Valentina Avstrits

Valentina Avstrits (5th/18th of November 1884, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire – 25th of September 1970, Polish People's Republic) – a teacher of Russian language and literature.

Valentina Avstrits (born Preobrazhensky)  – a teacher of Russian language and literature in Riga city Russian Gymnasium (former Lomonosov), daughter of hereditary honourable citizen of Tula.

In June 1901 V. Avstrits finished the courses of Tula Eparchy female school with the right to be a home teacher. In January 1904 she was appointed by Agafangel, Bishop of  Riga and Mitau as a teacher of drawing and senior mentor at Ilukste Female School, where she worked till 1910 and deserved praise. 1910 was a dramatic year in her life - she left for Juryev (Tartu) with an intention to receive higher education. In 1915 she finished Higher Female Courses of the Slavonic-Russian department at the faculty of History and Philology.

In 1916/1917 she was working at Private Female secondary school in Juryev (Tatru), and in 1920s she was the only female teacher of Russian language and literature with higher education in Latvia.

The diploma of Higher Female Courses was equal to the diploma of the University of Latvia.

During the Second World War Avstrits, together with her family, moved to Poland, but after the war she returned to Riga and taught Russian language and literature at Riga Pedagogical Institute.

She retired and went to Poland, where she died in 1970.

Svetlana Kovaltchuk

Sources of information:

ЛГИА, ф. 1632, оп. 1, д.1 068.

ЛГИА, ф. 2996, оп. 1, д. 21340.

Воспоминания Б.В. Плюханова об учителях Рижской городской русской гимназии (бывшей Ломоносовской).

Рижская городская русская гимназия (бывшая Ломоносовская) 1919-1935. - Рига, 1999