts/influences within disability careScientific exchanges with for example other European countries, such as Germany and FranceDeclining number of international scientific contactsMore isolated, less foreign influence