A woman in search of knowledge: a social portrait of female students at the Moscow Higher Women's Courses (1900-1917)

The article is dedicated to the study of the socio-demographic composition of the students of the Moscow Higher Women's Courses (MHWC) between 1900–1917, the creation of their social portrait, and the analysis of its dynamics during this period. The subject of the study is the social portrait of the MHWC students as a reflection of the processes of social mobility and the transformation of gender roles in early 20th-century Russian society. The object of the study is the women who received higher education in pre-revolutionary Russia, as well as the socio-cultural and institutional conditions that determined women's access to education. The author examines in detail the correlation between the social background of female students, their educational preferences, and their choice of career path. Special attention is paid to identifying trends in the composition of female students and their significance for the development of women's higher education in Russia. The study is based on archival materials, including 29,775 personal files of female students at the Guerrier's courses.