Time to read: 32 minutes(s)

NeMoscow spoke with the founder Novosibirsk Novocollege Sergei Chernyshov, with students and teachers of the college, as well as with the person who wrote the denunciation of Chernyshov, Dmitry Demin.

"Chernyshov will be closed, and that's for sure, because Chernyshov is a traitor to his country, and there can be no other way, and the same fate will befall almost everyone like him!" rejoices Dmitry Demin, whose denunciations sparked the prosecutor's investigation into Novocollege in Novosibirsk. He takes credit for the Ministry of Justice designating the college's director as a foreign agent last Friday.

In recent years, Novosibirsk's preservationists have had many successes in their fight against those they believe "trample" on traditional values: the removal of Timofey Kulyabin's production of "Tannhäuser" from the opera theater's repertoire, a ban on swimming with rubber women at Boomerang Beach, and the cancellation of concerts by Behemoth, Polmateri, and the singer Hofmannita. The "Fathers' Council," which cancels rock concerts, has now set its sights on closing Novosibirsk's Novocollege, which has over 1500 students and employs approximately 100 faculty members.

A Novosibirsk resident who, at 33, has accomplished far more than the average Russian citizen. He studied management at the Siberian Academy of Public Administration, earned a master's degree in education management at the Higher School of Economics, and completed his postgraduate studies at Tomsk State University, defending his dissertation on the conquest of Western Siberia by the Russian Empire. He is currently working on his doctorate. He worked as a journalist for numerous Novosibirsk publications and was the head of the department at the Center for Continuing Education at the Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management. In 2019, in partnership with Moscow investors, he opened the private Novosibirsk City Open College. However, disagreements over strategy and ideology between the founders led to Chernyshov's departure. In 2021, he opened Novocollege, where he became the founder and director. Sixty-five percent of the students and half of the faculty followed him to Novocollege.

Chernyshov opens a private Novoshkola and recently officially registers the Nikolai Yadrintsev Siberian University of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It is the first new university in the Novosibirsk region in 18 years.

Married, son Fedor is nine years old.

One of five percent of private colleges in Russia, it offers 1500 students after grades 9 and 11 across five departments in Novosibirsk and Berdsk, specializing in six majors: design, advertising, information technology, economics, law, and culture. It employs over 100 faculty and administrative staff. Plans are underway to open branches in Tomsk, Kemerovo, and Omsk.

Novocollege is not only a story about education, it is also a story about freedom, responsibility and happiness.

Here, first-year students choose their own subjects, creating their own personalized educational path. A 10-point grading system is in place. There are entrance exams, which, if passed, offer significant tuition discounts. Grants are available that offer the chance to study for free. Here, students aren't afraid to express their opinions; no one is kicked out of class for having green hair or piercings. Here, students are given the opportunity to realize their wildest ideas—from painting walls in the style of Salvador Dali to opening a second-hand store.  

Novosibirsk activists, convinced that "Sodom and Gomorrah" are thriving here, have decided to destroy all of this.  

Now Novocollege also has the first founder of an educational institution in Russia to hold foreign agent status. The Ministry of Justice justified its decision by citing Sergei Chernyshov's alleged dissemination of "false information about decisions made by Russian public authorities," "participation as a respondent on information platforms provided by foreign media," and "opposition to a special military operation."

According to Chernyshov himself, the main motive for the denunciations is his position on the war in Ukraine and his reluctance to broadcast "Conversations on the Important" to audiences.

"What are you complaining about Chernyshov for? For everything, absolutely everything. Chernyshov is a complex of problems!"

In April, prosecutors from Novosibirsk's Central District visited Novocollege for an inspection, which resulted in several violations, resulting in one resolution and two orders. The college lacks state accreditation, there's "confusion" with its addresses, and there are security issues—allegedly, terrorists could easily infiltrate the building where classes are held. A court hearing is pending. The college is addressing the violations. However, judging by the mood of Novosibirsk's guardians of traditional values, the situation won't end with the judge's decision.

Be the first to pursue the director of New College Sergei Chernyshov became a Novosibirsk resident Dmitry DeminA historian by education and the father of two grown children, he now sells charcoal for barbecues. For several months, Chernyshov has been the main target of his social media posts. Demin doesn't mince words, calling the director of Novocollege "a thief, a historical and pedagogical pedophile, a liar, and a fraud." Demin has filed complaints with the Investigative Committee and the Novosibirsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, as well as the regional and federal ministries of education, demanding investigations.

— Dmitry, are your complaints about Novocollege related to the educational process or to Chernyshov's position on the special operation? 

"For everything, absolutely everything. It's a complex. Chernyshov is a complex of problems. Problems as a historian, as an individual, a man who despises the country in which, to put it mildly, an inadequate person lives. He despises Russia for annexing Siberia. He blames Russia for this. Can you imagine? He has huge problems with education. The problem is his Russophobia, his historical illiteracy; he doesn't know how to educate, and the result will be not just poorly educated children, but the same hamsters as Navalny and Chernyshov. In his institution, patriotism is taboo.

— How does Sergei Chernyshov's Russophobia manifest itself?

He's an outright Russophobe, taking advantage of the fact that our legislation is extremely ideologically lenient. He writes bad things, bad things. Our Russian troops in Ukraine are aggressors, and our teachers who went to teach children in Donbas are occupiers. He doesn't have a single post where he says anything good about Russia. He even accused Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky of treason. Everything around him is vile. He writes the words "Motherland" and "Fatherland" with a lowercase letter. You won't find words like "Motherland," "patriotism," or "Fatherland" in his publications.

I'm also a history teacher by training, so I'm in the know. Russia has existed for centuries as an empire. And it can't exist as anything other than an empire, by definition. Because as soon as it weakened, for example, at the beginning of the 20th century, it ended with the October Revolution. Then a strong leader, Stalin, came to power, he delayed the empire's collapse. In the 90s, Russia was almost torn apart again. And Chernyshov writes, "When all this is over," he implies that Russia will lose the war to Ukraine, and then we historians will burn all its imperial ambitions from Russian history with a hot iron. Even as a historian, he's a foolish and narrow-minded person. Russia cannot exist outside of an empire; it will be torn apart immediately.

— What, in your opinion, is seditious about the educational process at New College?

"There's a key tenet in pedagogy: consistency. Consistency in education. Consistency in testing. But Chernyshov categorically denies this. He has an extremely free-form approach to education. Children are given assignments, and whether they complete them or not is irrelevant. He doesn't give bad grades, and yes, that's a problem; parents can't get any grades from him."

— Did your parents tell you this?

"Of course. After my publications, parents also contacted me. Children, if they're not asked, simply stop studying. Children like freebies. For him, it's important that they bring in 15 rubles every month. I also communicate with the people who work for him."

— There are 1500 students studying at Novocollege, so why don’t they leave en masse if things are so bad?

"I think some students like Chernyshov, but why do they like him? Because he's a sweetheart, he's a cutie, he doesn't ask too hard questions, he gives good grades, and he goes around the college and strokes their heads, but he doesn't teach them anything. But the kids don't understand that, that's the problem. They'll understand when they go looking for jobs. People will look at their knowledge, smile, and then not hire them. The education Chernyshov gives isn't an education, it's nothing. Nothing."

Dmitry Demin is frustrated that the security forces have taken no action on his reports for so long; he's almost given up hope, but today the first act of reprisal has passed. The culmination should be not just a court decision, but the closure of Novocollege.

"I want all these educational institutions closed. The trial will only focus on fines. They're running up to about a million. Anything else will fall outside the scope of this trial."

- So you won't stop?

"Of course. Any sane person understands that when you so openly oppose the state, Russia, and history, you'll ultimately get your ass kicked. That's all. Many have already gotten theirs. And Chernyshov will get it too."

 The second activist who wants to close Novocollege is the head of the Union of Fathers of the Novosibirsk Region. Sergey MayorovThe union has over 1000 members, with about a hundred involved in its day-to-day activities. The mission of the public organization, according to Mayorov, is "to raise not only their own children but children in general in traditional values." He didn't file a complaint, but joined Demin's information campaign after the prosecutor's office was already inspecting the college. According to Sergei Mayorov, the complaints come not from him personally, but from all the fathers in the union.

"Chernyshov is not focused on creation, but on destruction. His priority is Western culture, where he mentally resides. Physically, he's among us, among Russian culture and civilization, but mentally, he's there. He's a Russophobe, enraged by everything in Russia, who considers Prince Alexander Nevsky a collaborator! The last straw for me was when I wrote an appeal that this man has no place in education, that he shouldn't touch our children at all. He's compiled hit lists of rectors and school principals who support the special military operation. Patriots. And this man is educating young people!" Mayorov fumed.

"There's Chernyshov's position on the 'special operation,' but there's also the educational process. What are your complaints about Novocollege?"

"So, education is the process of upbringing. So, you get educated and automatically become a good guy or a good girl. That's not true! Read it, I wrote it all publicly."

— Are you satisfied with the results of the inspection?

"I don't know why our officials act this way—with apprehension and fear—they're constrained by the law. As a social activist, I believe the college should simply be closed once and for all, and all this destructive activity shouldn't be encouraged. I'll be satisfied when Novokoldezh and Novoshkola are closed. But now, what? He'll collect money from parents for fines, pay them, and then laugh. They've completely fooled a fool. My goal is to stop this man from engaging in educational activities and upbringing. Students will go to proper institutions that will issue them state-recognized diplomas."

"I went to Novocollege, spoke with the students, and they assured me they were comfortable there, they liked it. Perhaps you're wrong? And isn't everything so bad at the college? Does Chernyshov really have such a destructive influence on everyone?"

— Hm. I think, of course, it does. 100%. That's what I'm telling you! He's brainwashing them! You've answered your own question! There are a limited number of Novocollege students, and after they graduate, they'll find that everyone around them is different, those who were raised to love their homeland, without these chimeras they were fed about freedom, equality, and fraternity. What nonsense! That doesn't exist in any country! It was stuffed into our heads some time ago, and a generation of such black sheep grew up who believed in it. What the hell, we don't have freedom? He's pouring water on us, creating execution lists, in some France, or free America, what would have happened to this man? He would have gone to jail for 50 years, received four terms. And no one would remember him, and journalists would be afraid to write about it, they would sit there with their ears pressed back. We want to live like our ancestors. So that we would have a mom and dad, a family, without bohemians.

Both Demin and Mayorov are delighted by the news of Sergei Chernyshov's designation as a foreign agent. The head of the Union of Fathers commented on the social media site "Finally," noting that "it's difficult to predict how the Ministry of Justice's decision will impact Novocollege's work, but it will certainly make it more difficult for Chernyshov to maintain his public activity."

"The decision, yes, was unexpected. It makes sense that he became a foreign agent, but I didn't expect the Ministry of Justice to designate him as such. It has nothing to do with the college," he commented. "There's a special military operation going on right now, and it's all logical. I think he's doing this deliberately, trying to cross a red line, to gain hype, so he can then go abroad and get some funding, like a refugee, for example. Sergei is fully aware of what he's doing, and he's doing it deliberately."

Dmitry Demin is proud of Chernyshov's designation as a foreign agent and considers it his personal achievement.

— Are you glad that Sergei Chernyshov became a foreign agent?

"Am I happy? That's a tough question. Why? Because Chernyshov ruined the lives of many college students. Am I happy? Yes! I like it. But that's not the main thing; what's important is that many will now transfer to good institutions with a quality education. That's one thing. On the other, they won't lose their homeland, their fatherland. Chernyshov advocated separating children from their fatherland, so Chernyshov will soon fade into oblivion, disappear, and who cares about him?"

Do I feel credit for this? Yes, of course, I inspired it all. And that's what I like! I'm doing this because this is my country, because I will make this country better by eliminating people like Chernyshov. And, thank God, I succeeded! Chernyshov will be closed down, and there's no other way, because Chernyshov is a traitor to his country and there's no other way to treat him. And the same fate will befall almost everyone like him.

In the Berdsk branch of Novocollege the head Daria Kharkevich She volunteered to give a tour. This is the second year the department in this city of 100,000 has 180 students, including some who come from Akademgorodok.

A couple at the designers' studio. Van Gogh and Salvador Dalí are painted on the walls. About a dozen students are in the classroom, painting a black-and-white still life—a book, an apple, and a can. The teacher is a graduate of Novocollege. Alisa Melnikova.

— Do you read what they write about you?

"That happened, yes. But what do they write? That terrorists can get through, right? We're learning and learning," a voice says.

"Would you like us to show you the collage we made?" the redhead suddenly asks. Dasha Mitkina- Polina, come on, get up!

 Mitkina and Polina Krylova tell the story of Frida Kahlo.

In response to the question: "What distinguishes college from school?" the leitmotif was: freedom, lack of fear to express one's opinion, the opportunity to express oneself.

"I'm not afraid; if I don't like something, I can openly tell the principal. It's important that you can not only praise the place you're in, but also criticize it. And it's important that we're heard here. Teachers at school used to say about me, 'Mitkina's unhappy about something again.' It's easy to feel good about yourself when all the students agree with you, when no one objects, but it's uncomfortable when they can say, 'You know, you're wrong here.' It feels like they're afraid, that if they do, they'll lose their authority. There's a mindset: people respect you when they're afraid."

I think healthy authority is based on respecting the professor as a person, for their accomplishments, and wanting to grow and develop by looking up to them. But often, authority is earned by punishing those who object, by being biased. Respect is forced through fear. I don't expect slaps in college.

— How else is freedom expressed in college, besides the ability to criticize and express your opinion?

"Freedom of action. It's right there in front of our eyes—we wanted to paint a wall. It's important to be able to express ourselves. We're not limited to a piece of paper, and one step to the left, one step to the right—and you've ruined everything. If you approach a teacher with shining eyes and say, 'I want to redo the entire cafeteria,' or 'I want to knock down a wall and build a screen—let's open a shadow theater,' Daria Alexandrovna will say, 'Great—OK, go ahead.' We don't have people twirling their heads and telling us, 'Sit there, draw on a piece of paper.' I don't think our college should be bullied; on the contrary, if they invested in us, trusted us, not necessarily financially, from the budget, I think they would reap the benefits of that trust, they wouldn't regret it."

— How does this thumping manifest itself, besides what they write on the internet and inspections?

"We're learning, and we don't notice these problems because they don't exist, the ones they write about there. And people who aren't here read what's written about us online and think, 'Oh, we shouldn't be here.' Why would people deprive themselves of this opportunity by reading things online that have nothing to do with us? They can't come here to check; they read and think, 'Well, that's probably true.'"

— So, the college’s reputation is suffering?

— For us, no, but for people who considered it potentially and are not in our circle, yes.

 Advertising woman Sonya Kovalenko and a programmer Evgeny Lavrentiev They show off their office—a second-hand warehouse. As part of their project, they created a website and collected clothes, accessories, and even furniture from their own and other people's stashes. The final touches remain: setting prices and attaching tags. How is the college environment different?

"The most important thing is freedom, freedom of thought. You can organize everything yourself. We've created a family atmosphere here, which is impossible to achieve at school. They say school is a second home, but it's not really like that. Novocollege is a second home for us, a second family, with whom we can all achieve something together. We can think independently, not rely on the opinions of others, and have opportunities that others can't limit," Zhenya says.

— What restrictions are there?

— Well, if you take school, there are evil aunties there who point and say Halloween is demonic, dress codes, everything is forbidden.

"School uniform, hair tied back, no makeup, no piercings, my sister's afraid to wear jeans to school. Teachers think school uniforms are a form of discipline," adds Sofia. "There are no like-minded people at school to say, 'Let's come up with something, let's change something,' everything is going as it has been since first grade."

— Reading about college bullying?

"We read it and have a neutral attitude. Most of what they write is untrue—we're just learning, and that's it. We're happy with everything," says Sonya.

— Sometimes it’s just funny to watch how they say the head of the “Union of Fathers” scolds us, says that we smoke, drink, three people sit at a desk—he’s never been to our place, Sergei Andreevich invited him—he didn’t agree to come and see how things really are here.

“We don’t hide from anyone, everything is open with us, parents come and ask questions, we never refuse to go through the classrooms and show them.”

— Are you ready to defend New College?

“We’ve already made a petition that we’ll send to the Novosibirsk prosecutor’s office, the Novosibirsk region Ministry of Education, and the governor about the bullying that is happening against our college, false information is being spread, we’re tired of hearing that we might be shut down, that we’re so bad, we don’t want to hear that,” he says. Evgeny Lavrentiev, who became one of the initiators of the petition.

— We are collecting a petition so that we can be heard, not just someone else’s opinion, but so that we, the students, our parents, and teachers can be heard. The students come and sign, the parents come—the petition is here, with us.

— What kind of Russia do you want to live in?

“Happy,” Sonya smiles.

"Fair. In a country where every opinion is taken into account—the opinion of the majority—and you're not pressured for it, you won't be bullied, and then you might even end up in jail. I want to live in a world where if you have an opinion, you won't get beat up for it. Justice is happiness."

— Do you feel any pressure?

"Yes. Sometimes you want to say something that doesn't align with the government's opinion. You want them to listen, but they don't listen to you. They try to silence you—to shut you up, or they'll label you a foreigner for your opinion. So I keep my opinion in mind, but I don't really express it in public," says Zhenya.

More than 100 students signed the petition in the Berdsk branch.

To the Governor of the Novosibirsk Region, Andrei Travnikov…

"We, the parents and students of Novocollege, made a conscious choice in favor of this educational institution. Each had their own reasons, but most importantly, it's a place where each of us is valued and heard. This is a place where constructive opinions are not suppressed, where the academic process is carefully organized, and where unique projects and activities are conceived. Many of us only discovered our love for studying at Novocollege, made friends, and discovered our talents. We love Novocollege and can confirm that it is one of the best colleges. We can also confirm that the unfounded accusations made by some "social activists" against the administration and faculty of our college are completely unfounded. We are surprised that regulatory bodies, the prosecutor's office, and other competent authorities accept the opinions of those who have never even been to our college. We want alternative points of view to be heard, and for those spreading false information about our college to be held accountable. We ask that you ensure that we have the opportunity to decide for ourselves which college to attend."

More than 300 Russian teachers and educators signed an open letter from the "Alliance of Teachers" in defense of Novocollege. 

 "Conversations about what's important," promoting SVO, and imposing a particular ideology—none of these are mandatory requirements for an educational organization. And even more so, having one's own position is not grounds for inspections and punishment. Aren't there bigger problems in Novosibirsk education than an inconvenient yet popular educational organization? Give people the opportunity to study where they want. Projects like Novocollege must exist and thrive."

Teachers' Alliance

The news of the director's foreign agent status hasn't yet impacted the educational process. Students and faculty at Novocollege unanimously say, "Everything's fine. It doesn't affect the college in any way, and that's good. Nothing's changed for us. There's no panic, we're still learning."

 "When people die, questions of aesthetics turn into questions of ethics..."

"It's very disappointing that we now have to take so many additional, unnecessary steps. But overall, it's nothing special," the founder and director of Novocollege said the morning after he was declared a foreign agent. Sergey Chernyshov. "Well, to be honest, I thought the college would be recognized for something like that. As for myself—well, that's pretty much what I expected."

The problems uncovered by the prosecutor's office, he said, are all solvable. State accreditation, by law, is obtained after a year of operation. While the college's main branch previously operated under the building's owner's safety certificate, which Novocollege rents, they will now establish their own. The non-existent addresses are a formality, as neither the company's legal entities, nor, especially, its students, are located at them.

— How is Novocollege different from others?

The labor market in cities like Novosibirsk and Berdsk is unpredictable. It's unclear what the professions currently being studied will look like. But we also know that the education they receive will be their only one for many years to come. Statistics show that only 20% of college graduates go on to university; the majority continue to work and simply live. At the intersection of these two ideas, the idea arises that college should teach what will stay with a person when they change professions. And they will change professions several times, and within their profession, this will change many times. Who needs print newspaper layout designers today? Everything has changed radically in 10 years. And what follows from this? Soft skills, project work, an interdisciplinary approach, everything centered around the individual—if you want to do this, there you go. This is where the idea of ​​organizing the educational process as individual trajectories comes from.

— Don't you think that after the inspections, they'll put a spoke in your accreditation wheel?

"We've never encountered any discrimination. There are big-shot officials who sit next to the governor, who are like in heaven, and then there are the ordinary women who sit in the licensing department. They're officials and usually do their job. While they might not like it when they're picky about a comma, they do their job without any ideological bias."

— So it turns out that it’s not so scary to express your position today, and not only on the war?

If you're the principal of a municipal school, you either share the government's position or you don't work. That's fair. It's disgusting, but fair. If you disagree with the mayor, he has the right to fire you. It's immoral, even though all these schools are funded by us, but a fact is a fact. That's one thing. But on the other, if even ten principals in Novosibirsk declared they wouldn't hold "Conversations About What's Important," it would be a major problem. For example, at Gymnasium No. 10 in Novosibirsk, Class 3A went on strike for a month. The thing is, one parent got on everyone's nerves with her complaints about their homeroom teacher, who the rest of the class liked. One day, the children didn't show up for class for three weeks. And they publicly declared they wouldn't show up until this hysterical woman was removed from their care. It ended with the school replacing the principal two weeks later. No one knows what to do with the 3A class—they've sent the prosecutor's office, the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Education—but they won't show up, and that's it, a strike. One unfortunate 3A class could force the school principal out. Because officials don't know what to do in situations like this.

- So, why do we have so little 3A?

"I don't know, I think it's post-traumatic Soviet syndrome. Toadyism to the authorities. Alexey Pivovarov did a story for Redaktsiya back in the spring of 2022 about history teachers who sincerely claimed that Putin started the war, that he knows better, that he has more data, and that if we don't understand something, we simply don't understand it. Who are we here? That's the attitude. And what about school principals? I think they're afraid for their jobs. They have a mortgage, an apartment, a car. I think the typical school principal in Russia is an uneducated, low-skilled person who got there through some kind of backroom intrigue. Their main goal is to hold on for five to ten years. It's like a university principal, who knows for sure that this is their best job because if they fire them, where will they go? They can engage in corruption here, they do that too. They have an office, a secretary, a salary of about a hundred thousand a month, and they don't have to do much.

What you need to do is raise the flag, have "Important Conversations," and... keep quiet. It's not that much they're asking of you. You don't have to drink the blood of Christian babies in the morning, do you? - No, you don't. Normal limits. Few people think in moral terms. There's another category—the 10-15% who are perfectly decent people. There are a certain number of school principals who imitate this activity—they don't talk about it publicly, but there are others who replace the same "Important Conversations" with local history and life safety. And that's also a solution. The other day, someone asked me why we conduct a clay modeling lesson instead of a conversation, but report on the "conversation." Do you think that's normal? Well, think for yourself, what values ​​are you instilling in children by acting like this? We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us.

— What are the motives of those who write denunciations against Novocollege?

"The motives are different. If you take these two guys, I think Demin is sincere. A person can't spend a month and a half writing such texts on his page, even for money; he genuinely believes in what he's writing. And a guy like Mayorov has never been here. Everything he writes is from the OBS news agency—someone told him. He's obviously carrying out someone else's orders. They told him to bully, and he did it."

— What consequences might the court's decision have for the college?

There are three types of sanctions for these three offenses. The first could be a complete acquittal, perhaps a warning on the grounds that we're here for nothing; the second is a fine. The third is suspension. They can even suspend operations for marking mops, like at the Theater of Europe in St. Petersburg. The city court overturned the magistrate's decision there. The theater reopened. Yevgeny Roizman wasn't jailed for discrediting the army; he was fined 260 rubles. We live in an information bubble. For example, when they say teachers inform on children, and children on teachers, parents inform on everyone. All these cases are disgusting, like the teacher who complained about a student with braids the colors of the Ukrainian flag, but in Russia there are two million teachers—how many such denunciations can you list? Well, you could find a hundred or two hundred over the past year and a half—we can't tolerate each of them, but these aren't mass denunciations.

— There are three things you need to know about Novocollege: freedom, responsibility, and happiness.  It's written on your website. What do these concepts mean to you?

"Freedom is the right to act as you wish, the right to say what you want. Your freedom ends where someone else's begins. If you don't attend classes, who are you hurting? Only yourself. If you drink energy drinks, go ahead, you're killing your body, it's not prohibited in Russia. Isn't going to rallies prohibited? It's not prohibited, as long as it's legal. We haven't punished anyone for that. That's freedom."

There's no freedom without responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is chaos. We don't have study groups in our first year. In fact, students create their own schedules, have different students in each class, and choose their own subjects—English or Chinese, online or offline. Why should I go? Because I chose it. That's it, it's your responsibility. Stay tuned, we don't have homeroom teachers. 

Happiness is a story about the deferred life syndrome—why do we study at school to get into university? Why do we study at university to find a good job, but now we have to suffer, and this suffering will be justified in the future with some perks. Why does an educational institution have to be uncomfortable? It can very well be an environment where both students and teachers feel comfortable. This is freedom, responsibility, and happiness. And many come here for this. After all, when we speak up, we're not afraid to express our opinions—that's what happiness is all about, right?! And why should they be afraid of adults? What kind of idea is this, having a director who sits in his office and whose office hours are from 17 to 19 PM on Thursdays? Once, we were going through accreditation, and experts came to see us, including the director of a cooperative technical school. She came into the classroom during class, and everyone was still sitting there—she said, "Why aren't you getting up?" But we're not in the army!

— What has changed in your life, in the life of the college, and in the students’ lives in the year since the war began?   

"I think for students, almost nothing has changed. When you or I were their age, there were wars going on. In my youth, there was the Chechen War, but it was on the periphery of my attention, and it's still the same now, not because they're bad in any way—they just have their own teenage problems. Masha spoke to me inappropriately today, and Vasya looked at me the wrong way; he probably doesn't like me... Unless you specifically ask them how they feel about the war, they won't talk about it; it's not their thing. Our vice principal tells me, 'You bring journalists to the students, and they ask about the war and make the kids nervous.' We argue about it."

There are exceptions: there are students whose parents left, and they followed them to Georgia and Kazakhstan—not just a handful, but dozens of them. A third of our Novoshkola (New School) left: 15 out of 40 children in the primary school left. The displacement of people around the world against their will is also part of the tragedy. There's another layer of people whose fathers and older brothers are fighting on the other side, on the side of the Russian army. That's dozens of people; some have already received their fathers back in a zinc coffin—that's also a great human tragedy. Some have relatives in Ukraine, where tens of thousands have died. I remember last March or April, when the first official fatality was in the Kolyvan district. We have several teachers from Kolyvan, and for them it was a horror and shock for several days; the deaths weren't as widespread back then as they are now. They taught a young man at school, he was very young, 19 years old, and the teachers went to the funeral. That's how much has changed. I'm worried.

— What are the prospects for us, for Ukraine, after the war?

"I think the main problem is that we haven't addressed the main trauma of the 20th century, broadly speaking—all those topics related to mass repressions, the Great Patriotic War—there are still a lot of taboo subjects there. How millions of people lived in the occupied territories is a taboo subject. Mass repressions, the mass graves around Novosibirsk and Tomsk—all of that hasn't been addressed either. It's clear these traumas haven't been addressed, and we've come to the point where we are. People can seriously say, 'There are Nazis in Ukraine, we need to kill them,' 'Our grandfathers didn't finish them off, we'll finish them off,' because no one really told them anything."

— Do you believe that everything will be fine with us?

"Of course. This situation is abnormal. All the bloodiest regimes ended peacefully—the genocide in Rwanda, the Holocaust, what a terrible crime it was, the Nazi regime in Germany ended... And this situation, by all the laws of social life, should normalize."

— If the war ends and Putin is in power, what kind of rehabilitation can we talk about?

It makes no difference who's in power. Remember the Afghan War, when more than 13 died while doing international duty; now, according to the BBC, more than 20 have already died. That's more. People will return from there, and no one has yet dealt with their post-traumatic stress disorder, and it's still to come. That's the first big story—we'll have to do something about it. The second big story is the corrosion of the political regime. Clamping down on freedoms in the 21st century is unacceptable; it's bound to end anyway, it'll spill over. So why ban rallies? People came out, demonstrated, let off some steam, and went about their business. They've put a lid on a boiling pot, but sooner or later the pot will explode. We have to give people something, that's the social law. It's impossible to just shut down the media, ban rallies, and purge the political arena—what will that change? Everything will spill over, and we'll have to work on it.

- What are you afraid of?

"Me?! There's a knock on the door every morning," he laughs. "You wake up at eight in the morning and think, oh, everything's fine. Usually they come earlier."

 Why don't you keep quiet? You could get 10 years in prison, and then you'll only lose 10 years.

"Anyone can be jailed anytime. We've seen over the past year that some absolutely loyal comrades, who signed rectors' letters in support of a special operation—for example, Vladimir Mau—spent six months in prison and lost everything. The Moloch of Fate doesn't work that way—no one knows how, without cause or effect. Loyalty doesn't protect you from anything. That's the first thing, and second, I think education is, above all, the transmission of values."

For example, our neighbors are Berdsk's first school. What values ​​do they embody? They stood in the front lines when draft notices were handed out during the partial mobilization in October; medical college students delivered the notices. They could have refused. What values ​​did they convey to their students? If the Party said it was necessary, the Komsomol responded, yes. Toadyism to the authorities, a lack of political stance, any stance at all. They dismantle the attitude—keep quiet, do nothing, it will be better—that's conformism. We keep falling into the same traps throughout our history.

And who, if not education, will lead us out of all this? Out of this vicious circle. It's important to convey different values; this is especially important to me because my child, who is already nine, sees them, and we talk to him, and someday he will ask me, "What were you doing, dad, in 2022 and 2023, during the Holocaust?" I won't be ashamed; values ​​are more important.

So, the director will earn enough for a dacha and a car. Cool, but what next? How will they look people in the eye? Although they probably don't have that kind of self-reflection. But it's important to me. What gives you self-confidence? There are many people who have suffered for their values. We have many colleagues who were forced out of their jobs, out of the country, they are excellent scientists, teachers – it turns out they did everything in vain, it turns out that those who are sycophants did everything right, and they did it wrong? That's strange.

My position is this: if we work in education, we must communicate values. If we don't, it's better to open a coat shop. If you want to make money now, it's not in education. Working in education today and pretending nothing is happening is utter scum.

Many pretend nothing is happening. We continue our successful success, we develop, we strive, we hold strategic sessions, but hundreds of people die every day, every single day. Are you saying none of this is happening? That none of this matters? It's very sad that strategic sessions are more important to you. When people die, questions of aesthetics turn into questions of ethics. It all comes down to a simple question: is it okay to kill people or not? And some say no, it's not okay, while others say, well, under certain circumstances, if they oppress the Russian language, or otherwise look at things the wrong way, or otherwise behave inappropriately, then it's okay. That's all there is to it. That's where the line between worlds lies.

— Do your colleagues advise you to stop writing posts and speaking out loud about your anti-war position?

"We're debating this at college. It all comes down to the question, 'Perhaps it's better to keep quiet?' And every time, the discussion ends, which is probably not for the best. There are different voices, some say, 'Let's get this over with, Sergey Andreevich, we're really worried about you, please, maybe be a little more careful.' But I believe that publicity, among other things, is our protection."

I believe that our decision-makers couldn't care less what model Novocollege follows, what its values ​​are, just as they couldn't care less what model municipal schools follow, or the quality of education. They have only one goal, as the classic hero said: "Sin is no big deal, but rumor is no good." Everything was just quiet. And I believe that the strategy of responding publicly—there's a lot of talk about this—can lead to two consequences: either they'll get even more angry, or they'll calm down, like, "Don't bother them, they're not doing anything bad to anyone, they're not engaging in destructive activity, they're just working and working."

There are voices that say that while "our boys" are dying, we should shut up. For some reason, those who read my posts think I'm going around pestering everyone: "Want to talk about the war?" As if we're engaged in endless propaganda here. That's not true. We're just going through a normal educational process.

Author Irina Krasnova, photo by the author