A school in Lithuania’s second biggest city, hitherto known as Alexander Pushkin Gymnasium, has been renamed to Kaunas International Gymnasium. The headmaster says the name was changed to better reflect the school’s character and not in a drive to remove Russian references.
Back in April, Kaunas City Municipality suggested that Alexander Pushkin Gymnasium be renamed. The bilingual school offers instruction in Lithuanian and Russian.
Headmaster Erikas Griškevičius then said that Pushkin’s name puts undue emphasis on Russian culture.
“At the moment, we have students of 30 different nationalities and all the major faiths. [...] To focus solely on the Russian culture, emphasising Russianness, as is the case with Pushkin, does not correspond to the current reality,” Griškevičius told LRT.lt in April.
Kaunas City Council voted on the decision to rename the school on June 21 and it began the new academic year on September 1 under the new name, Kaunas International Gymnasium.
According to the City Council’s resolution, the school’s student body includes around 200 pupils from Afghanistan, the Philippines, Romania, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Venezuela, Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, and other countries.
Many Lithuanian students come from families who have repatriated to the country from abroad.
In all, 1,465 students are enrolled at the school, according to the City Council’s resolution.
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