THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RELIGIOUS-EDUCATIONAL IDEAS OF NIKOLAI NEPLYUEV IN THE PRACTICE OF HIS AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS

Introduction. Nikolay Neplyuev (1851–1908) was a descendant of an ancient noble family and a unique religious and social thinker. At the end of the 19th century, he used his wealth and his vast estate to launch a unique social-religious experiment by building a co-operative agrarian-religious-educational community called the Khrestovosdyzhensk Labour Brotherhood (KLB).He considered education to be an important structural component of any system of forming a new person and a new society. In order to realize his ideas, he established a number of educational institutions within the KLB. The pedagogical analyses of Neplyuev's practices helps to identify the central contradiction between the goal of Christian education, as seen by Neplyuev and the existent level of forming children's personalities through formal education in the late 19th century.The pedagogical views and educational activities of Neplyuev remained for a long time away from the attention of historians of education, a fact which is unjustified when measured against the originality of his approaches and the results of the educational activities he introduced. Purpose. To analyze the original pedagogical ideas of Mykola Neplyuev and the practice of their implementation in the content of the activities of the educational institutions he founded. Methods. In the process of studying the pedagogical creativity of Neplyuev, various general research methods were employed (e.g.: analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization),which have made it possible to observe the principles of his scientific approach, objectivity and historicism. Also was used the problem-search method, textual analysis of archival documents, classification of historiography and a source base of research procured through these classifications. Synchronous and diachronous analysis has made it possible to find the value-based, organizational, content-processing, educational and management aspects of the educational process at the schools of Neplyuev. Results. Neplyuev built the basis for the realization of his pedagogical ideas on the following principles: 1) One can succeed only if one starts with the child's education, as only children's' minds are capable of perception of new ideas about a better quality of life; 2) the foundations of education and the existence of the new community should be grounded in the fundamental moral principles based on the system of Orthodox Christian values; 3) Neplyuev proclaimed “Love” to be the main defining quality, condition and central paradigm of his program. He included the highest Orthodox doctrinal principles and “sacred meanings” into this concept: Love for the Creator's love for man and love of nature. He believed that this feeling required special care, education, great effort of will and discipline to achieve stable expression and preservation; 4) Neplyuev took the position that upbringing, education, organization of life and work should be based on high culture; 5) Neplyuev considered creativity, creative work and a joyful attitude to work to be one of the main conditions for a happy life; 6) High quality human relationships are only possible in conditions where high levels of social responsibility for all members of the community to each other exist; 7) Neplyuev considered equal rights in the distribution of the fruits of labor to be the most effective and easiest way to facilitate human moral betterment; 8) from the very beginning, the Khrestovosdyzhensk Labour Brotherhood proclaimed absolute freedom of entry and exit. Сonclusion. It is quite reasonable at present to pay attention to the figure of Neplyuev, who created a new model of social labour structure as well as a new system of forming the human personality. Although they are, to some extent contradictory and ambiguously perceived, they are based on the eternal values of Orthodoxy.