Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical

Appendix II: The Rand Transcript, Revisited (2005)

381 introduction With the publication of my book Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical (Sciabarra 1995a), I began an investigation into Ayn Rand’s education in an attempt to identify possible influences on her intellectual development. Always of the belief that my historical inquiries were a “work in progress” (Sciabarra 1997), I extended my analysis in 1999 when I located a copy of Rand’s transcript from Petrograd State University (1921–24).1 In what constituted the very first article published in the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, “The Rand Transcript” provided a detailed discussion of the university courses that Rand took and the orientations of the professors who were the most likely teachers of those courses (Sciabarra 1999c). Even then, I knew that the analysis was hampered by the fact that the student records that I had in my possession were incomplete. The official transcript reported that Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum (Rand’s birth name) had entered the university on 2 October 1921 and graduated from the Social-Pedagogical Division of the Faculty (or College) of the Social Sciences of Leningrad (formerly Petrograd) State University. I described the nature of the three-year course of the obshchestvennopedagogicheskoe otdelenie (Department of Social Pedagogy), which, as part of the new social science curriculum at the university, had united the existing faculties (departments) of history, philology, and law. As I explained: “The integration of the historical and philosophical disciplines sought to prepare students for careers as social science educators ” (363, in this edition). The transcript confirmed the “facts that I had previously uncovered in the official Rosenbaum dossier, dated 6 August 1992,” as part of my Russian Radical research, and included additional information “that Rosenbaum had received her Certificate of Graduation (Diploma No. 1552) on 13 October 1924.” appendix ii the rand transcript, revisited (2005) This essay first appeared in the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 7, no. 1 (2005): 1–17. 381 382 ayn rand In 2005, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the publication of Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, I came into possession of a much more extensive academic dossier documenting Rand’s university years and lending further weight to my previous analyses. With assistance from a network of generous researchers and scholars, I present my findings below.2 the archival materials The personal file of the student Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum (Central State Historic Archive of St. Petersburg, Fond 7240, Inventory #5, file 3576) includes various documents, certificates, and photos. The following materials are most relevant to the current study: 1. Petition to the Rector: Secondary School Records Alissa Rosenbaum’s petition to the Rector of Petrograd State University is dated 14 August 1921. She was officially admitted to the university on 25 August 1921. (Rand fulfilled all the requirements of university study, passing all her requisite tests for twenty-three courses and three seminars by 15 July 1924.) Of most importance, the petition provides information concerning Rand’s secondary school studies. She graduated on 30 June 1921 from the IV Group of Level II in School N 4 (the former Zemstvo gymnasium of A. P. Rushchinskaia and A. A. Mironovich), located in the Crimean city of Evpatoria. Her secondary school courses are listed: Languages (Russian, French, German, Latin); Mathematics; Physics; Cosmography (general description of the world or universe); History; Geography; Natural Science ; Logic; Psychology; Soviet Constitution; Drawing; Political Economy ; and Shop (literally “Manual Labor” or “Hand Work,” which consisted in the development of “practical” skills in both boys and girls). Typically, students were rated by the Academic Council for both academic “achievement” and “conduct.” All of Rand’s secondary school grades are reported as “very satisfactory,” with the exception of “Soviet Constitution,” in which Rand received “credit” for having “studied” or “learned” the material. The secondary school certificate bears the signature of Mironovich, who served as Chairman of the School Council, and the signatures of other Council members.3 2. Handwritten University Records The handwritten university record cards for Alissa Rosenbaum do not include much more information than was brought to light in my previous work. The record documents that Rand was a student of the appendix ii 383 Social-Pedagogical Division (encompassing Literature and the Arts as well) of the Faculties (or Departments) of the Social Sciences of Leningrad State University. Rand’s university coursework is documented across seven columns split over recto and verso pages. Column I lists the names of the courses, that...