A school pupil from Kazan addressed this letter to the Russian minister of Education. I am a member of the Advisory Board for the SOLNCE school, therefore I have translated this letter into English and I am publishing it here. I am asking you to support this petition by giving your votes here at this website.

The letter starts:

To the Russian minister of Education and Science Dmitri Livanov – Don't allow closing the SOLNCE school!

Author: Nikita Alkin, Kazan, Russian Federation

This year a specialized school SOLNCE (Specialized Olympiad and Science Center) was founded in Kazan for pupils who are deeply interested in Science. But the regional Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Kazan city issued a decision to close this school for it did not obtain certain official approvals.

Those approvals have not been obtained because the Kazan Educational Office did not pay the school-related costs at proper time, including tutors' salaries so that teachers worked without salary for a while. Payments for the building renovation, electricity and heating were also unacceptably delayed. Help, please!!! It is not late yet – the Court decision will take effect after 1.5 month. I am one of the pupils of this school and I want to continue studying in this school.

With regards,

The letter ends.

More than 60 000 people provided their signatures in support of this letter: http://chn.ge/1huTRqI

On November 6, pupils of the school arranged a manifestation at the central square of Kazan holding slogans ”We want to study in SOLNCE!”, ”Don't take away our SOLNCE!”. On November 21, parents of the school pupils picketed the Tatarstan State Counsil to struggle against closing of this unique school. Here is a summary of the school: http://shkolasolnce.ru/?page_id=1027