Mariinsky Gymnasium (Russian: Мариинская гимназия) — is the general name of a network of female secondary educational institutions in the Russian Empire with 7-year education of the Department of Charitable Institutions of Empress Maria,[1] named in honor of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Emperor Alexander II).
The name “Mariinskaya” is its own, “granted” or “permitted” by a separate resolution of the ministry in honor of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the patroness of the educational institution.
Since 1882, another category of Mariinsky schools appeared, founded on the initiative of Empress Maria Feodorovna, “for those girls who, due to the social and financial situation of their parents, do not need a gymnasium or institute education and, having received primary general education, wish to devote themselves to studying in vocational schools."
Girls of all classes were allowed to study at the Mariinsky gymnasium, which is confirmed by an analysis of the social composition of the students.
For example, in the ministerial gymnasiums of the Kyiv educational district over the same period, the share of children of burghers increased by 11.7%, and those of noblewomen decreased by 8.9%35.