The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.
The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.
The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."
On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.
This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.
Галина Кущ, Гульнара Джумабекова, Сергей Демиденко, Галия Базарбаева
A Late Bronze Age hoard with a riveted vessel from East Kazakhstan
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Keywords: East Kazakhstan, Bronze Age, hoard, metal tools, cauldron.
Abstract: This article presents a hoard of the Bronze Age metal objects found in the East Kazakhstan region. Paralels to the items from the hoard are found among antiquities of the Andronovo culture of the Altai, the Tien Shan area, Jetysu, Xinjiang. The assemblage from Zaisan published here enlarged the group of hoards typical for the Late Bronze Age. The most interesting objects among the ones included in the hoard are the riveted cauldron and the axe with curved butt and grid decoration.
Archaeological studies revealed the wide distribution of axes with curved butts that allow us to consider them as characteristic instruments of the Late Bronze Age period in the areas of East Kazakhstan, the Altai, Jetysu, Central Asia, and the northern part of Central Asia. Researchers came to the conclusion that this type of axes can be dated to the 12th - 9th (poss. 8th) centuries BC.
Metal vessels of the Late Bronze Age (especially, the copper ones) are rarely found in the eastern part of the Euasian steppes. Besides the cauldron described in the article, some metal vessels were discovered in Central Kzakhstan at the cemeteries of Ashchisu and Nurataldy-1 (20th - 19th centuries BC). Also, similar objects are known among the materials of the Izmailov cemetery in East Kazakhstan, and metal items of the Andreevka hoard from south-eastern Kazakhstan dated to the 12th - 9th (poss. 8th) centuries BC.
Meanwhile, the closest parallels to the cauldron from the Zaisan hoard can be seen in the western part of Eurasia. Taking into account V.S. Bochkarev's classification that consists of three main groups of metal cauldrons, the vessel from East Kazakhstan may occupy an intermediate position between the groups IIB and IIIB. This allows us to date the cauldron to the end of the 13th - 12th centuries BC, while the more probable date for the Zaisan hoard as a whole lays within the range of the 12th - 9th centuries BC.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Localization of the hoard in relation to the settlements of Oskemen, Zaisan, Kokjyra, and Daiyr (prepared by D. Duisenbay). Fig. 2. The Zaisan hoard. 1-2 - Chisels; 3-5 - adzes (photo by S. Starikov). Fig. 3. The Zaisan hoard. 1 - Axe; 2 - axe fragment; 3 - punch; 4 - socketed hammer (photo by S. Starikov). Fig. 4. The Zaisan hoard. 1 - Hook; 2 - bronze rings (photo by S. Starikov). Fig. 5. The Zaisan hoard. Metal vessel (photo by S. Starikov).
The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
