The class list of secondary educational institutions' pupils of Siberia in the second half of the 19th-the beginning of the 20th centuries is investigated in the paper. It was established that the growth of people belonging to different social classes among pupils was observed in these institutions by the beginning of the last century. However this tendency proved to be differently in educational institutions of different type. In this context more conservative approach on the part of state gymnasiums of the Russian Empire was observed. The growth of people belonging to different social classes happened much more slowly in these institutions. An essential part of graduates was made by children of noblemen, officials and other privileged groups throughout the long period of time. More democratic school admissions were characteristic for secondary professional, nonclassical secondary and commercial schools. For the last the possibility to pay for training, but not the class origin of pupils was the main condition. Besides, there were no restrictions practically to enter teacher's seminaries and institutes because of a low salary of elementary school teachers that, in turn, caused the low attraction for the representatives of privileged groups to enter these institutions. The conclusion has been drawn that the education system in the Russian Empire at a boundary of the 19th-20th centuries developed at the intersection of contradictions between the needs for modernization of the Russian economy and the conservative efforts made for maintaining traditional social structure by the power.