Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on 11/5 that Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich, 92, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former homeroom teacher, was invited to attend the Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9/5.

Following the event, Russian officials arranged a special cultural tour for Gurevich in the capital, including a visit to the art gallery of People’s Artist of the Soviet Union Alexander Shilov. During her stay in Moscow, she was accommodated at a hotel on Arbat Street.

On 11/5, President Putin personally drove an armored Aurus Senat limousine to the hotel to take his former teacher to the Kremlin for dinner. The Aurus Senat is often compared to Russia's Rolls-Royce equivalent, with its armored version designed for political dignitaries.

"He drove himself. Upon entering the hotel, he also met and greeted a resident from Sochi. Afterward, at the residence, Putin had dinner with his teacher, Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich," the Kremlin spokesperson stated.

Gurevich also attended last year's Victory Day parade in Moscow. At that time, she told the media that it was a holiday that was "both joyous and sad but essential" for the Russian people. She expressed her pride in her former student and extended her thanks to President Putin.

Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich, 92, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former teacher. Photo: Izvestia

Vera Gurevich was Putin's homeroom teacher at School number 193 in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. In her 2004 memoir, "Vladimir Putin – Parents, Friends, and Teachers," she recounted that Putin's patriotism developed during his childhood in Leningrad.

She mentioned that Putin initially did not want to study German in school because his father was wounded in World War II by Nazi Germany, and his grandmother and two uncles died in the war. However, he later changed his mind, mastered the language, and was eventually sent to Germany to work for the Soviet KGB intelligence agency.

Gurevich also recalled that her student Putin performed poorly in art subjects like drawing and singing, and was not interested in learning to play the accordion as his father wished. For a time, he associated with a group of troubled students, but later explained to her that he only wanted to know "what they talked about."

Gurevich was also a close family friend of President Putin, having taken him on summer vacations to the south. According to her memoir, with his first earnings, Putin bought his teacher a ring and earrings, and a large cake for his mother. She was invited by Putin to his first presidential inauguration on 7/5/2000.

Thanh Danh (According to Izvestia, BBC)