According to the order of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR No. 1287 dated April 26, 1930 on the establishment of sectoral institutes in the country, a Textile Institute (now St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technology and Design) with two faculties - technological and economic — is being organized on the basis of Technological and Polytechnic institutes that existed in Leningrad.
The contingent of the new university was formed from 253 students admitted in 1930, as well as 213 people transferred from the Institute of Technology, 62 from the Polytechnic, 45 from the Institute of Industry and Labor. So on September 1, 1930, LTI had 573 students.
In the received and equipped building on Herzen Street, 18 (now Bolshaya Morskaya Street), an "Educational combine" is organized as part of a Textile Institute, a Textile college, a Textile labor faculty for the preparation of applicants, a course base for advanced training and courses for the training of business managers. By 1931, the university had 1,764 students.
LTI students, 1931
The country has not yet sufficiently developed a new system for organizing the educational process in universities, and there was a constant need to revise curricula. The training of knitting manufacturing engineers provided at the Institute had to be canceled due to the lack of teaching staff in Leningrad to read special courses, and students accepted to this specialty were sent to the Moscow Textile Institute to complete their education.
In turn, a group of third-year economics engineers from the Ivanovo Textile Institute arrived at LTI for further training. Scientific research was being organized, the publication of textbooks and manuals increased, and students were taught to work independently with literature. The organization of student scientific circles, which were led by the most qualified teachers, became very important. About 80% of the students took part in them.
The structure of the student body at that time was peculiar: 68% were workers, then party members and professional students — 25%, others — 7%. According to the level of education, the bulk were students who entered from the labor faculty and courses — 92%, and after school and college — 8%. There were slightly more men than women — 53%. The predominant student workers were already adults, and rather poorly prepared, but they were purposeful and persistent in their desire to master science.
Students in the LETI reading room
The educational process at LTI
Russian language tests showed a low general education level of students, which revealed a bleak picture of literacy and speech culture of many students — only 10% of them were exempted from Russian language classes. To help improve the level of education of students, an additional 75 hours of Russian classes were added to the curricula.
Graduate students with the public of LETI at a meeting over a cup of tea
114 graduation group of the LTI Faculty of Labor, June 29, 1932
The increased attention to the workers, the organization of social competition and percussion were supposed to help rebuild the educational regime of the Institute. In addition, many students who already had work experience in public organizations before admission were extremely overloaded with public duties, which greatly distracted them from their studies. This was noticed at the highest level, as indicated in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) "On streamlining the social workloads of university and technical school students", adopted in August 1933. SO the administration issued an order stating that each student can have only one public assignment. Graduate students were exempt from any public work, and the duration of meetings and meetings was limited.
In the Laboratory for Fiber research, 1933
Exam
Such a form of struggle for academic performance as friendly academic assistance through the attachment of excellent students to the laggards was popular. It was also decided to hold consultations on how to listen and record lectures, how to work independently on a book, how to organize your time and how to prepare for tests and exams. To combat underachieving students, "Study Storms" were even carried out.
The struggle for the quality of educational activities was crowned with success: LTI was awarded a prize at the All-Union review competition of the country's universities. For example, in the 1934-1935 academic year, the average academic performance at the Institute was quite low — 3.7, and the grades received at the diploma defense for "excellent" and "good" were 70%.
Those who graduated from the Institute with honors were awarded the title of engineer with a diploma of the first degree. According to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, all holders of such a diploma enjoyed the preferential right to occupy vacant positions at work in their specialty and in research work at universities and research institutes, to enroll in graduate school and to be included in scientific trips at home and abroad.
Since December 1930, the Institute began publishing a large-circulation newspaper "Osnova", which raised urgent and topical issues of institute life. She covered the learning experience, mobilized the team to improve the level of education of students, published materials from the best students and excellent students about the organization of their independent work. At that time, employees with long experience in party work were usually appointed to the positions of responsible editors of the newspaper. In 1933, Alexey Kosygin, secretary of the LTI party bureau, a student of the weaving faculty, who later became an outstanding statesman and Prime Minister of the USSR, was appointed executive editor of Osnovy.
A.N.Kosygin — Executive editor of the institute newspaper "Osnova"
Each faculty of LTI also published its own student wall newspaper. All of them, colorfully decorated, contained materials about educational and public affairs, critical articles about economic problems, the results of competitions for the best dorm room with photos of these rooms. Wall newspapers were issued on the dates of public holidays, New Year, March 8, the dates of state elections and the characteristics of candidates. Newspapers were posted in institutes in places where it was possible not only to read them, but also to discuss them.
The student councils did a lot of work at LTI, they organized "red corners", libraries at dormitories, cleaning rooms, clean-up days and dealt with household issues.
Student councils did a lot of work at LTI, they organized "red corners", libraries at dormitories, cleaning rooms, clean-up days and dealt with household issues.
The Institute was one of the first in Leningrad to create a University of Culture for the aesthetic education of students, in which famous historical scientists, people's artists, including academician-historian E.V. Tarle, Professor V.O. Pryanishnikov, People's Artist of the USSR Monakhov, theater and film actor N. Cherkasov and many others performed. The staff and students took an active part in its work.
Meeting with the actor of theater and cinema N.Cherkasov at LTI
The Komsomol organization of the Institute played an important role in the development of the university's students — it organized political circles, debates on various issues, patronage assistance to the village, sports sections — parachute and glider clubs. On February 1, 1935, the All-Union Winter Sports Contest of Educational Institutions of the People's Commissariat of Light Industry was held in Moscow, in which 14 educational institutions took part. Competitions were held in shooting, skiing, ice skating, gymnastics, ice skating and checkers. After a hard struggle, LTI took the first place, receiving a rolling Red Banner and a cash prize of 20 thousand rubles for the deployment of physical education work.
In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Komsomol in 1933, the Government of the country established 250 increased scholarships (Stalin's) for the best students of universities and higher education institutions of the Soviet Union. Several scholarships out of this amount were allocated to LTI students.
From 1930 to 1935, the hard work of LTI students and teachers was not ignored:
- By order of the People's Commissar Lyubimov on December 20, 1933, the Institute was awarded 200,000 rubles for exemplary work on diploma design;
- In 1934, LTI received the second prize for universities of the People's Commissariat of Light Industry;
- In 1935, he was awarded by the main directorate of educational institutions of the People's Commissariat of Light Industry in the amount of 55 thousand rubles for academic success.
In addition to studying, the students had a busy extracurricular life. They celebrated public holidays, March 8, New Year. This is what the institute's newspaper "Osnova" wrote on January 14, 1936:
"By the evening of the New Year's Eve on December 31, 1935, an exhibition of 35 wall newspapers from all faculties, dormitories, as well as newspapers of employees and teachers was launched in the assembly hall. The director of the Institute has released 2,500 rubles for the New Year tree. A group of activists of the student trade union committee bought a Christmas tree, toys, and gifts, organizing a children's holiday on January 1. 300 children of students and staff from 3 to 10 years old had fun in the assembly hall, and at the end of the holiday they received gifts."
From the first days of the LTI's existence, the tradition of solemnly honoring female employees, teachers and students was established. The newspaper "Osnova" of March 5, 1932 writes:
"For the International Women's Day, a commission was established at the local committee to carry out preparatory work. Female drummers (workers and students) will be awarded on March 8 with pieces of wool or silk on a dress. As a reward, one of them will be accepted into the party. A solemn meeting, a concert will be held, a festive wall newspaper will be released, tickets for students to the Drama Theater and radio theater will be bought."
The newspaper "Osnova" dated March 8, 1936:
"Rest evenings dedicated to International Women's Day are held in the red corners of student dormitories. In the assembly hall of the Institute there is a festive evening for women on invitation cards of the Local Committee, bonuses and treats. For excellent students, there is a cultural trip to the theater for the play "The Death of the squadron".
The LTI actively operated a choral studio, a theater group, a dance studio, a jazz orchestra, and a brass band. On February 26, 1939, the People's Commissar of the Textile Industry, A.N. Kosygin (a graduate of LTI), announced an All-Union competition for the best song about textile workers. 200 works were submitted to the competition, 26 of them were selected by the competition commission for the collection. The first prize was awarded for the song "Stakhanovka" to the poet Blagov and the composer Prokofiev. The second prize was awarded to two students of the Leningrad Textile Institute for the song "Our Banner" (words by Mikhail Brum, music by Alexander Turgel) with a cash prize of 2000 rubles.
In 1934, for the recreation of students and teachers during the winter and summer holidays, a Rest house of the Textile Institute was organized in the village of Tolmachevo on the banks of the Luga River. The 150-bed holiday home has played a great wellness role for students. Up to 600 people rested there every year, and in the summer there was a kindergarten for 30 children. A subsidiary farm was also organized, providing meat and milk not only to the Recreation Center, but also to the institute canteen. Students were allowed to earn extra money in the summer in a subsidiary farm. In 1935, the Institute acquired another Holiday Home on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in the village of Ollila (now Solnechnoye).
In 1935, 9 of the best student-athletes received permits to a high-altitude training camp in Teberda with climbing Elbrus.
In 1939-40, with the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war, in addition to enhanced military training of students at the LTI, which included combined arms training, small arms and motor vehicles, tactical classes, mass defense training was introduced. In the educational process, there are: fire fighting, medical and sanitary, anti-chemical, sapper-restorative, communication. One day of the six-day training program is devoted to mass defense work, and once a month the entire Institute participates in a "Physical Education Day".
A group of LTI students who have completed military training
At the trainings of the LTI national shooting team
In 1939, the Institute took 1st place among Leningrad universities in physical education and mass defense work. 150 students are drafted into the ski battles of the Red Army, they retain a 100% scholarship. Nursing courses are organized. In December 1939, a jazz orchestra brigade of 13 students conducted 11 concert performances in units of the active Red Army. Due to the strained financial situation at the Institute, staff is being cut, and the remaining ones are getting a salary cut. Students are charged a 30% increase in the cost of living in a hostel. According to the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 1860 dated 10/22/1940 on the establishment of tuition fees at universities and changing the procedure for awarding scholarships, an order is issued in the LTI, according to which the scholarship is awarded only to excellent students, it is prohibited to retake the exam for an increased grade. Admission to the institute building is made on student tickets with the presentation of a receipt for the payment of tuition fees. Those who could not pay were deducted. One of the dormitories of the institute was closed.
The Great Patriotic War was six months away...