Variety of "коп" without a period.
Invisible to everyone, they ease the fate of the homeless.
With the annexation of Central Asia to Russia, the tsarist authorities in the region encountered numerous destitute orphans. The first shelters for «native» orphans were organized under Governor‑General K. P. Kaufman. One of them was established directly by K. P. Kaufman in Tashkent and thus bore his name.
In the provinces of the Turkestan Territory, shelters for «native» orphans and the poor were also set up, funded by various charitable foundations. To oversee them, provincial guardianship councils for children’s shelters were created, usually headed formally by military governors as «honorary guardians». The chief «honorary guardian» of the children’s shelters was, naturally, the Governor‑General of Turkestan.
In these shelters, «native» children received housing, food, and medical care. They also underwent basic education, which included teaching them skills in some of the most common trades so that they could earn a living in the future.
The Russian administration in the Turkestan Territory paid serious attention to the issue of public care for the poorest segments of the population, especially child orphanhood. Children’s shelters were established, and guardianship councils overseeing such institutions operated in all provinces and districts of the region. These councils featured authoritative representation.
In fact, all institutions of child care in the Turkestan Territory were incorporated into the Department of Empress Maria’s Shelters and operated on the basis of legal and regulatory acts adopted for this institution of the tsarist government. Undoubtedly, they made a certain contribution to improving the living conditions of needy segments of the population.
1 Kopeck 1924.
Turkestan Soviet Society for Child Relief. Tashkent.
