"When you know, you can't be silent"

"Medusa" publishes video features of the two former students of the League of Schools. They tell how they were subjected to sexual harassment

On January 23, Medusa published an investigation into Daniil Turovsky - in it numerous graduates and former employees of the small Moscow school for gifted children League of Schools talk about how students were subjected to sexual harassment by the director of the school Sergei Bebchuk and his deputy Nikolai Izyumov. The School League was closed in 2015 - after a group of graduates and school staff conducted their investigation and demanded that Bobchuk and Izumov quit and no longer work in education. During this investigation, two former league students, Tatyana Karsten and Vera Vollyak, recorded video messages in which they talked about what happened to them. "Medusa" publishes video features Karsten and Vollyak with their consent.

The appeal of Tatyana Karsten

Tatyana Karsten recorded her video message at the end of 2014, when a group of graduates conducted an investigation into cases of sexual harassment in the League of Schools. "Medusa" publishes it with the permission of Karsten; The names of other students of the “School League” and the children who mentioned Karsten are cut out of the video. As part of the preparation of the investigation of the “School League”, the Medusa correspondent also took an interview from Karsten.

Decoding

My name is Tanya Karsten, I am a former student of school No. 1199, the “School League”, which you know about. I want to tell what happened between me and Bobchuk Sergey Alexandrovich in May of my 9th grade, after the May campaign, during the May holidays. As I said, I was then a 9th grade student, and, like all students of the 9th grade in the League, I was preparing for GIA, including in computer science, and for the so-called state examination in mathematics and geometry. Since I did not really succeed in all this, Sergey Alexandrovich Blybchuk insisted that after the May campaign in the May holidays, I went to him in the village - to Bobrovo, where the students very often go and where I was already preparing for the art history Olympiad.

Only two of my classmates went to Bobrovo with me. There were also Bebchuk, his wife Anastasia Stanislavovna Loseva, who was a teacher of the history of art, their daughter and graduate of the League of Schools. We were engaged in informatics and mathematics, Bobchuk dragged us to exams all this time.

I must say that I did not want to go there. Firstly, because I lost May holidays, and secondly, because in theory there was an opportunity to study at school with a teacher of mathematics. But Sergei Alexandrovich still insisted that I should do this, and Anastasia Stanislavovna, too.

All this time we were engaged in, solved problems, helped around the house. Bebchuk has no bath in the country. All those who came to Bobrovo prepare for the Olympics, exams or just like that - and they invited a lot of students there, as far as I know, throughout the history of the school - all these children went to wash in the bathhouse.

When I was in Bobrovov for the first time, preparing for the art history Olympiad, it looked something like this: all the students-boys and girls-went to the bathhouse together, wound up towels, played first a game with cards to remember some paintings, and then half the bath was blocked by a curtain-and first the girls washed, and then the boys werehed.

At that time, Bobchuk had an idea. He explained this as follows: since the bathhouse has a very high temperature, the blood is liquefied, it enters the brain more, so it is better to think. I don’t remember how much we were there, for quite a long time, and either really the blood is liquefied, or we just wanted to quickly get out of there, we really managed to solve problems. Bebchuk sometimes entered and went out. As happened in the previous times, we undressed, wrapped in towels and sat there. In the same form there was Sergey Alexandrovich.

On the day I was alone, Sergei Alexandrovich invited me to go to the bathhouse again. This time one in his presence. Of course, I had no back thoughts. I did not really like this idea, but usually no one has shifted Sergey Alexandrovich, so I did how he wanted.

As in past times, I undressed, wrapped in this towel, began to solve problems. True, it did not work out very much. Pretty soon, I began to feel bad, my head was spinning, I stopped thinking what was happening. Sergei Alexandrovich entered several times and went out. I checked what I was doing.

The last time he came in, he saw that I was bad to solve. He suggested before swimming-the bathhouse after all,-to treat me with a broom. I don't know, birch. Once I saw how he did this with his daughter, and ... I don’t know why I agreed. I did not understand very well what was happening. It dawned on me only when he said to remove the towel, turned away, and I went down the bench.

He treated me with a broom. It is clear that there was no clothes on me at that moment. Then he helped me put on a towel. He sat next to me on a bench, acquired me. He said that I am a very smart and beautiful girl. That he has been in love with me for a long time. He said that everything will be fine with us, we will succeed. I don’t know what he had in mind - obviously, exams.

I did not expect so that this could happen that, probably, from shock, from fear, from everything I sat and did not know what to do. I have never been in such a situation, I had no idea how I should react to this. And so I just sat and did nothing when he asked me to kiss. And I felt very, very scary at that moment. And, it seems, I nodded his head, he kissed me. Then he got up, said something, wanted to go out. It seems to me that at that moment it dawned on him that something wrong was happening. He asked me: "I guess I do badly that I'm pestering you?" I said I don't know. We stood at the door, then he hugged me, kissed his forehead, cheeks, hair, I do not know. He said how good I am, how he loves me. He said that everything will be fine with us. I smiled at him, pretended to be all right.

At that moment I was 17 years old, which, probably, is important to mention. I really wanted to leave Bobrovo on the same day or the next day, but ... I don’t know, I probably was very scary, very ashamed. I also wanted to tell someone about this, but I could not. I wanted to tell Anastasia Stanislavovna, but I began to think about how I will tell her - because she recently gave birth to a second child to him? What will a woman feel who recently gave birth to a second child to her husband, who at the same time sticks to students? [I began to think about that] that it should hurt her. I thought that what if he would be imprisoned - and then what would happen to his children? I also thought that he did not do anything terrible for me, I already had 17, because it was normal if a man falls in love with a girl ... Besides, he tried so hard to help me with these exams, with everything. Well, in general, I said nothing to anyone.

I was very afraid that it would become known that the school would be closed, that because of me people would suffer, maybe. After some time, I found out that I was not the only one that there were other girls, many other girls, and something much worse happened to them than with me. And when for some time I was outside the influence of Sergei Alexandrovich, Anastasia Stanislavovna and Nikolai Mikhailovich Izumov, there were people who could support me, and I only decided to tell me about it because ... when you know, you can’t be silent.

Appeal of faith Vollyak

Vera Volyak recorded her video message at the end of 2014, when a group of graduates conducted an investigation into cases of sexual harassment in the League of Schools. It is quoted in the investigation of "Medusa". After the publication of the investigation, Vollyak suggested a “Medusa” to record a new video message by answering the questions of the correspondent. His mounted version is published with the consent of Vollyak.

Decoding

He invited me to stay at his house. I remember that I called my parents and said that we stay with Bebchuk. I did not say that I am alone with him. My parents allowed me to stay. When it was the first time, I was about 14 years old, probably. I don’t remember whether there were any sexual contacts before, but this first time I stayed at his house, it was a complete sex. Fully. It cannot be said that it was, as you call it, petting or affection, something like that, kisses or touches, no, it was a complete sex. I can say that I was 14 years old.

Everyone left school, and one of the parents came to pick up the last girl who stayed with me. The situation is this: Bebchuk, I, this girl and her dad. And dad says to her: well, let's go, I take you. And he also says to me: come with us, leave. And Bebchuk says: no, you stay, then I will let her go. And after - well, understandable, the school was locked from the inside. It was inside the school, was sex inside the school. It was in the corridor. This time it was in the corridor.

Before Bobrovo there was a cottage called Fomino. In this Fomino, too, there was a bathhouse, there the bathhouse also appeared. And we washed in it all together, in this bath. I arrived there, and there were two girls who were younger than me. If I was 15-16 - it was when I was in the League, then she was younger, she was 13-14 years old. She is one of those who did not agree to tell her stories, and I do not know the details of her story, but I know that she was bad, and she left school, and she was bad for a long time. After these girls left, I was left alone with Bebchuk and with Anastasia in this Fomino. And, in fact, this moment, when I describe in [the first] video message, group sex - it was in Fomino, and there were no witnesses, there were three of us there. I think that it was probably the summer of 1995.

Words about indulgence are one of the moments that I remember very vividly. The situation was such that I arrived - the apartment was in Butovo, a one -room apartment. As a result, there were three of us: Anastasia, I and Bebchuk. And he says this: like, well, that’s all, Anastasia, you go, and she remains. And Anastasia was so ... said nothing and left. I think that it was the last time we had sex, but again ... I think it was the last time, so, according to the memories. It is difficult for me to restore the chronology. And he said to me: “You don’t worry, I will get married on her, but she will forgive me, I can always with you - and you, please, begged for the indulgence from your future husband, when you get married, so that I can always be with you too.” I don't know when ... when did they have a wedding? If you find out when they had a wedding, you will find out when it was.

When I was at school, I kept diaries, but a few years ago I went to my mother and burned it all, because it was all terribly disgusting. We hope for the outcome of the fact that ... no one wants to plant them. As I understand it, it will be positive for everyone-what is the name of Outcome in Russian? - If they cannot work with children.

As I understand it, some girls did not mind, if Mikhalych pressed them there, stroked them, but for many it caused disgust. Many did not say anything. Many said: "Yes, it was with us, but we do not want to participate in this." You see, until 2014 I had no idea that all this was ongoing. For me, it was the story of the late 1990s, my school, then I started a university, a completely different life, it all ended for me. I completely had no idea that this all continues with 14-15-year-old girls, everything is still ongoing.

I remember several cases with Izumov. I know for sure that the line between friendly handshake and, as to say, he does not understand sexual contact. I saw his answers in an interview now, and he says, like-what is it, I stroked someone there? If you have a girl on your knees, and you, as it were, have an erection, and you stroke it by the chest, in my opinion, this is very far from handshake.

He simply closed the door - you go into his office, he closes the door and further, what is there, caresses you, presses you. I'm not saying that I had sex with him. There was no complete sex. Once there was such that I left after some lesson, went to his house, because his house was, like there, five minutes on foot-that is, it was necessary to just climb the street. There was no one at home, and this is exactly what I describe where he was a section and that I say, that he started the case and did not finish. The point is that he was ready to cross this line between, as you call it, petting and sex - but he did not cross this line. That is, he tried, he wanted it clearly, he was naked, I was also naked, that is, he did not cross this line. Everything else that he did is still unacceptable. Do you understand?

In fact, you see, there is such a story that they were in the position of power. For us, they were people whom we respected, whom we put on a pedestal. And they took the position of our parents, in theory. In fact, I do not know if there is such a concept in Russian. In England there is such a thing - Groming. The girl is taken in some unstable state. And some options are different-either gifts, or persuasion, or somehow-she is inclined to sex. Emotionally, as it were, to say it ... you were elected. Of the chosen ones you were chosen. You didn’t even think that it could be something wrong. In the seventh grade, I remember how I sat for hours and told something Bebchuk, cried-[that] that I could not tell my parents. Because I had a relationship with them ... in general, some ... I did not talk about them about my feelings, about something else. But she talked with teachers at school. They were in such a position, it was there: parents do not understand you, you are special, we understand you, we will tell you everything. There was such a culture that it was not cool to tell parents. For example, there was such a story: at some point, one of the girls became very unpopular. And I never knew why, why people do not like her. And then it turned out - I found out three years ago - that she told her mother about what was happening at school with one of the girls. About her relationship with Bebchuk. And she was made unpopular.

I did not have the same that I needed to get something from them so that they asked me for forgiveness or something else. I personally do not need anything from them personally - and never needed.

I still had a big breakthrough when ... I had a second child, daughter. I began to think: my God, I do not want her to have something with me when I was at school. My profession is also related to education. I work here in education, in England. I worked at school for several years here. You see, I can look at this situation from all sides. Neither an adult, nor the parent, nor the teacher can accept this. Because it is beyond something.

The last time I saw Bebchuk in 2008. Was February 2008. And Bebchuk behaved very strangely. I have not seen him, I don't know how many years. He somehow took me by the hand. I was with one girl yet, we went to the subway. And he also went to the subway ... And he somehow took his hand, stroked. And there was a feeling that the spider was trying ... the web back. And these words about Indulgence again surfaced in my head. No, please. After that, I did not go to school.

He [Izumov] wrote to me some letters that were disgusted to me to read. Because it was about how wonderful it was, how you were, how beautiful it was. Having received this letter, I immediately deleted it.

I do not think that someone wants something from them. None of the girls who recorded messages or recorded their cases - they do not need anything from them. They can’t give us anything. The only thing is that they no longer hurt anyone. So that they simply do not work with children. So that they do not have such an opportunity.

Deciphering appeals were slightly edited to facilitate reading.

Daniil Turovsky