Material well-being of a person from science can be achieved in different ways. This includes a stable income from the results of scientific and pedagogical activities, various additional payments for scientific supervision of research, peer review of dissertations, tutoring, etc. Additional income can be generated by assets placed in banks, savings or investments of their savings in the stock market. And these are far from all the ways and means of achieving financial independence at all times. Many professors had such opportunities during the time of the Russian Empire. However, contrary to popular belief, university professors did not have huge incomes and were not involved in entrepreneurial activities. And, I think, not because they did not know how to do it or did not know how to organize their business. It was just that this was not accepted in the intelligent scientific environment of the Russian professors. And the hereditary nobility acquired along with the professorship obliged them to comply with the class norms of ethics and behavior. At the same time, one must take into account the fact that by the beginning of the 20th century, only about 33% of people from hereditary nobles remained among the Russian professors. The rest of the professors had this new-found estate state. According to A. E. Ivanov, obtained in the analysis of the "List of persons serving under the Ministry of Public Education for 1917", only 12.6% of full-time university professors owned real estate in the form of land ownership and houses. Among them there were only 6, 3% landowners. And only one professor owned an estate of 6 thousand dessiatines.
In other words, most of the professors had their main income only in the form of salaries received from the Ministry of Education. Other income was less significant and consisted of various university fees, royalties for public lectures, published books, etc.
Science service pay
According to its administrative and legal status, the professorial corps of the higher school of the empire constituted a special category of civil bureaucracy. While in the public service, in accordance with the law, they were rewarded for diligence and blameless service with ranks, orders, higher positions and salaries. It should be noted that material well-being depended not only on this. An important circumstance was the very place of scientific service. The best conditions were enjoyed by the professors of the capital's imperial universities. In provincial universities and other higher educational institutions, salaries were significantly lower, as were the opportunities for scientific and teaching activities. This situation gave rise to a chronic shortage of PhDs in professorial vacancies at provincial universities. Often, professorships there were held by masters with training in the profile of the faculty.
It should be borne in mind that the authorities did not always show due concern for the material well-being of the professors. Thus, it took more than three decades after the adoption of the first university Charter (from 1804 to 1835) to increase the professors' salary by 2 and a quarter. Almost the same number of years passed when, in accordance with the next, third edition of the Charter in 1863, the salary increased by 2, 3 times. However, the new University Charter, adopted in 1884, kept the official salaries at the same rate. The professors did not receive the salary increase expected for more than 20 years. The salaries of university professors still remained at the following levels: an ordinary professor received 3,000 rubles, and an extraordinary (freelance) only 2,000 rubles a year. At the same time, professors who simultaneously held administrative positions at the university had an additional payment to the professors' salary. The rector received an additional 1,500 rubles, and the dean of the faculty 600 rubles a year.
A certain help for the professors' budget was the introduction of a fee system in accordance with the University Charter of 1884. Its meaning was that the professor was paid extra for each student at his lectures by 1 ruble. for a weekly hour. Payments were made from funds contributed by students for the right to attend and take tests for a specific training course. The amount of the fee depended mainly on the number of students enrolled and, as a rule, did not exceed 300 rubles. in year. According to A. Shipilov, the average salary of a professor's salary at that time was 3,300 rubles. per year or 275 rubles. per month. In the professorship itself, the practice of fees was treated differently. The largest payments were made to legal and medical professors, as the law and medical faculties were the most popular. At the same time, professors of less popular specialties had very insignificant royalties.
At the same time, there were territories within which there were increased payments of salaries and wages. For example, in accordance with the legislation, such benefits were provided in Siberia, so the professors of Tomsk University received a salary of one and a half. And for 5 and 10 years of service in a professorial position, they were entitled to an increase - respectively 20% and 40% of the regular salary. Higher salaries were also paid to professors at the University of Warsaw.
However, this was not the case everywhere. Significant differences in the material support of professors of metropolitan and provincial universities were also noted by the commission created at the end of the 19th century to transform the universities of the empire. So, in the report of a member of the commission, Professor G. F. Voronoi "On the salaries and pensions of university professors" provided data on the material condition of the family of an unnamed professor of Kharkov University for the period from 1892 to 1896. A professorial family of 4 people (a husband, a wife and two teenage children of different sexes) spent about 350 rubles a month only for urgent needs. During the year, the amount was collected within 4200 rubles. These expenses were not covered by the professors' salary. The table of average expenditures for this family given in the report shows how the family budget was distributed approximately. The largest monthly expenses were for groceries - more than 94 rubles, renting housing - over 58 rubles, incidental expenses (repairs, washing, distribution "for vodka", etc.) - about 45 rubles, clothes and shoes - 40 rubles, the payment of a servant - 35 rubles. About 23 rubles a month were spent on teaching children and books. It should be noted that since 1908, professors' children who studied at the university were exempted from tuition fees.
The professors' salary was increased by 50% only in January 1917, when the cost of living in the empire rose sharply as a result of the First World War. Therefore, the raging inflation in the country immediately depreciated the long-awaited increase in monetary content.
Preferential professorial pensions
Everything is relative. And in pension matters too. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, a military rank had to serve in the army for 35 years in order to receive a pension in the amount of a full monetary allowance. For the length of service from 25 to 34 years, a half-size pension was awarded. At the same time, a professor with 25 years of service in an educational or scientific department received a full pension in the amount of a salary. And for 30 years of blameless service, the professor was entitled to a pension in the amount of full allowance, which included salary, apartment and canteen payments. However, such privileges extended only to professors of the imperial universities.
All questions on the appointment of pensions were set out in the "Charter on pensions and lump-sum benefits for the scientific and educational department" and in separate provisions that supplemented it. According to general rules, upon resignation, a professor could count on the next rank or on other encouragement or reward.
By the way, the pension to the professors of the Women's Pedagogical Institute of the Department of Institutions of the Empress Maria (VUIM) was assigned on special conditions. After 25 years in the educational service, the professor could be left for another 5 years. It was possible to extend it for the next five years. A professor who served for 30 years received a pension instead of maintenance. In addition, he was assigned a monetary reward of 1,200 rubles per year at the expense of the salary for the position held for a period of 5 years.
At the same time, full members of the Academy of Sciences and their families enjoyed the pension rights granted to university professors and their families. Special privileges extended only to those who received pensions from the Academy of Sciences - they continued to receive it even when traveling abroad.
Pension privileges for honored professors
University charters provided for the right of professors' colleges to elevate to the "highest academic degree of honorary doctorate" without any tests and dissertations "famous scientists who have become famous for their scientific work." According to the Russian historian A. E. Ivanov, there were about 100 such "honorary doctors" in Russian universities. However, these high-profile academic titles did not provide any special privileges or benefits.
Receiving special titles was much more attractive for professors. At the end of the 19th century, the title of "Honorary Professor" was established in some Russian universities. The professor could become its owner only after having worked for 25 years in teaching positions at one university. At the same time, the imperial universities had the honorary title "Honored Professor", which eventually became generally recognized among all universities in the empire. Those awarded this title were the elite of the professors of the Russian Empire.
In addition to recognizing the merits and respect of colleagues, such a title gave quite tangible retirement privileges. At the same time, they were presented only upon resignation and compulsory length of service of at least 25 years in positions in the scientific and educational part. At the same time, in recent years it was necessary to serve in professorships. The main advantage of honored professors was that when they returned to the head of the department or when they entered any other service, they retained a pension in excess of the salary they received.
Other professors with equal length of service, but did not have such a title, continued to serve at the university at retirement age, did not receive pensions in excess of their regular salary. Even in cases where they were allowed by law to combine the payment of pensions and receiving salaries, ordinary professors were allowed to receive only half of their assigned pension.
However, all retired professors retained the rights to order pensions. The size of the pension payment depended on the status of the order and its degree. Therefore, payments for orders sometimes varied significantly. For example, a person awarded with the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree was given 86 rubles, and the holder of the Order of St. Vladimir of the 1st degree received an order pension in the amount of 600 rubles. It is worth noting that many of the professors were awarded orders. For example, according to the historian M. Gribovsky, out of 500 full-time professors and teachers who served at domestic universities in the 1887/88 academic year, 399 people had these or those orders.
In the event of resignation due to "completely upset in the service of health", the full pension was assigned to the professor with a length of service of 20 years. If the disease was recognized as incurable, then the pension was assigned even earlier: with a seniority of up to 10 years in the amount of a third of the pension, two-thirds of the length of service up to 15 years and a full pension with a seniority of over 15 years.
It should be noted that the pension rules for professors of other state (departmental) and private higher educational institutions were different. Often, only the size of the staff salary of the head of a particular educational institution was indicated, and from it was counted for professors and other positions of a given university. For example, the director of the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry in New Alexandria could count on a pension from a salary of 3,500 rubles.
A number of departmental, religious and private educational institutions had their own pension rules. For example, since the church was not separated from the state, the professors of theology of theological academies of the department of the Orthodox confession also received pensions from the treasury. The right to a pension for educational service in theological academies was acquired according to the general rule. The length of service of 25 years or more determined the full salary of the pension, for service from 20 to 25 years the pension was assigned in half.
Elite of Distinguished Professors and Their Fates
Among the honored professors of St. Petersburg University, for example, at one time were the famous historian and archaeologist Nikodim Pavlovich Kondakov, the outstanding Russian botanist Andrey Nikolayevich Beketov, the historian Ivan Petrovich Shulgin. All of them rose to the rank of privy councilor in the scientific and pedagogical field and were repeatedly awarded orders of the empire. In addition, Shulgin and Beketov in different years were rectors of the capital's university.
At Moscow University, among the honored professors of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, world famous scientists worked. Among them were the founder of aerodynamics, the actual state councilor Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky, the famous historian Privy Councilor Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, the founder of many areas in medicine, physiology and psychology, the actual state councilor Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov, the recognized Russian historian Privy Councilor Sergei Mikhailovich Soloviev. All of them gained worldwide fame as outstanding Russian scientists.
As a rule, all holders of the title "Honored Professor" were simultaneously members of academies in their scientific profile and actively participated in the social and charitable life of the empire. True, there were among the elite "honored" and those who tried to combine scientific and pedagogical work with political activity. Among them are such well-known names of the outstanding Moscow professor - naturalist and researcher of photosynthesis Kliment Arkadievich Timiryazev, as well as the Honored Professor and then Rector of Tomsk University, the famous botanist and geographer Vasily Vasilyevich Sapozhnikov. Both professors took the most direct part in the political life of the country after the October events of 1917. True, on different sides of class confrontation. Timiryazev, who previously shared Marxist ideas, joined the Bolsheviks. And Sapozhnikov took the post of Minister of Public Education in the government of Admiral Kolchak.
Some representatives of the “professorship elite”, finding themselves in an extremely difficult life situation, chose the path to emigration. There were many who simply did not survive the war and revolutionary hard times. Be that as it may, the Russian state suffered irreparable losses for the scientific gene pool and lost its former leadership positions in a number of scientific areas.
Nowadays, the honorary title of Honored Professor has been returned to scientific and pedagogical practice. For example, since December 1992, it has again been included in the award system of Moscow University. The title "Honored Professor of Moscow State University" is awarded by the Academic Council of the University to professors who have an uninterrupted 25-year scientific and pedagogical experience of service within the walls of Moscow State University. At the same time, you must have worked as a professor for at least 10 years. The recipient is awarded a corresponding diploma and an award badge.
