[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 20 (Thursday, February 4, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    TRIBUTE TO ALEXANDER KOULAKOVSKY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 4, 1999

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to Mr. Alexander Koulakovsky and his company ``Nafta Sib'' which has 
undertaken an exciting new project in Russia. In September of 1998 at 
the beginning of the new school year, a traditional Christian School 
opened in Moscow. This school, which was built in one year, was funded 
by the company ``Nafta Sib,'' which also engages in several charities 
and projects aimed at restoring old churches, and preserving icons and 
religious artifacts. Mr. Koulakovsky is currently in the process of 
putting together a Board of Trustees for the Christian School which 
will provide financial support and assist in maintaining high standards 
of education.
  This new Christian School is the first since the communist revolution 
in 1917. Prior to the opening in September, the school would provide 
occasional lessons in a rented apartment. Two hundred and sixty 
students are now enrolled in the school, and the erection of the new 
building will provide the opportunity for one hundred and twenty more 
students to enroll in this outstanding educational program.
  The school has received all of the educational licenses required, and 
is permitted to conduct lessons in accordance with the state school 
programs. For the past two years, many graduates were accepted by the 
most prominent Russian universities. The students are also receiving 
religious instructions as part of their curriculum. The school has an 
in-house church which is named after martyr St. Pytor, the archbishop 
of the Russian Orthodox Church and close advisor to the Russian 
Patriarch in the 1930s and was killed during the Stalin regime. Regular 
religious services are conducted for the students. This church is also 
the first one to be named after a martyr of this century and be 
recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
  I traveled to Russia last September, and visited this school on its 
opening day. I was impressed with the school's curriculum, and with the 
quality of the students who attended it. As a former school teacher and 
the father of five, I know that education is the key to the future. For 
Russia's democracy to succeed, they must look to tomorrow and educate a 
new generation of Russians in the tenets of freedom. I applaud 
Alexander Koulakovsky for schooling Russia's leaders of tomorrow and 
for taking steps to bring quality education and religious freedom to 
the children of Moscow.

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