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A remarkable piece of history — a personal student diary/planner ("Товарищъ. Календарь для учащихся на 1916–1917 уч. г.") published by the Otto Kirchner Publishing House, Petrograd, cleared by wartime military censorship on February 2, 1916. This was the 33rd annual edition of this popular pre-revolutionary Russian student almanac.
Provenance & History
This copy belonged to a student ("воспитанник") of the 7th Kiev Gymnasium, 6th grade, whose name and Kiev address (B. Vasilkovskaya St.) are handwritten on the flyleaf, along with personal details — birth record, height, chest measurement, character self-assessment ("excellent"), and favorite hero of Russian history (Peter the Great). The diary spans the 1916–1917 school year — the exact period of the Russian Revolution. A telling detail: next to the printed reference to Nicholas II in the Romanov genealogy pages, someone later added the handwritten dates "1894–1917," marking the end of his reign — a small but poignant trace of history unfolding in real time in a schoolchild's hands.
What's inside
• Embossed cloth cover, "Товарищъ на 1916/17 г."
• Fold-out color map, "Карта Европейской России" (Map of European Russia), scale 1:16,800,000, published by Kulchitsky, Petrograd
• Handwritten class schedule (Latin, French, German, English, Algebra, Geometry, Physics, History, Scripture Law, etc.)
• Orthodox Church calendar for 1916–1917 with imperial family name days marked
• Personal record pages ("Я" / "About Me")
• Essay topic log with handwritten grades
• Romanov dynasty genealogy chart with period annotations
• Printed advertisement page (eraser ad with rabbit illustration)
• Many blank reference sections (correspondence log, library catalog, excursion schedule, etc.)
Condition
Antique, well over 100 years old — expected wear: cloth cover worn at corners and spine, foxing and toning to pages, a few small tears/separations at the map fold and title page, sewing/binding visible but holding. Sold as-is, as a genuine historical artifact, not a reproduction.
Why it matters
A rare, tangible survival from the last school year of Imperial Russia before the collapse of the monarchy — a genuine primary-source artifact touched by a real student living through 1917.
