Nazimov, the Governor-General of Vilna, Mukhlinsky,
who inspected the Jewish schools in western Russia, Artzimovich, of
southern Russia, and many other prominent personages arose as champions
of the Jews.[2]
The physician and pedagogue Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov (1810-1881), the
superintendent of the Odessa and Kiev school districts, is especially
deserving of honorable mention in the history of Haskalah. Of all the
Russians of the period who gloried in their liberal convictions, he was
the most liberal. In him the last vestige of prejudice and race
distinction disappeared, and he conscientiously devoted himself to the
study, not only of the present, but also of the past of the Jews, to be
in a better position to lend them his assistance. To the Jews he
appealed to unite and spread enlightenment among the masses by peaceful
means. To the Gentiles, again, he did not hesitate to point out the good
qualities of the Jews, and in an article on the Odessa Talmud Torah he
held up the institution as a model for the public elementary schools. He
admired especially the enthusiasm with which Jewish youths devoted
themselves to the acquisition of knowledge.
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