Pro-Russian activists try to have Crimean Ukrainian language lyceum closed

On Friday 7 September the activists attempted to disrupt lessons. However there proved three times less of them than of law enforcement officers, and they gave up.

Around twenty activists from pro-Russian groups near the Simferopol Ukrainian language lyceum and around fifty police officers in a bus nearby did not distract the students from their studies. Only one class of 11-year-olds going to a PE class saw the Russian three colours and booed at the picketers.

The latter were not numerous, but they were in aggressive move. They demanded that the school be shut and a “museum of the Bandera-supporting occupation of the Crimea and Sevastopol” be opened in its place. The picketers assert in their resolution that there is no alternative to the people’s liberation struggle of the Russian people in the Crimea. 

While the head of the lyceum said that the picketers did not disturb lessons, the head of the civic organizations “Ukrainian Home” Andriy Shchekun believes that the picket demanding the school’s closure is jeopardizing regional security and that this is just one element of a dangerous trend.

“The Crimean authorities are pandering to extremists”

Andriy Shchekun reports that the Crimean Council of Ministers has passed a resolution to transfer money allocated from the State Budget to build the only Ukrainian-language school on the Southern coast of the Crimea for repairs to one of the many Russian-language schools in the Sudak area.. Since money for Sudak had been allocated in the Republic’s Budget, representatives of 8 civic organizations suspect the Crimean government of corrupt dealings and have turned to the Prosecutor to check the legality of using funds allocated from the State budget specifically for a Ukrainian school in Yalta.

The press service of the Crimean government confirmed the plan to reallocate the money from the Budget, but promised to provide explanation and commentary later.