Russian → English transcript

No, I came here completely alone, I have absolutely no one here.

No relatives, no acquaintances, no friends, absolutely no one, completely from scratch.

I lived here by myself for a year, and last summer I brought my children here.

I was preparing for greater danger.

I expected it to be really dangerous.

I'm like a sister of mercy, I don't know, helping everyone with open arms.

Well, basically, like some wild childhood romance.

But no, now experience shows that it's just as dangerous here as anywhere else.

Absolutely the same.

I came from what was truly the most comfortable place.

Not for easy money, not for spacious apartments, not for any of that.

I'm sizing them up, they're sizing me up here, but I haven't blended in with them.

And besides, not much time has passed yet.

What is it like to be a teacher in Mariupol?

Oh, well, just like everywhere else.

Being a teacher is a madhouse that is always with you.

It's always and everywhere the same.

Regardless of geographical location.

Yes.

In essence, it's the same everywhere.

Does education in Mariupol differ from education in other regions of Russia?

Well, no, of course not.

After all, we are all united in education across the whole country.

The so-called state standard.

Everything is absolutely the same here.

The same textbooks, everything is the same.

There aren't as many people as the city was designed for.

Meaning, it's empty.

That's how it seemed to me too when I first arrived.

And the locals say there used to be more people here.