“In Kyiv, on the territory of the monastery of the Moscow Church, there is an underground school where children are taught according to Soviet textbooks, shown Russian films and taught songs in Russian. The institution operates without a license, masquerading as a “family club”, and officially children are enrolled in other schools only on paper. “Slidstva.Info” informs about this. At the monastery “Svyato-Pokrovska Holosiivska herust”, which belongs to”, — write on: ua.news
In Kyiv, on the territory of the monastery of the Moscow Church, there is an underground school where children are taught according to Soviet textbooks, shown Russian films and taught songs in Russian. The institution operates without a license, masquerading as a “family club”, and officially children are enrolled in other schools only on paper. “Slidstva.Info” informs about this.
For almost a year now, a full-fledged school has been operating at the “Svyato-Pokrovska Holosiivska Hermitage” monastery, which belongs to the Moscow Church in Ukraine, and does not have any official permission for educational activities. This is stated in the Slidstva.Info investigation, which is referred to by the Glavkom publication.
The publication’s journalist, in the guise of a woman who is allegedly looking for an educational institution for a relative’s child, was able to get inside this school and talk with its management, teachers and parents of students. According to the director, more than 60 children are currently studying at the institution – from the first to the ninth grade. The educational process is provided by 16 teachers.
Anna Bolhova manages the underground school. It was she who founded the so-called Orthodox school “Perspektiva”, which, according to her, has been operating since February 2025. Formally, this institution does not call itself a school, but by all indications it is: there is a full school day from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., there are tests, assessments, an extended day group and a clear schedule of classes.
The educational model under which “Perspektiva” works directly refers to the Soviet system. In particular, primary school was shortened from four years to three. In the schedule of the first class, journalists saw the subject “Slavic language”. As the elementary school teacher Larisa Abrosimova explained, it is actually about the Russian language.
Despite the teachers’ statement that the education is conducted in Ukrainian, the children’s parents say something completely different. According to them, the ratio of languages in the classroom is approximately “fifty to fifty”. During the inspection of the school, the journalist saw the textbooks that the children study. Among them is the arithmetic of the 1966 edition, from Soviet times. The teacher does not see this as a problem and even considers it an advantage. “It is designed for three years, that’s why we took it. Sixty-sixth year of publication. But then the children know mathematics very well,” explained the teacher.
In addition to the usual subjects, the school has “Film” and “Music” lessons. According to director Anna Bolhova, every Monday the children are shown films that she calls “good”. One of such films is “Five Secrets of a Real Man” by the Russian project “Obschee Delo”. “Every Monday we show good films. The last time they showed the film “Five Secrets of a Real Man”, Bolhova said.
In music lessons, according to her, children study and sing Soviet and Russian songs. “Of course, there were wonderful songs there. Even high school now teaches: “There is a golden garden under the blue sky,” she added.
At the same time, the management of the institution insists that it is not a school, but a “family club”, which supposedly does not need any permits.
“We exist in the format of a family club. We really like it because we have a different program. So no one can touch us. The parents have gathered, the children are enrolled in the distance school, and here we just study extra. This is our personal matter,” Bolhova explained.
Formally, children are really “registered” in other educational institutions. One of the mothers said that her daughter’s documents are in a private lyceum in Khotyanivka near Kyiv, which has a license and issues state-style documents. In fact, the child studies exclusively at the monastery.
“According to the documents for the state, they study there, whether they go to Khotyanivka or not,” the woman said. It is about the “Rancho School” lyceum. Its director Yana Kozhema confirmed in a conversation with journalists that they only enroll children from the monastery school. “They don’t study at all with me, they just enroll. And all learning takes place in the school at the monastery. They glow like eye glasses,” said Kozhema.
Another institution that helps to legalize children’s education on paper is the school of Kostyantynivska city council of Donetsk region. The same primary school teacher Larisa Abrosimova officially works there. “They know me and know that these children are really studying. We transfer all the evidence, assessments, fill out all the documents. That is, you officially count,” she explained.
Separately, the director of the underground school said that the premises for the educational institution were arranged with the help of the abbot of the monastery – Archbishop Isaakiy Vorzelskyi, the late Fedor Andronyk. “Everything was specially rebuilt by the bishop for the school. He completely renovated everything during the summer for the school, all these classes,” said Bolhova.
The journalists’ investigation shows that under the guise of a “family club” in the center of the capital there is a full-fledged school without a license, with a Soviet curriculum, the Russian language of instruction and close ties with the Russian church. At the same time, children officially “disappear” from the state’s field of view, remaining students only on paper.
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