Editorul A.F. Grekulov. Creionări de portret
The article sheds light on A.F. Grekulov, a multifaceted and complex figure, who made a significant contribution to the development of pedagogy, museology and photography in Bessarabia. But above all, he was a keen bibliophile. It was a famous publisher in Bessarabia of the Modern era. He can be called a polymath who had outstanding achievements in several fields of activity. However, he is one of those Bessarabian figures of the Modern era about whose life and works almost nothing has been written, although the archives contain a lot of unpublished materials about him. Public and private collections of the Republic of Moldova contain books and magazines published by A.F. Grekulov. This article attempts to sketch a portrait of A.F. Grekulov, highlighting, first of all, his activities as a publisher and educator and simultaneously touching on the topics of his passion for photography, his direct and indirect relationship to the politics of Bessarabia in 1917-1918, arrest in Moscow in 1924 and rehabilitation in 2003. экскурсии и школьный музей” (“School Excursions and the School Museum”), a member of the Association of Bessarabian Publishers, a member of the editorial board of the journal “Вестник Бессарабского земства” (“Bulletin of the Bessarabian Zemstvo”) and editor of the collection “Новая школа” (“New School”). The magazine “Школьные экскурсии и школьный музей” (“School Excursions and the School Museum”) was a professional periodical that occupied an important place in the Empire’s press. This museum and pedagogical magazine was published in 1913-1917. The purpose of this specialized publication was to inform teachers, museum workers, students and everyone interested in organizing museums and conducting excursions. The topics covered various types of activities: collecting, storage, restoration, teaching, working with visitors, etc. In addition to these topics, chronicles of important museum events were also published here. On the pages of the magazine, one could find materials about the activities of museum workers in Russia and European countries. It was a useful tool in the work of museums and a good educational aid. A.F. Grekulov conducted an intensive correspondence with Bessarabian intellectuals regarding the need to reform the education system. His discussions with Nicolae Alexandri and Paul Gore were focused on the need for teaching in the Bessarabian school in Romanian. A.F. Grekulov highly appreciated and promoted the works of these Bessarabian intellectuals. Within the Association of Bessarabian Publishers, he advocated the publication of textbooks and educational literature, and laid the foundations for the “New School” series. He published several textbooks, including “Приготовление препаратов” (“Preparation of Drugs”) (Bendery, 1915), “Устройство новой школы” (“Establishment of a New School”) (Chișinău, 1917), “Мои экскурсии с детьми” (“My Excursions with Children”) (Odessa, 1919), which are kept today in private and state collections of the Republic of Moldova and Russia. He also initiated public lectures on school reform, and later published them as separate works. This, although fragmentary, information from various sources, included in our article, may be of interest to history buffs, as well as serve as a valuable resource for professional researchers. This is just the beginning and deserves to be continued.
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