Alexey Pavlov - Boyhood

Today in Russia there are several hundred schools with separate education for boys and girls. This approach has always generated a lot of controversy. Proponents argue that gender separation enhances academic achievement, has a positive effect on the physical and psychological development of students, and helps establish “traditional values.”

Opponents of separate education argue that a constant presence only among peers of the same sex can adversely affect the development of the individual, as it forms an environment that is far from the realities of life in society. According to them, in the modern world it is much more productive to personalize training, based on the characteristics and needs of each individual student, without any reference to common features.

The village of Borogontsy is located one hundred thirty kilometers northeast of Yakutsk. The nineties, as in all of Russia, passed here severely. The country was experiencing economic and social upheaval, a new world appeared in front of people, overwhelmed with uncertainty about tomorrow. Young people did not understand very well how to manage absolute freedom, which suddenly came to replace comprehensive control and guardianship by the state.

The decision that only boys will study at the high school, which opened here in 1994, was also made in order to combat this phenomenon. A bias in technical disciplines, a lot of additional classes and a special attention to sports - gymnasium students were to become an example for everyone else.

The costume of the Yakut warrior - bootur, used in school plays. Students try to instill patriotic feelings, the desire to become worthy heads of families and fair leaders. These values ​​correlate with the image of a real man, laid in the school.

Students play ball in the gym during the break. The unofficial name of the school - "Uolan" - literally translated from Yakut means "young man, youth"

One of the authors of the idea of ​​creating a high school, where only boys will study, is Filippov Valentin Ivanovich. According to him, a man must have a lively mind, be skillful and courageous, always look tidy

According to tradition, military training camps are held every fall. Boys go to the training ground, live in tents for three days and must pass standards for general physical training and marching

Yakutia is the largest and coldest region of Russia with its own unique culture. The Yakut ritual pillars - serge - are connected with the cult of the horse - the hosts and guests tied horses to it, and it is also a symbol of the tree of life, uniting the three worlds - Upper, Middle and Lower

Pupils during a ceremony dedicated to Teacher's Day. All high school students are required to go to school in dark suits, they always have with them a handkerchief and a comb.

Despite the fact that in 2009, at the request of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the provisions on sovereignty were for the most part excluded from the Constitution of the Republic, on September 27, Day of Statehood is widely celebrated in Yakutia. On this day, students of most Yakut schools come to study in national costumes

Also, one of the traditional events is a bike ride, to which students of the ninth grades go annually. This year, students went to the village of Kepteni, located thirty-three kilometers from Borogontsy

Freestyle wrestling is the number one sport in Yakutia. A huge number of boys in Yakut cities and villages attend such sections.

Portraits of famous Russian military leaders hang on the wall. Portraits of the President of the Russian Federation, the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the head of the Ust-Aldan region are located a little lower

Children who come to study from far away villages or cities can settle in a boarding house working at the gymnasium. A few years ago, among the graduates was a young man who specially flew from Moscow to Borogontsy to study at "Uolan"

Graduates decorated a wall in a boarding house

The famous ice fishing on crucian carp in Yakutia is called Munkha. They gather for this fishing throughout the village and it takes place in the fall, when the ice is already strong enough.

Pupils of grade 11 go fishing with male teachers. Experienced elders are also invited. They know where and how best to carry out a net and lead the whole action.

Preparation for school play about local flora and fauna.

Aleksei Alekseevich Vinokurov worked as a biology teacher for nineteen years from the day the high school was opened, subsequently switching to work at the local young naturalists station. In 2013, he published a photo album with landscapes of his native places, pictures of representatives of flora and fauna. Behind Alexei Alekseevich, we see a large photoprint of Lake Muru - once large-water, but now rapidly drying up

Pennant made for opening of the school in 1994. "Uolan" celebrates its 25th anniversary this year