{"id":159653,"date":"2026-02-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/?post_type=artikkelit&#038;p=159653"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:24:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:24:27","slug":"teacher-of-the-year-in-ukraine-champions-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"artikkelit","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/en\/latest-news\/articles\/teacher-of-the-year-in-ukraine-champions-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Teacher of the Year in Ukraine champions inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"block-hero full-width id-block\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_dmytro-lezhenin-1.jpg');\">\n\n\t<div class=\"bg-mobile\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_dmytro-lezhenin-1-1024x683.jpg');\"><\/div>\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"curtain\"><\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"inner-blocks entry-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<h1 class=\"is-style-brush\" ><span class=\"bg\">\nTeacher of the Year in Ukraine <\/span><br><span class=\"bg\">champions inspiration\n<\/span><\/h1><h1 class=\"is-style-brush mobile\" ><span class=\"bg\">Teacher<\/span><span class=\"bg\">of<\/span><span class=\"bg\">the<\/span><span class=\"bg\">Year<\/span><span class=\"bg\">in<\/span><span class=\"bg\">Ukraine<\/span><span class=\"bg\">champions<\/span><span class=\"bg\">inspiration<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BIOLOGY TEACHER<\/strong> <strong>Ruslan Shalamov&#8217;s <\/strong>path to becoming a teacher began by chance. He dreamed of becoming a researcher in biochemistry; but after graduating in the 1990s, Ukraine&#8217;s economy was in chaos, making a career in research impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shalamov was forced to work as a car salesman. His short time in the profession was abruptly interrupted by a threatening situation that forced him to quit and lie low for a while. Then a friend offered him a job as a teacher at a school in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Two months after I stepped into the classroom, I knew this was where I belonged,&#8221; he says in his classroom at Obdarovanist High School, where he began teaching in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, he describes the school as his first home. &#8220;In my second home, I just sleep. Here I work, here I live.&#8221; The war has made that feeling even stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_ruslan-shalamov-3-edited.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling man in glasses and wearing a black hoodie looks directly into the camera. Behind him in the background is a classroom.\" class=\"wp-image-159673\" style=\"width:493px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_ruslan-shalamov-3-edited.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_ruslan-shalamov-3-edited-360x480.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_ruslan-shalamov-3-edited-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/B-HD_ruslan-shalamov-3-edited-134x178.jpg 134w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ruslan Shalamov from Kharkiv, named Ukraine\u2019s Best Teacher for 2025, pictured in his school\u2019s shelter in Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>IN OCTOBER<\/strong>, 55-year-old Shalamov was named <a href=\"https:\/\/globalteacherprize.org\/news\/global-teacher-prize\/national-teacher-prize\/2063\/2063-2025-Global-Teacher-Prize-Ukraine-Winner\">Teacher of the Year in Ukraine<\/a>. The award is presented annually in a live television programme reminiscent of a film gala with hosts and performances. The president&#8217;s wife, <strong>Olena Zelenska, <\/strong>is there to present the awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This recognition tells Shalamov that he is succeeding in breathing life into his students&#8217; dreams \u2013 against all odds in Kharkiv, which is located a few dozen kilometres from the front line. Dozens of his students have achieved success in international competitions for science students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;My students&#8217; success earned me the award,&#8221; says Shalamov. But the most fundamental aspect of his students&#8217; success is their belief that life goes on despite the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what motivates me and keeps me going.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SHALAMOV&#8217;S FORMER CLASSROOM <\/strong>has not had any students for five years. Teaching now takes place underground \u2013 in shelters equipped with desks, blackboards and even sleeping quarters \u2013 or online when it is too dangerous to come to school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The pandemic prepared teachers for distance learning, but nothing prepares anyone for bombs, attacks and air raid sirens,&#8221; says Shalamov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many students in the region have lived through an occupation during the early stages of the war. Some have lost their homes and now live in temporary accommodation. Shalamov teaches biology, but the war is present in every lesson \u2013 as a responsibility to the students.<br><br>\u201cIn every lesson, I think about them, what they are going through, and what we must do to save them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-video id-block\">\n\t\t\t    \t\t<video class=\"article-video-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ruslan-Shalamov_16-9_ENG_1.mp4\" muted playsinline loop><\/video>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For Shalamov, teaching is also about inspiring students through new impressions and role models from life outside school. With support from FCA, Shalamov has provided the school with new teaching tools and taken students on excursions to universities and laboratories. When students see that there are career paths in subjects such as cell biology, genetics and microbiology, they can paint a much more hopeful picture of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the war, the students used to benefit from having more free time. Now, most of them want to study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If they have less free time, they think less about the war and more about a future they can influence,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-latest-articles-from-category full-width id-block\">\n\t<div class=\"container-lg\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"block-title\"><span class=\"bg\">You may also be interested in:<\/span><\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"row articles\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-md-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"article-card article-card__default\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/en\/ajankohtaista\/blogi\/dogs-dark-humour-and-determination-what-im-taking-with-me-as-i-leave-ukraine\/\">\n\t\t<div class=\"article-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Hero-480x220.jpg\" alt=\"Dogs, dark 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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":159658,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"133109,121423,121686,156911,150419,159125","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_improvement_type_select":"improve_an_existing","_thumb_yes_seoaic":false,"_frame_yes_seoaic":false,"seoaic_generate_description":"","seoaic_improve_instructions_prompt":"","seoaic_rollback_content_improvement":"","seoaic_idea_thumbnail_generator":"","thumbnail_generated":false,"thumbnail_generate_prompt":"","seoaic_article_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[812],"countries":[892],"article_themes":[303,552],"class_list":["post-159653","artikkelit","type-artikkelit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ukraine","countries-ukraine","article_themes-education","article_themes-education-in-emergencies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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