Teacher of Yr Fired

FIRED FOR POLITICAL BELIEFS

By Stephen Wilson

 

Russian teacher Alexander Ryabchuk

            A Russian teacher of the year has been fired in Rostov on Don simply for expressing his political sympathy with those who protested on the 23rd of January against the arrest of prominent opposition leader Navalny. Many Russians are incensed by the unprecedented mass arrests and brutal treatment of protesting demonstrators.  

 

'For insulting the Russian President of the Russian Federation you can be fined 1 million rubles or be punished by being imprisoned for up to 7 years under articles 130 and 128.1 of the legal Codex. If you have any information about people committing such an offence you can phone us up of the following numbers,' and 'We have begun a war in purging social new works V Kontact ,Odno Klassiki and Facebook of false information ... We are fighting an information war not only within Russia but beyond her borders'. 

Those are the kind of threats which I have read in Russian sent to myself and many people on Facebook in Russia. Many other official warnings and threats have been sent to schools, institutes and universities stating that students must be discouraged from attending any protests. Some students have already been expelled for expressing views on social networks or simply for attending unsanctioned rallies. The Russian state is attempting to foster a society where everyone feels the insidious fear that they are either being watched and over heard by police informers.They are seeking to turn back the clock to the years of Repression despite the fact that they face a very different people to the one they encountered during this period. For the Russian state is faced with a more questioning and active opposition that are not so intimidated by threats, bullying, brutality and force.

 

It is not surprising that in such an unpleasant atmosphere, even outstanding school teachers can lose their jobs just by expressing innocuous statements on a blog. Teacher of the Year, Alexander Ryabchuk, who taught at Lyseum number 11 in Rostov and Don for 7 years was dismissed from his job as a teacher of history and social Knowledge for simply supporting Navalny and for supporting a demonstration against his imprisonment. His apartment was also raided by eight police men who made ludicrous statements that his support for Navalny was equivalent to promoting terrorist action! He stated the police officers who carried out the raid did not even clearly inform him of the reason why such an investigation was being carried out. He stated that, 'After the 23rd of January I was called to the headmaster's office and was asked to delete all posts of political content.' The headmaster explained to him that a teacher in school must maintain a 'neutral position' and not influence students in any way. The headmaster described him as a person of influence and that if he wanted to continue with his work as a teacher he would have to refrain from taking part in political activity and expressing his views in public. Ryabchuk refused. He stated: 'I understand the powers that be won't tolerate such critics which I express on Social Networks. ... All the time I taught children their subject with emphasized attention on how important freedom is. When I had to make a choice between career and freedom I chose what I taught myself!'

It is not hard to understand Ryabchuk's position. Like many concerned Russians, he was outraged and angered by the recent harsh treatment of Navalny. He feels deep sorrow for Navalny. Navalny has suffered imprisonment of 500 days, got a burnt eye, had a green chemical poured over him, has been poisoned and now imprisoned. Instead of arresting the people who poisoned him, he is actually arrested!

 

The Russian government seems to be worried that many minors have been going on protest demonstrations. But recent research indicates that very few minors attended one of the most recent protests on the 23rd of January. One group of monitors of the demonstration 'Analogi Protest' found that of those who were detained by the police, only about 5% were minors. The Government claims that older protesters are manipulating and using naive minors to advance their cause. Oppositions leaders counter that minors, as well as adults, have the right to attend even unsanctioned protests under article 31 of the Russian Constitution as well as being supported by the Convention of the United Nations concerning the defense of the rights of children. The Russian state signed such agreements. Strange as it might seem to some people, but even minors are entitled to hold and articulate an opinion. And some minors can think for themselves. The state, being used to the fact that because they can hardly think for themselves,  lack empathy to imagine children might actually be able to think independently.

Can any teacher possibly teach a subject like Social Knowledge in 'a neutral way '? So how is a teacher supposed to teach the Russian constitution when a pupil asks him or her "What do you think about freedom of speech? " Does he answer, "I don't know. I'm neutral. I don't have an opinion one way or another because I am not allowed to express it." The pupil will then point out, 'But I read in the constitution that you as a teacher have that right! "Perhaps one of the reasons for some minors going on those protests is that they see the glaring discrepancy between theory and practice. The child is not afraid to point out that the emperor has no clothes!

 

Ryabchuk remarked that 'Everyone who witnessed what happened reacted with sympathy and understanding. They were very upset when I was fired. They understood what a choice I had made'.

The School students of Ryabchuk were greatly inspired by his teaching. They are angered and deeply distressed at his dismissal. One pupil stated 'Nickolavich, you are the best, a second father'. Stasia Kulikova wrote, 'Thank you for teaching us to be self-educators and for the knowledge of the World. You teach with big enthusiasm, exciting such interest in knowledge, that we want to listen to you and study the subject! I very value you as a person and I am very sorry'.