Note from editor:  These days, those of us who haven’t yet fallen into a catatonic stupor listening to the procurators’ voices droning away in a dingy courtroom in Moscow have been hearing a litany of fantastic crimes supposedly committed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky in violation of all the known laws of physics and economics, not to mention the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

So it comes as a refreshing change of pace for us to hear something nice about Khodorkovsky for a change. We recently received this guest essay by someone who has benefitted directly from Khodorkovsky’s vision, and who is keeping the faith and continuing the spread the gospel.

Vera Buldakova is an ordinary Russian schoolteacher. Or rather, she WAS one until she went through a training program on using the internet in education, offered at no cost to teachers out in the remotest Russian provinces through the Federation of Internet Education, a pet social philanthropy project of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s. Back in those days, the Russian Minister of Education was personally thanking Khodorkovsky for this massive work, while regional governors were begging to have such training centers set up in their regions.

The two-week training course changed Vera Buldakova’s life. It opened up a world of opportunities, it showed her that free thought and creativity, which were taboo in the Soviet educational system, are possible and welcome and can be an incredible force for good. This was Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s vision in setting up the program in the first place, and Vera Buldakova is a shining example of its success.

Today, thanks to the internet, Vera Buldakova is a citizen of the world, and continues to work in the field of distance learning through the internet. And even though the Federation of Internet Education has lost its primary source of funding, the die has been cast: some of the regional centers have managed to remain alive thanks to securing local funding, while in other areas the newly internet-savvy teachers – like Vera Buldakova – have continued to stay in touch through the internet and to teach others their arcane craft, connecting remote Russian village children with the wider world for the first time in history.

The impact of this achievement will be felt in Russia and the world for decades to come.

The following two articles are also available in Russian.  Если Вы хотите прочитать оригинал данной статьи на русском языке, нажмите сюда.