Era of Moscow’s Non-Russian Schools Coming to an End with Threatened Closure of Only Tatar School There

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 3 – In the 1980s and 1990s, non-Russian communities in the Russian capital asked for and were allowed to form special schools in their native language, with the growth of such schools rising to 47 in 1996. Now, with the threatened closure of Moscow’s only Tatar school looming, the era of such schools in the capital is coming to an end.

            Most of these schools were numbered just as regular Russian schools were but they often acquired the name of a national hero and were known informally as the school of this or that nationality. The Tatar school, for example, is named for Musa Jamil, a Soviet hero during World War II (business-gazeta.ru/article/684356).

            Initially, all these schools conducted their classes in the language of the nationality they were known for; but beginning 15 years ago, such classes were limited and then almost entirely eliminated over the last five years. And in most cases, this destruction occurred by the amalgamation of these schools with neighboring Russian ones.

            The looming demise of Moscow’s Tatar school is especially important not only because it suggests that the era of non-Russian schools in Moscow is coming to an end but also because it eliminates a school that has been a haven not only for Tatars but for other non-Russians and thus an important conduit of Tatar influence to that larger group.

            As Business Gazeta points out, only 98 of the 632 pupils in the school are Tatars, outnumbered by far by Tajiks (179) and Kyrgyz (120), although 28 of the school’s 32 teachers are ethnic Tatars. If the school is closed as appears likely to happen before the end of this year, these ties will be at least disrupted if not completely destroyed.