Bouquets

As this is a celebration of both teachers and students, it’s traditional for school (and sometimes university) students to bring flowers to their teachers. Oftentimes, the bouquets tend to be rather big, meaning that younger students tend to engage in some heavy lifting as they bring assemblies of flowers nearly half their size to their first ever day at school.

“I remember my parents usually managed to save a lot of money because my bouquet was always from our garden and not from a flower shop. The best part of the day was after the линейка (assembly), when you got together to celebrate the occasion in the only town’s pizzeria,” shares Elizaveta Shevchenko, an author and social media manager at the international editorial team.

Lineyka

Every year, on September 1 students gather in their schools, bringing all kinds of flowers to their teachers. Then, weather permitting, students of all years assemble in neat groups (or lines – hence the name lineyka or ruler/line) at a school’s yard for an official ceremony to kick off the school year. At different schools, this step varies: from live performances of songs by older students (check out the main banger here) to dancing and even drama reenactments. 

“The one Knowledge Day I remember the most isn’t the first one, though it  was a biggie, but the very last one as a school student. I was in my school’s drama club, so I was on a stage quite a few times — but that summer I was asked to play an empress at the September 1st celebration in front of the entire school and even some guests. I remember being so nervously excited about  this not only because almost the entire town was going to be there but also because I was in my final year, which combined made the day beyond special. As I finished my part as an empress, I was an 11th-grader again who was to take part in all these lovely school traditions like leading a first-grader by their hand into the school for their very  first classes — the one I liked the most,” remembers Marina Belyaeva, an author and translator on the team.

Ringing bells and two generations

Apart from various performances and speeches, there is one very special ritual that typically concludes the September 1 lineyka:

“There’s a tradition to ring a bell during lineyka to signify the beginning of a new academic year. Traditionally, it’s done by one of the kids just starting school and one who’s about to graduate the same year. The older student either carries the younger one on their shoulders or takes them by the hand as they walk in front of everyone and the first-grader is ringing a hand bell. I had the honor to perform this Knowledge Day ritual with my brother: in 2003, I went to the first grade, and he started his final year at the same school. I’m not typically a fan of having all eyes on me, but as I was with a family member, I was calm and proud,” reminisces Kseniia Miroshkina, an author on the team.

First lesson

As this first bell rings, the academic year has officially begun – and all students follow the bell-ringing pair inside the school, where they all go to their classrooms to have their very first class of the year. Usually, it’s just a 45-minute-long organizational meeting with your class teacher: you learn your new schedule, get books from the school library, and fill in your first pages in the dnevnik (diary or academic planner). 

“These first classes after the lineyka have always been very special for me, starting from my very first one: I remember I was very nervous and still getting used to wearing my green school uniform, excitedly shuffling all the freshly-bought pencils in my bright pink backpack. It felt like some new stage in my life was just beginning, one where I would finally discover what it meant to go to school, learn to make friends, and study every subject school had to offer,” shares Catherine Zavodova, an author and translator on the team.

We wish you a wonderful academic year!