Novhorod-Siverskyi Gymnasium

Novhorod-Siverskyi Gymnasium (Новгород-Сіверська гімназія; Novhorod-Siverska himnaziia). One of the older institutions of secondary education in Ukraine, located in Novhorod-Siverskyi, now in Chernihiv oblast. It was founded in 1804 on the basis of the main public school, which had been opened in 1789. The gymnasium was opened on the initiative of the Novhorod-Siverskyi patriotic circle, a group of Ukrainian autonomists in Novhorod-Siverskyi in the late 18th century whose agenda highlighted education. The gymnasium was a center of advanced learning for Chernihiv gubernia for many years. Its first director, Ivan Khalansky, was succeeded by Illia Tymkivsky. The gymnasium produced many important graduates, including Mykhailo Maksymovych, Konstantin Ushinsky, Pavlo Zablotsky-Desiatovsky, Panteleimon Kulish, and Mykola Kybalchych. After the Revolution of 1917 the gymnasium was transformed into a regular secondary school.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]