The First Waldorf School in Russia: A Postcard from Moscow

Abstract

The first Waldorf school in Russia was founded twenty five years ago. That school opened in 1992 in Moscow. It is located a comfortable twenty five minute walk south from such iconic sights of the capital as the Red Square, the Kremlin, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the GUM department store. Russia’s school system is an eleven year system, Years 1 through 11, with students beginning at age seven years. School 1060 (www.1060.ru) was originally launched as an independent Waldorf school with the practical preparation work completed with the aid of prospective parents. There are now more than 650 students in 22 classes and the enrolment is growing. The school is now wholly funded by the government and so it is free to attend with no fees for students. It is one of three government-funded Waldorf schools. The transition from private to public school was achieved in 1995/1996. There are 18 Waldorf schools in Russia and 30 kindergartens. As well as five Waldorf schools in Moscow, there are also Waldorf schools in Saint Petersburg, Irkutsk, Jaroslawl, Kaluga, Samara, Schukowskij, Smolensk, Tomsk, Ufa, Vladimir, Voronezh, and Zelenograd. There is an Association of Waldorf Schools of Russia which was founded in 1995 and now has 21 members.

Full text

The First Waldorf School in Russia:
A Postcard from Moscow
Dr John Paull
School of Land & Food, University of Tasmania.
j.paull@utas.edu.au
The first Waldorf school in Russia was founded twenty five years ago. That school opened
in 1992 in Moscow. It is located a comfortable twenty five minute walk south from such
iconic sights of the capital as the Red Square, the Kremlin, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the
GUM department store.
Russia’s school system is an eleven year system, Years 1 through 11, with students
beginning at age seven years. School 1060 (www.1060.ru) was originally launched as an
independent Waldorf school with the practical preparation work completed with the aid of
prospective parents. There are now more than 650 students in 22 classes and the
enrolment is growing.
The school is now wholly funded by the government and so it is free to attend with no fees
for students. It is one of three government-funded Waldorf schools. The transition from
private to public school was achieved in 1995/1996.
In crossing the threshold into School 1060, a visitor from Australia might first notice the vast
forest of coat hooks and coats. It is an unfamiliar sight for those from a moderate climate -
but this is Moscow, and the winters are serious. During a Moscow winter the temperature
may not creep above zero for weeks or months at a time. Temperatures in the negative
teens are common. The record low for Moscow is -42°C. This is a continental climate - in
contrast to the maritime climate (moderated by the ocean) that most Australian’s enjoy.
A visitor familiar with Waldorf and Steiner schools will feel they are in familiar territory. Walls
are painted in bright and cheerful relaxing pastels - each floor featuring a different colour.
There is a water feature with swirling vortexes. There are play spaces featuring asymmetric
crafted and polished timbers.
On the top level there is a
eurythmy room with
costumes.
The school is a five storey
building dating from the
1930s when it was purpose
built as a school. There are
40 classrooms. There are
sports areas, a library, and
an assembly hall. A recent
addition is an outdoor
amphitheatre performance
sp ace. T he sc ho ol ha s
expanded into a nearby
building with a preschool
hosting one hundred
kindergarten students.
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Journal of BIODYNAMICS TASMANIA
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Image 1: Waldorf School 1060, Moscow.

Students have a rich
exposure to art and
craft activities.“Our
primary school pupils
do a lot of knitting,
needlework, they
grow wheat, make
bread, build houses,
do wood and metal
work” (www.1080.ru).
Display-cases display
student pottery
handicrafts. A fine art
collage by middle
school students
recalls a recent
school trip to Italy.
Music plays a big role
in the li fe of thi s
school. There are class and school orchestras, choirs, and music performances. Students
have the opportunity for taking extra music classes after school hours and perhaps half of
students take up this option.
The dining room serves nutritious meals with a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian,
including the Russian favourite, grechka (гречка; buckwheat). Russia is the leading
producer of grechka. The triangular seeds are rich in complex carbohydrates. Grechka has
a short growing season, it responds unfavourably to synthetic fertiliser, and it is gluten-free.
All school students in Russia learn English. However, there is a lack of exposure to native
speakers and that is a challenge which compromises the intent. Russia has not embraced
the practices that China and Japan have recently pioneered, in which hundreds and
thousands of native
English speakers
have been imported
on temporary work
permits to work with
classes alongside
local teachers.
Vladimir Putin has
visited the school to
present awards. The
school has twice won
awards for ‘Teacher of
the Year in Russia’ - in
music and
mathematics.
The Austrian
philosopher, Rudolf
Steiner (1861-1924),
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Image 2: A classroom with a wall mural.
Image 3: Wood-working class.

made plans to visit
Russia in 1912 and
1913, but he was
denied permission
and he never visited
Russia (Carlson,
1993). Nevertheless,
from the beginnings of
Anthroposophy (in
1912) there were
Russians involved
with Steiner. The
Russian artist Assya
Turgeniev
(1890-1966) created
the remarkable
engraved coloured
glass windows that we
now see in the
Goetheanum in
Dornach, Switzerland (Paull, 2012; Turgeniev, 2003).
Steiner founded the original Waldorf School in Stuttgart in 1919 . He saw the original school
as a prototype and exemplar for a new style of schooling. Steiner was keen that his
educational ideas were put to the test and that they proliferate internationally. Teachers
came to Dornach for seminars with Steiner and in 1922 he presented his ideas at Oxford to
an Anglo audience (Paull, 2011; Steiner, 1922). There are now 1,092 Waldorf schools in 64
countries and 1857 kindergartens in more than 70 countries (Hague Circle, 2017).
There are 18 Waldorf schools in Russia and 30 kindergartens (Hague Circle, 2017). As well
as five Waldorf schools in Moscow, there are also Waldorf schools in Saint Petersburg,
Irkutsk, Jaroslawl, Kaluga, Samara, Schukowskij, Smolensk, Tomsk, Ufa, Vladimir,
Voronezh, and Zelenograd. There is an Association of Waldorf Schools of Russia which was
founded in 1995 and now has 21 members (waldorf-russia.ru).
Acknowledgement:
Thank you for the
kind hospitality of
teachers, students
and catering staff at
School 1060 when
the author recently
visited.
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Journal of BIODYNAMICS TASMANIA
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Image 4: Lunch selection at the school cafeteria: grechka (buckwheat), soup,
salad, and fruit drink.
Image 5: School vegetable patch.

References
Carlson, Maria. 1993. No Religion Higher than Truth: A History of the Theosophical Movement in
Russia, 1875-1922. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Hague Circle. 2017. Waldorf World List: Directory of Waldorf and Rudolf Steiner Schools,
Kindergartens and Teacher Training Centers Worldwide. Berlin: International Forum for
Steiner/Waldorf Education.
Paull, John. 2011. Rudolf Steiner and the Oxford Conference: The birth of Waldorf education in
Britain. European Journal of Educational Studies 3 (1):53-66.
Paull, John. 2012. The Glass House: Crucible of Biodynamic Agriculture. Journal of Biodynamics
Tasmania 108 (Summer):18-23.
Steiner, Rudolf. 1922. Spiritual Ground of Education: Nine Lectures given at Manchester College,
Oxford, from August 16th to 25th, 1922. Published thus in 1947 ed. London: Anthroposophical
Publishing Company.
Turgeniev, Assya. 2003. Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner and Work on the First Goetheanum.
Translated by M Wood and J Wood. Forest Row, UK: Temple Lodge.
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