Russia’s Involuted Paths toward and within Educational Modernity

Abstract The articles in this cluster explore the past and present trajectories of educational change in Russia from the 18th century to the present day. The authors focus on the multiple social actors, visions, forces, and changes that in combination brought about Russia’s modern educational realities. The emphasis in these contributions is put upon the often-decisive role of local, grassroots-level actors vis-à-vis the state and its central apparatuses in modernizing the schools.1 We discuss the heterogeneity of modernizing projects, multi-directedness of their trajectories, and contradictory nature of their outcomes. This is why the title of our assemblage of articles refers to the involuted paths (plural) taken toward and within educational modernity. Intrinsic to our approach are comparative–historical and/or cross-national–perspectives that highlight both the distinctive nature of the Russia’s case and its similarities with developments elsewhere in the world.