On International Day of Education, we are delighted to share with you the story of Kristina. She graduated from Smolensk Pedagogical College in 2021, Department “Teaching in Primary School”. She is now a primary school teacher and, in her free time, she is involved in tutoring activities.
“I was born and raised in a traditional Roma family with certain deep-rooted values and concepts. Therefore, our cultural identity, laws, and traditions are priceless for me. My parents don’t have any professional qualification, and their financial situation was unstable. But they always put special attention to the educational aspect of our upbringing. My older brother has two higher educational diplomas, one in Law and one in Translation. My sister has been in secondary specialized school. I am grateful to my family, and especially to my mother, for teaching me, as it seems, the most important skills in life – independence and responsibility”.
Kristina loves being a teacher. She knew since she was a teenager that this was her calling.
“I am dedicated to tutoring and do not regret a single moment of the path I have chosen – that of a teacher. When I was a teenager, I first felt the desire to become an educator. The occasion was helping a Roma family through voluntary tutoring. I realized that I want to become a professional in the field of education, so that in the future, with better funds of knowledge, I could support Roma children’s learning. It is true what they say that a teacher is not just a profession, but a vocation. A young teacher must be, most of all, patient and responsible. In my opinion, these qualities are the essential ones for any teacher, especially a young one.”
“I have never regretted my choice of profession. Yet, if young Roma needed my advice, I would tell them to choose the specialties which are in higher demand on the labour market, such as Information Technologies or Social Media Management. After all, the choice depends on the person and their career preferences”.

She has always enjoyed helping those around her. That’s why Kristina has been involved in many volunteer activities along the years.
“Back in the school years, I volunteered a lot at the Regional Public Organization “Smolensk Roma Diaspora”. I always fancied helping people, and this is how I developed love in teaching. I can say that volunteering brought up a few positive personality traits in me and helped me choose a profession. Becoming a volunteer, I changed: I became purposeful, friendly and more reliable”.

To your knowledge, are there manifestations of discrimination and anti-gypsyism which obstruct the educational aspirations of Roma students in your country? Have you encountered discriminatory acts in your personal life?
“I have come across that unpleasant phenomenon several times and it is a frequent event especially of school times: because of my age, the opinion of my peers mattered to me, and it was not always according to my wish.
Manifestations of racism, discrimination, etc., are prohibited by law in Russia. However, this hasn’t deterred many people from demonstrating racism. I have taught myself to resist inequality and stand up for myself and the ethnicity I belong to”.