Frustration over missing school: Residents ask Putin for help from China

Irkutsk. For years, residents of the Siberian suburb of Berjosowy have been waiting for a urgently needed school. Because the construction project has not progressed despite earlier promises and funding remains unclear, residents have now approached Russian President Vladimir Putin with an unusual proposal: he should ask China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping for support in building the school.

Hope for support from China

As the newspaper Moscow Times reports, residents make this proposal in a joint letter. In it, they suggest that the planned school could be built as a sign of cultural cooperation with China. The authors even emphasise that they are “ready to start learning Chinese”.

Thousands of pupils without a local school

The appeal is prompted by the strained education situation in Berjosowy. According to residents, around 2,000 school-age children live there. As there is no school of its own locally, many pupils have to commute daily to neighbouring towns. However, the educational institutions there are considered overstretched. The long journeys through remote areas cost families a great deal of time and are usually only manageable by bus or car.

Criticism of state priorities

At the same time, dissatisfaction with the state’s priorities is growing. Some residents criticise the fact that funds are being made available for infrastructure projects in Moscow or for school construction abroad, while their own project has made no progress for years.

Construction halted despite earlier announcements

A school with capacity for 1,500 pupils had originally been announced for 2021. According to the report, construction did not begin until last year and was halted again shortly afterwards. According to residents, the regional administration stated that the budget would not provide any financial resources for the project over the next two years.

Symbol of regional problems

The case highlights the challenges faced by many regions in Russia, where urgently needed infrastructure projects are implemented only slowly due to a lack of funding or other state priorities.