A scandal erupted in Kyiv after an investigation reported that an underground Russian-language school had been operating on the grounds of the Holy Protection Holosiiv Monastery, linked to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and canonically associated with the Moscow Patriarchate. On January 13, Ukrainian law enforcement opened an inquiry based on materials published by the investigative outlet Slidstvo.info, whose reporters used a hidden camera to record conversations with the principal, teachers, and parents.
According to the investigation, the school, called Perspektiva, opened in February 2025 and had no registration, remaining effectively invisible to the state for nearly a year. Its director, Anna Bolgova, said it functioned as a “family club.” The school had about 60 children in nine classes, employed 16 teachers, and charged 3,000 hryvnias per month per child, not including meals.
People interviewed by the reporters described an educational approach modeled on the Soviet system: pupils were shown a 1966 arithmetic textbook, learned Soviet songs in music lessons, and, according to Bolgova, watched contemporary Russian films in a class listed as “Film.” Participants also spoke of sympathy for the “Russian world” and reluctance to sing the Ukrainian national anthem.
Some of the children were reportedly formally enrolled through the private Rancho School near Kyiv, while others were listed as distance students at a school in Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region. Those institutions handled the paperwork, assigned grades, and were expected to issue educational certificates.
The case quickly gained political consequences. A group of lawmakers submitted bill No. 14361 to the Verkhovna Rada. It would bar private schools in Ukraine from choosing Russian as the language of instruction when it is the language of a state officially recognized as an aggressor. The bill also proposes stricter liability for underground schools.
The scandal also drew attention to the monastery’s superior, Archbishop Isaakiy (Andronik). According to the article, he left Ukraine before the New Year and traveled to Moldova. The monastery had previously attracted scrutiny because of ideological and criminal associations, and after the investigation became public, Perspektiva ceased operating: parents withdrew their children, who returned to regular Kyiv schools.