The school where Yeltsin studied will ignore his birthday: a journal with grades has been preserved

The director of the educational institution told why a monument to Lenin was erected on the school grounds instead of a bust of Yeltsin and explained why the school was not helped with repairs.

School No. 1 in Berezniki, where Boris Yeltsin studied, is over 90 years old. This is a two-story building, on the territory of which there is a monument to Lenin.

— Our school celebrated its 90th anniversary. That’s when we celebrated. They mentioned that the first president of Russia graduated from it, – says the director of the educational institution Svetlana Dnischenko. – But we did not prepare anything for Yeltsin’s birthday. We do nothing on this day.

— Is there a Yeltsin museum in your school?

— The museum has an exposition dedicated to the first president. A journal with Yeltsin’s assessments, testimonies of his teachers, photographs, books signed by him have been preserved.

Are any of his classmates alive?

— I wasn’t interested. At one time, when Naina Iosifovna came to us, his classmate came here. That was a long time ago. I never saw that man again. I don’t know if he is alive or not.

– Did you think to erect a monument to Yeltsin on the territory of the school?

– We have a monument to Lenin on the school grounds. We will not flood the school with monuments. It is enough that there is a memorial plaque to the first president and a wall where his photograph hangs along with other famous graduates, among whom are the heroes of the Soviet Union. If we erect monuments to all the celebrities who studied with us, the school will turn into a necropolis.

– In Berezniki there are as many as two monuments of Lenin. Maybe replace one with Yeltsin?

“Monuments to Lenin have been standing since time immemorial. Foreign journalists were interested in why we are not demolishing it, recalled the genocide of the population, said how badly we lived. I answered them: “This is our story, and you will deal with yours.” They were offended.

— In the late 1990s, Yeltsin helped renovate your school. Has the building been renovated since then?

– In the late 90s, the school, indeed, was overhauled. As far as I know, Yeltsin partially helped. The city added more money. In 2022, we turned to the Yeltsin Center with a request to renovate the assembly hall. Since the 1990s, the wooden window frames have dried up, and the ceilings are in trouble. We thought about making a modern hall, putting up decent chairs so that not only children could watch movies, but also residents of the area. We have a lot of pensioners in the area, they are unlikely to go to the cinema for money. So we sent estimates to the leadership of the Yeltsin Center. I think I was talking to the husband of one of Boris Nikolaevich’s daughters. They promised to help us, but did nothing.

– Do you receive money from the budget?

– The assembly hall is not related to the educational process, so we cannot count on state support. They help the school. One plant gave us a video projector, and through the deputies we managed to replace some windows. But no one will do the main repairs – walls, ceilings, armchairs, floors. We manage on our own. They hoped for help from the Yeltsin Foundation. They did not refuse us at first, so they hoped. But they did not answer after they did not refuse.

Would you remind them of yourself?

– I won’t remind you. They are adults. Yes, and maybe those with whom I talked, left Russia. We understand that circumstances have changed. Perhaps they do not have funds or they spent money on more necessary things.

– I was told that the former director was skeptical of Yeltsin, was opposed to perestroika and democracy. Didn’t he ask to remove the Yeltsin sign from the school?

“He never said to remove the sign. The former director is a man of the old school, he has a well-established understanding of life in the Soviet Union. Probably, it was difficult for him to accept what was happening during the reign of Boris Nikolayevich. But nevertheless, this is our history and we have to live with it. We cannot treat a person who runs the state from a position – whether I love him or not. This is a fact that must be accepted.

Are you proud that you work at the school where Yeltsin studied?

– I’m proud. But I am also proud of our other famous students. It’s a big deal when the school has someone to talk about.

– Do all the children in Berezniki know who Yeltsin is?

– When you tell children that the first president of Russia studied at school, many do not understand how this can be. Modern children know who Putin is. And who is Yeltsin, I admit that they may not know. Just as they may not know who Nicholas II or Napoleon is. Believe me, when we talk about the Great Patriotic War, about Stalin, this is also a discovery for many children. They don’t focus on it.

– How do local residents feel about Yeltsin?

– For most, this is a historical figure and nothing more. Neither left nor right. Talking about whether he is good or bad is wrong.

– Do they come to school with excursions?

— If earlier foreigners often came, now children and veterans come.

– Pensioners do not grumble about the collapse of the Soviet Union?

– Not. Only foreign journalists can be indignant on this or that occasion. And our people understand that these are historical facts.