Kyiv

Situated on both banks of the Dnipr River in the northern part of the country, the origins of Kyiv are lost in antiquity.  It is, however, known as the “mother of all Russian cities,” long pre-dating cities in Russia itself.  Kyivan Rus – the city and territories around it - is considered the forerunner of the modern Russian state.  In 988, Prince Volodymyr of Kyiv designated Orthodox (Byzantine rite) Christianity as the state religion of Russia and established its seat in Kyiv.  Kyivan Rus attained its greatest powers in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when it was a trading center between the Baltic and Mediterranean seas.  Sacked by Mongols in 1240, the lands of Kyivan Rus were successively under Tatar, Lithuanian, and Polish control from the fourteenth century and then annexed by Russia in 1686.  The third largest city in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Kyiv was occupied and almost completely destroyed by German forces between September 1941 and November 1943.

Now the capital of independent Ukraine, Kyiv is the political hub of the country and an important center of Ukrainian commerce, industry, culture, and education.  Increasingly, prominent businessmen from other parts of the country are relocating to Kyiv in order to be close to government, national financial institutions, and other critical national organizations. It is as well a magnet for younger people wishing to build careers in post-Soviet Ukraine.  The official 2009 population of the city is estimated at 2.7 million.

The Dnipr River, seen here from the west bank looking east, is crossed by seven bridges in Kyiv.  Many of its islands are popular recreation sites.

Photo: http:www/treakearth.com/gallery/Europe/Ukraine/West/Kyyivska/kyiv/Photo90080.htmRetrieved June 5, 2009.

Notwithstanding the relatively large size (50,000 to 80,000 people) of the Kyiv Jewish population, Jewish life in the capital remains weak and seemingly without spirit. Kyiv, said one observer, is a city of Jewish offices, but almost devoid of Jewish life, as such. Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, continues to build buildings, but the majority of Kyiv Jews remain aloof from all organized Jewish activity. Not only is there little noticeable dynamic Jewish life in Kyiv itself, but the capital seems to provide little stimulus or direction for Jewish life in the rest of the country.

 Jewish Education

61.  The Orach Chaim day schools, operating under the auspices of Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, are the oldest of six Jewish day schools in Kyiv.[90] They currently enroll a total of 200 pupils in grades one through 11,[91] a significant decline from their peak enrollment of approximately 470. Boys’ and girls’ classes meet in separate buildings, each a former preschool located some distance from the center of the city. The general Jewish demographic decline is but one factor in the loss of pupils; the remote locations of the buildings, their lack of modernity, a secular curriculum that lags behind that of new private and elite public schools, the intensity of the Orthodox Jewish curriculum, the requirement that all pupils be halachically Jewish, and the single-gender education model are additional significant deterrents to greater enrollment. The need to maintain four separate buildings (schools for boys and for girls, dormitories for boys and for girls) imposes a major financial burden on the Orach Chaim system.[92]  The dormitories now accommodate 32 or 33 youngsters, whereas they previously housed twice that number.

Both Principal Khariton Gilgur and Rabbi Bleich acknowledge the need to build a new modern school offering a superior education.  Rabbi Bleich speaks of uniting all of the city’s Jewish day school pupils in grades five through 12 in a common educational institution that would boast modern science laboratories, a gymnasium and swimming pool, and other first-class education amenities. New dormitories would house students from smaller towns and from unstable families. Admission to the school would be open only to halachically Jewish youngsters, a requirement that most other observers consider unrealistic in a city and country in which the intermarriage rate exceeds 80 percent.  Although boys and girls would be in the same building, they would attend separate classes.  Without such a new building, said Rabbi Bleich, the Orach Chaim school has “no chance” of success.

Even in better economic times, financing such a new building would be difficult.  An additional contentious issue is whether other existing Kyiv day schools will surrender their own education visions in favor of that of an Orthodox chief rabbi who seems to spend less time in Kyiv in each passing year.[93]

One of the veteran Jewish day school principals in all of the post-Soviet states, Khariton Gilgur stated that the school must increase its enrollment if it is to offer appropriate educational options to youngsters of different ability levels and cultural sensitivities.  Good teachers, he continued, cannot be retained under current conditions.  Nonetheless, six Orach Chaim teachers have been honored by the municipality as superior instructors and pupils have done well on national exams.   Ten buses transport youngsters between their homes and the school every day.  Most pupils come from poor families, said Mr. Gilgur, who are unable to help the school financially.  The Obalon district in which several of the school buildings are located, he continued, is gentrifying somewhat; new families in the area could be helpful, but few of them appear to be halachically Jewish and thus their children are ineligible for admission to the school.

Khariton Gilgur, the longtime principal of the Orach Chaim school in Kyiv, is pessimistic about its future.  The school requires new facilities and a change in its policy requiring that all pupils be halachically Jewish, he said.

Photo: the writer.

62.  The Simcha-Chabad Jewish Academy was established in 1992 by Berel Karasik, then a Chabad-associated local leader in Kyiv. Simcha is affiliated with Tsirei Chabad (Young Chabad), an Israel-based faction of the Chabad movement. The school receives no financial assistance from Ohr Avner, the educational arm of the Chabad-controlled Federation of Jewish Communities. The writer spoke with Rabbi Mordechai Levenhartz, director of Tsirei Chabad programs in Ukraine.

This year (2008-2009) has been a “wailing wall” in Kyiv, said Rabbi Levenhartz, referring to the impact of the economic crisis.  No one can afford anything, even his wealthy friends have much less money.  Tsirei Chabad, is being “attacked from all sides,” he continued.  First, he said, the Jewish Agency discontinued the Hephzibah subsidy, which amounted to $40,000 annually for Simcha.  Second, 20 to 30 percent of adults in the families of youngsters in Simcha are unemployed.  Third, even those who are still working receive low salaries; many school parents are single parents and it is impossible for them to support families on their earnings.  The school is facing increased welfare needs, which impose an additional heavy burden.

The district in which Simcha is located always has been poor, but 2008-2009 has brought new afflictions.  The high level of unemployment in the district has led to increased crime in the area, said Rabbi Levenhartz.  People have been swindled and cheated.  The elderly have nothing at all.  The JDC hesed helps them, he said, but they still are absolutely impoverished and they are all very lonely. 

The school enrolls 440 pupils from preschool through grade 11, a drop from 540 in the previous school year.  Notwithstanding the decrease in census, Simcha remains the largest Jewish day school in the Ukrainian capital.  The preschool and grades one through four are located in one building, and grades five through  11 meet in a nearby second facility, both of which are former preschools.  The school is located in the same general region of the city as the ORT school, School #128, and Rabbi Bleich’s boy school.

Although the Simcha school has been hit hard by the economic crisis in Ukraine, it also has benefited from it.  Rabbi Levenholtz is seen here with some almost-new cabinets given to Simcha by an Israeli construction company that termin-ated its Kyiv operations.  The com-pany also gave the school 40 to 50 two- to three-year old computers, a fax machine, telephones, and other office equipment and furniture.

Photo: the writer.

All Simcha pupils are Jewish according to the Israeli Law of Return, said Rabbi Levenhartz, but not all are halachically Jewish.  Maintaining a policy limiting enrollment to halachically Jewish youngsters is “impossible” in Ukraine, he stated.  He observed that many families with no Jewish background at all have applied for enrollment, but Simcha requires adherence to the Law of Return.

The Jewish studies component of the Simcha high school curriculum consists of four class hours weekly in Hebrew language instruction and another four hours of Jewish tradition and literature.  Various informal Jewish education activities also are offered, some with the support of the Avi Chai Foundation. A strong Israeli atmosphere pervades the school.

Responding to a question about the possibility of a single unified Jewish day school in Kyiv, Rabbi Levenhartz said that he would be prepared to merge Simcha with another school in the future if the conditions are right.  However, he did not mention the nature of such conditions.  He observed that all those interested in Jewish day school education must realize that economic conditions have changed and that a merged day school may be the only way to develop a school with the programs and facilities that would attract an effective number of pupils.

In addition to operating the Simcha school, Tsirei Chabad offers several social,   welfare, and religious programs to families in the district in which it is located.  For example, Rabbi Levenhartz anticipated that 300 individuals would attend each of two seders that would be held at Simcha.  Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies are held annually and a school-based synagogue hosts services on Shabbat and all other holidays.  Seven older couples were honored at a second wedding in which each stood under a chuppa, a circumstance that had been denied them at their original marriage ceremonies during the Soviet period.  A limited amount of welfare assistance is distributed to needy individuals.

63.  The ORT school was established in 2000 as a lyceum, an elite secondary school with a competitive admissions policy. It currently enrolls 258 pupils in grades six through 11, an increase of 11 pupils over the previous academic year.  However, the increase was achieved by adding a sixth grade to its previous enrollment of seventh through eleventh graders.  Enrollment continues to decline in the upper grades, acknowledged Principal Yuri Kinkov; about 50 pupils dropped out between the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years.  The new sixth grade has proven very successful, said Mr. Kinkov.  The school might add a fifth grade next year.[94]

Ninety-five percent of pupils are at least partly Jewish and qualify for aliyah to Israel under the provisions of the Israeli Law of Return.[95] The school census is affected, said Mr. Kinkov, by the reality that it is selective in its admissions policy and it lacks the funds to provide some of the amenities available at other schools, such as free hot lunches.[96] Transportation also is a problem, given the school’s remote and unat-tractive location.

Daniela Abramovich, an Israeli, is the lead Hebrew and Jewish studies teacher at the ORT school.  She is pictured alongside Principal Yuri Kinkov.

Photo: the writer.

The school is located in two former pre-school buildings adjacent to slum-like apartment buildings in a remote neighborhood in the Darnitsa district of Kyiv. The two school buildings, which are in close proximity to each other, lack the features desirable for high school students, such as a sports hall or assembly hall. Classrooms are small, reflecting their original design for preschool children.  According to Mr. Kinkov, the enrollment capacity of the two buildings together is about 300.

In response to the economic crisis, the city has reduced the salaries of teachers of secular subjects.  City allocations for building maintenance also have been cut, said Mr. Kinko.  The Jewish Agency terminated funding for the Hephzibah program, thus forcing a major cutback in Jewish studies.  ORT, continued Mr. Kinko, “rescued” the Jewish studies program from oblivion, but is unable to sustain it at the previous level.  Only five class hours of Jewish studies are offered weekly this year, in contrast to the eight class periods that were scheduled last year.  Parents, he noted, are complaining about the cutback in Jewish studies.

Despite the reduction in Jewish studies programming, Mrs. Abramovich remains “proud” of school accomplishments in this area.  Everyone was “shocked” by the loss of JAFI funding just one day before the beginning of the school year, she said.  They have retained instruction in Hebrew and Jewish tradition, but have had to cut Jewish history and music as these subjects were covered almost entirely by the JAFI subsidy.

Although most school families are poor, continued Mr. Kinkov, they are helping the school by providing funds for maintenance and supplies, including soap and toilet paper.  Some parents also contribute money for various holiday cele-brations, including Pesach seders.

The school receives about $60,000 annually from ORT for technology-related instruction, including equipment upgrades.  It also is a beneficiary of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the Avi Chai Foundation.  The latter provides assistance for three Shabbatonim each year, Israel Independence Day festivities, monthly Parents’ Club meetings, dance classes, technology seminars, and pupil recruitment.  The Ukrainian Jewish Congress contributed 5,000 hryvnia (about $660) for the purchase of Chanukah presents.

In recognition of its strong technology program, the ORT school has been designated a laboratory school in technology education by the Ukraine Ministry of Education.  Pupils do very well in standardized exams and in technology competitions, stated Mr. Kinko.

64.  The Perlina school is a Chabad school currently enrolling 142 youngsters from preschool through grade eight, a significant decrease from its 2007-2008 enrollment of 170.  The school occupies an attractively renovated former preschool building and recently installed a $100,000 playground and small soccer field.  The playground includes nine pieces of playground apparatus designed for different age groups and is mounted on a resilient surface.

Notwithstanding its recent enrollment loss, the school directors, Rabbi Yonatan and Mrs. Ina Markovich, continue to plan for a full 12-grade school.  They intend to add a ninth grade in 2009-2010, just as they have added another grade each year since the school was established with just a preschool and first grade.  However, the current building is overcrowded and lacks science laboratories, appropriate computer classrooms, a full-size gymnasium, auditorium, and other facilities essential to both middle and high schools.  Although the Markoviches have made arrangements for use of such specialized premises in other institutions, the need to transport youngsters back and forth to other facilities is disruptive and expensive.  Efforts to obtain a more spacious building to house a middle and high school have failed; nonetheless, the Markoviches are optimistic that plummeting real estate prices may make appropriate properties more affordable.  They are looking at several buildings, they said, all of which would require extensive renovations.

Ina Markovich was born in St. Petersburg, Rabbi Markovich in western Ukraine.  The Perlina school is highly regarded for its early child-hood program, which is considered by some to be the best in the city.

Photo: the Markoviches.

The enrollment loss, said Mrs. Markovich, is a result of Perlina economizing in the wake of the current economic crisis.  Families simply transferred their children to other schools when Perlina reduced services.  For example, school buses now make fewer stops.  The long school day has been shortened; school now dismisses at 4:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 and no longer serves dinner; these changes impose a major burden on working parents of small children, acknowledged Mrs. Markovich.  Routine bonuses for teachers have been reduced from 70 percent of salary to 25 percent of salary,[97] causing one teacher to leave.

The well-regarded preschool enrolls a number of children from foreign families, including Israeli and American Jewish families resident in Kyiv.  However, these children usually transfer to the American or British schools as they enter first grade, lamented Mrs. Markovich.  She believes that the shift to elite English-speaking schools could be stemmed if Perlina could attract native English-speakers to its own school, perhaps as volunteer teachers and activity leaders.  The Markoviches are trying to initiate such a program.

Perlina is a private school with a sliding tuition scale.  All but eight families make some payment, they said, with many paying $40 monthly.  Wealthy parents pay much more.

Perlina school youngsters have three to four class hours of Hebrew language instruction each week and two to three hours of Jewish tradition and history.  One hour is assigned to Jewish ethics, and two hours are devoted to Shabbat.