“No new Pushkins are noticeable these days” – Kommersant FM

In Russia, it was decided to revive the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. President Vladimir Putin supported the corresponding proposal of RANEPA Rector Alexei Komissarov. The goal of the project is to prepare young people for civil service based on patriotism and traditional values. At what site it is planned to reopen the educational institution has not yet been announced. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize believes that bringing the idea to life will not be easy.

It is planned to revive the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum as an educational institution and give it presidential status. We are talking about restoring traditions, so that from a young age the future Russian official, who is also a civil servant, will become familiar with patriotism and traditional values. Apparently, this will be the best education in the country.

Further, Russian news agencies provide reference materials. They probably weren’t taken from Wikipedia. We read: The Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was founded by decree of Emperor Alexander I in 1811 as a privileged higher education institution for the children of nobles in the Russian Empire.

The most famous lyceum student is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who dedicated poetry to this place. In modern terms, it was the most elite special school. And not for simple brown-legged cooks’ children, but a class institution exclusively for nobles – children of persons close to the emperor. There, by the way, they did not use corporal punishment. During the revolution, the lyceum was closed because it was believed that power now belonged to the people, and not to the privileged classes.

We will not delve further into history; we will return to today. It may seem that in the new version it will be like in the old days, not for everyone, but for a select few. Associations, you know, arise: then – imperial, now – presidential. Nobles, party members… Children of the right parents are trained – and straight into the corridors of power. Comfortable.

Or maybe, why be ashamed, let’s move on to a monarchical form of government? Here there are traditions, customs, and spirituality – there is a place for everything. True, there is a small problem: new Pushkins are not noticeable these days, they are not growing. And some are not suitable for the court – they write the wrong poems. And in his time there were also complaints against Pushkin: he sometimes allowed freethinking.

Elite education is, of course, not bad at all, but why consider it as such? And will teachers be able to meet his high standards? Apparently, we will have to introduce some new standards or something else. And funding again. Apparently, big business will somehow attract someone else. No, everything is clear: the state needs to rely on something, but it’s only logical to look for bonds in the future, and not in the past. So, you see, many problems will disappear by themselves.

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