The functioning of the underground school 'Perspective'
In the monastery of the Moscow church in Ukraine 'Golosiyivska Desert', an underground school operates, where children are taught using Soviet programs, Russian textbooks are used, and classes are conducted in Russian. This school, named 'Perspective', operates without an official license and was opened in February 2025. More than 60 children from the first to the ninth grade study there, and the school day lasts from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Educational process and support
Textbooks are used in the educational process, including a 1966 edition of arithmetic. According to a primary school teacher, 'It is designed for three years, that’s why we took it. The 1966 edition. But children then know mathematics very well.' There are 16 teachers working at the school, and the director is Anna Bolgova. She also noted that every Monday the school shows films, the latest of which was 'The Five Secrets of a Real Man'.
Archbishop Isaac Vorzelsky provided assistance in ensuring the facilities for the school, noting that 'The bishop completely rebuilt everything for the school specifically. He did all the renovations during the summer for the school, all these classrooms.'
The mother of one of the students noted that her daughter’s documents are in another legal school, and the legal educational institution mentioned in this context is the Khotyanivsky Lyceum 'Rancho School'. At the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine, there were 8,782 religious communities of the Moscow Patriarchate, of which 934 changed their jurisdiction.
The functioning of the underground school 'Perspective' in the monastery of the Moscow church in Ukraine raises concerns regarding compliance with legislation in the educational sphere. The use of Soviet textbooks and the Russian language in the educational process in the context of modern Ukrainian realities raises questions about the impact of such practices on the development of national identity in children. At the same time, the change of jurisdiction of the religious communities of the Moscow Patriarchate indicates changes in the religious landscape of the country against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict and increasing national consciousness among the population.