Initiation

1. Directive

Lyceum No. 2, Verkhnelutsk (municipal school)

DIRECTIVE No. 214-o, October 5, 2026

"On the formal initiation of fifth-grade students into the Lyceum"

In honor of Lyceum Day and to preserve the traditions of the school, I HEREBY DIRECT:

1. That the initiation of classes 5A and 5B be held on October 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in the assembly hall. 2. That homeroom teachers Zotova M. A. (5A) and Pashkova N. G. (5B) be responsible for the preparations. 3. Dress code: formal. White tops and dark bottoms, white hair bows for girls, bow ties for boys. 4. That the traditional text of the oath (Lyceum museum archive, 1994) be used and learned in homeroom by October 16, 2026. 5. That the "Lyceum Student" sashes be presented by the principal according to the class list. 6. I reserve oversight of this directive for myself.

Principal V. P. Grechko

2. Class 5A parents' group chat, October 6 to 18 (excerpts)

[Oct 6, 19:02] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): Good evening, parents! The initiation is on the 19th, we're collecting 350 rubles each for the cake and the sashes, transfer to my card by phone number and put your child's last name in the comment. Big white bows for the girls, bow ties for the boys, if you can't find one tell me and I'll order for everyone.

[Oct 6, 23:47] Konstantin Belousov: Sent 350 Belousov. Sorry it's late, I'm at the plant till eleven. If you need chairs carried or anything heavy I can help.

[Oct 8, 14:20] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Dear parents! The children have received printouts of the oath, the text is short, to be learned by the 16th. Please check them in the evenings, at the ceremony we recite it together without papers.

[Oct 10, 17:35] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): Valentina Petrovna let me photograph the original from the museum, they'll hang it in a frame by the stage for the ceremony. Typed on a real typewriter back with the very first class, look how sweet😍 [photo]

[Oct 10, 17:41] Olya, Milana's mom: Oh why is one line crossed out

[Oct 10, 17:44] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): Probably a typo, you couldn't fix things back then, you'd have to retype the whole sheet🙂

[Oct 11, 21:15] Konstantin Belousov: Where can I buy a kids bow tie around here. I went to Detsky Mir, they only have elastic ones and pink. We moved here in August, I don't know anything yet except the plant and the road

[Oct 11, 21:18] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): Konstantin, I ordered for all the boys, black with a clip, yours too, don't worry

[Oct 11, 21:26] Konstantin Belousov: Thank you very much. Also Lyova asked for a notebook with slanted lines, he says that's what lyceum students have to use. The stationery shop on Sovetskaya Street said they only make them for first grade. What would they need that for?

[Oct 11, 21:40] Dinara, Yegor's mom: First I've heard of it, that wasn't on our list

[Oct 13, 23:52] Konstantin Belousov: Sorry for writing so late again. Lyova has been talking in his sleep three nights now, I made out "and answer for the one who does not come when called." Is that in their text? My printout doesn't have it, I checked twice

[Oct 13, 23:58] Olya, Milana's mom: Ours too!! Milana was mumbling it in the bath yesterday, I thought it was some song

[Oct 14, 00:06] Dinara, Yegor's mom: Yegor says it's a secret line, all the lyceum students know it, the older kids told them. I asked which older kids and he said sixth grade

[Oct 14, 07:15] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Good morning. We are learning from the printout, there are no other lines in the oath. The older classes play this joke every year, please don't discuss it with the children so it doesn't grow.

[Oct 15, 16:02] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Parents, we had a rehearsal in the assembly hall today. Everyone knows the oath, and in unison it sounds even better than in homeroom. Thank you for your help at home!

[Oct 18, 20:47] Konstantin Belousov: Sorry, off-topic question. Lyova's mom called him on video today from Saint Petersburg, she doesn't call often, last time was in September. He told her about the bow tie, everything was normal. Then she asks "Lyovushka, can you hear me?" and he goes quiet and looks at the window. She called him two more times and he just sat there. She laughed, said the connection must be bad, and "okay, bye." And he says to her, loud: "Here!" Is this something they all do now?

[Oct 18, 20:55] Olya, Milana's mom: Haha Milana answered "good night" the same way yesterday. They'll get over it

[Oct 18, 21:02] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): It's nerves, it'll all pass tomorrow🙂 Konstantin, iron the shirt tonight, you won't have time in the morning

3. Attachment to the message of October 10 (photo of a typewritten sheet, front)

THE LYCEUM STUDENT'S OATH

Entering the brotherhood of the Lyceum, before our comrades and our teachers, we solemnly swear: to treasure the honor of the Lyceum and the name of lyceum student; to study diligently and never leave a comrade in trouble; to keep the memory of those who sat at these desks before us; [line struck through twice in ink, the typing beneath it illegible] to stay faithful to the brotherhood of the Lyceum all our lives. We swear! We swear! We swear!

[Above the struck line someone has written a few words in pencil, in another hand; in the photo only the beginning is legible: "and answer for…". The back of the sheet was shot as a second frame and appears at the end of this file.]

4. Homeroom worksheet "I Am a Lyceum Student," October 15, 2026 (filled in by the student, handed to the teacher)

Last name, first name: Belousov Lev

What do they call you at home: Lyova. Dad says Lev when he's mad. Mom says Lyovushka, she lives in Petersburg, she calls when she can.

Who is coming to your celebration: dad, if they let him off his shift

What does it mean to be a lyceum student: A lyceum student is never alone. If someone gets called and called and doesn't come, a lyceum student answers for him, and then nobody looks for him anymore. I will answer good, I'm loud.

Your seat in class: by the door, 2nd desk. For now

[One letter corrected in the word "called." The words "For now" were added later in a different pen.]

5. Internal memo

To V. P. Grechko, Principal, Lyceum No. 2, from Ye. S. Lanina, school psychologist, October 16, 2026

Please be advised that at roll call in class 5A on October 15, student B. L. did not stand or respond to his own name, and the classmates in his row answered "Here!" for him in unison. In conversation B. L. gave his first and last name correctly. Asked why he had stayed silent, he said: "But they were calling Belousov." Asked who Belousov was, he laughed.

Ye. S. Lanina, school psychologist

6. Private messages between K. A. Belousov and M. A. Zotova, October 14 to 19

[Oct 14, 07:40] Konstantin Belousov: Marina Arkadyevna, sorry for writing to you directly. Could Lyova stand with everyone at the ceremony and just not say the oath? Let him get the sash, I don't mind that. He keeps saying that line at night, I can't sleep myself because of it

[Oct 14, 08:02] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Konstantin Andreyevich, the whole class recites the oath together, a child who stays silent will stand out, and children remember that kind of thing. Lyova is new here, it matters for him to fit in. Everything will be fine.

[Oct 16, 07:55] Konstantin Belousov: I wrote a formal request to the principal and left it at the front office, the secretary stamped a number on it. Will they answer before the ceremony?

[Oct 16, 09:10] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: That is for Valentina Petrovna to decide.

[Oct 19, 12:05] Konstantin Belousov: Still no answer. I got off my shift, I'll be there by 2:30. Can I sit in the front row, closer to him?

[Oct 19, 12:31] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: The children sit on the stage, parents sit in the hall by list, you are in row seven. Bring your passport, the guard checks.

7. Request and reply

To V. P. Grechko, Principal, Lyceum No. 2, from Konstantin Andreyevich Belousov, father of Lev Belousov, class 5A

REQUEST

I ask that my son Lev Belousov be excused from reciting the Lyceum oath and from the roll call at the ceremony on October 19, 2026. I have no objection to his receiving the sash. Reason: in recent days the child has been sleeping badly and does not always respond to his own name.

October 16, 2026 [signature]

[Front office stamp: "Received, No. 318, October 16, 2026."]

Lyceum No. 2, outgoing No. 152, October 19, 2026

Dear Konstantin Andreyevich, in response to your request (received No. 318, October 16, 2026), please be informed that the formal initiation into the Lyceum is held under the school's educational program and applies to all fifth-grade students. The program makes no provision for excusing individual students from individual parts of the ceremony. For questions about your child's well-being and behavior, we recommend that you contact the school psychologist, Ye. S. Lanina (office hours Tuesdays from 1:00 p.m.).

Principal V. P. Grechko

[Handwritten at the bottom: "Delivered to the student in person, October 19, 2026, 1:20 p.m."]

8. Transcript of the video of the initiation, October 19, 2026 (excerpt)

[Shot on a phone from row five; the recording was passed on by the mother of one of the students. Transcribed by the compiler. Sound unclear in places.]

00:00 A polonaise from the speakers, ninth graders carrying the banner across the hall. To the right of the stage, by the window, hangs the framed original of the oath. A voice next to the phone: "Milana, sit still."

04:18 Grechko at the microphone: "And now I will call each of you by name. Five A, twenty-seven students, twenty-seven sashes." Applause.

04:40 "Abramova, Ksenia." A girl in the front row on the stage stands up: "Here!" They put the sash on her, and Grechko shakes her hand. Down the list, the children stand up one by one.

05:52 "Belousov, Lev." Lyova sits in the third row on the stage, second from the end, looking off to the right, toward the window. For about three seconds nobody stands, and then his row answers for him, several children's voices out of step: "Here!" Grechko: "Lev, come up for your sash." Lyova stays in his seat. A man's voice from the hall: "Lyova." The boy next to him tugs at his sleeve, Lyova gets up and walks to the table, they put the sash on him, Grechko shakes his hand, and he goes back to his seat. Applause in the hall.

11:30 "Yampolsky, Timur." "Here!" Grechko turns the sheet over, leans toward it and reads: "Barinov…" Lyova is on his feet before she finishes and shouts across the hall: "Here!" His voice is high and clear, and the phone's microphone catches all of it. Grechko finishes, "…Ilya," raises her head, looks at Lyova and says: "Thank you, be seated."

11:48 The oath. The chorus starts without a cue, before Grechko has stepped back from the microphone. The children say the fifth line slowly, syllable by syllable, louder than all the rest: "and an-swer for the one who does not come when called." A man's voice from the hall, twice: "Lyova! Lyova!" Lyova is looking at the window.

12:20 A voice next to the phone, quietly: "Is that his dad?" The picture swings toward row seven, and the recording cuts off.

9. Duty log (front desk, first floor), entry for October 19, 2026

22:40 Walked the building. Assembly hall: lights on, switched them off. Frame by the stage hanging crooked, straightened it. In the front row by the window, on a chair, a "Lyceum Student" sash in a plastic bag; took it to the front desk to give to Zotova M. A. in the morning. Windows shut, doors shut. Nothing to report.

Guard on duty Anatoly Fyodorovich [signature]

[The guard's last name is not given in the log.]

10. Class 5A parents' group chat, October 19 and 20 (excerpts)

[Oct 19, 18:40] Olya, Milana's mom: Uploaded the video to the cloud, link above. Sound is bad and the end got cut off, sorry

[Oct 19, 19:05] Dinara, Yegor's mom: Ladies, who is Barinov? Valentina Petrovna said in the hallway that the pages in her folder stuck together and she got an old list

[Oct 19, 19:09] Natasha, Veronika's mom: What old list? She had one sheet, I was in row three and saw her turn it over. I was initiated here myself, in the very first class, in 5B. They read Barinov's name back then too, twice, and the whole hall turned to look at the door. I don't remember what happened after that. And that crossed-out line, at rehearsal they told us to skip it

[Oct 19, 19:24] Olya, Milana's mom: My husband says they moved to Kovrov and he changed schools there

[Oct 19, 19:31] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): He went missing in May of '95, the whole town was out looking for him. My mom told me

[Oct 19, 19:33] Olya, Milana's mom: Zhanna why would you say that right before bed

[Oct 19, 20:02] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): Parents, whoever took the cake, please bring the cake box back tomorrow, it has a board in it and it has to go back

[Oct 19, 20:15] Konstantin Belousov: Found the principal's reply in Lyova's backpack, they gave it to him at 1:20, before the ceremony. He never showed it to me. He says it's for Belousov and they forgot to pass it on to him.

[Oct 20, 00:12] Konstantin Belousov: Sorry for writing at night. Lyova isn't sleeping, he's sitting on his bed in his shirt and won't let me take the sash off. I called him from the doorway, first "Lyova," then louder "Lev," then "son," and he kept looking at the window. Since August I've hardly called him at all: I get home from my shift and he's asleep, I call him in the daytime and he picks up every other time, I thought the phone was in his backpack. Then I said "Ilya," quietly, it just came out. He turned to me right away and said: "I sit by the window. Third desk, alone." In their classroom he sits by the door at the second desk, I saw at the parents' meeting. I never showed him the photo of the original, my phone has a passcode. Marina Arkadyevna, I'm asking you, tomorrow in first period read the list again, without that name, so everyone answers only for themselves. I'll be there at eight. Please, I'm begging you.

[Oct 20, 00:20] Dinara, Yegor's mom: Konstantin, kids could have seen it on anyone's phone, Zhanna posted the photo of the original. Go to sleep, things will look different in the morning

[Oct 20, 00:34] Zhanna Rudenko (parents' committee): I only posted the front in the chat. The back is still on my phone, I never sent it to anyone

11. Attachment to document 3 (photo, back of the sheet)

[Passed to the compiler by Zh. R. together with the first frame.]

Seating chart, 5A, first Lyceum class, September 1, 1994

Window row: Desk 1. Anokhina T., Saburov D. Desk 2. Vedernikova O., Kim A. Desk 3. Barinov I. Desk 4. Lukashina Ye., Dronov V.

[Other rows omitted.]

12. Class 5A parents' group chat, October 20 (excerpts)

[Oct 20, 07:05] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Konstantin Andreyevich, the oath is taken once, that is the Lyceum's tradition, and we will not be repeating the roll call. Lyova did well, he held up nicely. If something is worrying you, please see Yelena Sergeyevna, her office hours are Tuesdays from 1:00 p.m.

[Oct 20, 07:09] Konstantin Belousov left the group

[Oct 20, 08:31] Marina Arkadyevna Zotova: Good morning! All 28 present today, well done 👍