The Adults in the Room

Eight years since the scandal, has School 57 gone through a reckoning? The school’s principal has ignored Nastya’s interview requests. But a former teacher shares her disturbing experience.

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Nastya hears allegations about a third man, a mathematics professor in Denmark called Sergey Arkhipov. Sergey’s ex-wife reveals what she witnessed. 

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Nastya tracks down Boris Meerson’s home address in Israel. Recorder in hand, she turns up unannounced to put the allegations to him. 

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After his alleged relationships with Sara and Revekka, Mark Gondelman worked on a PhD at New York University. The two women contacted the university administrators to tell their stories.

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When Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Boris Meerson and Masha Nemzer, both were in Israel, beyond the reach of prosecutors. The alleged victims looked for other means to bring their abusers to justice.

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In 2016, news of Boris Meerson’s alleged abuse was broadcast on Russian state television. But the scandal would traumatize the alleged victims all over again.

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For 26 years, Boris Meerson taught history at School 57 in Moscow. He also led class trips abroad. Several former students say he took opportunities to abuse them on those trips. 

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Did leaders at Sambation know one of their colleagues was allegedly abusing children? Nastya speaks to one former teacher who accuses her of prying into the private lives of others.

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Sara Bezrukavnikova and Revekka Gershovich describe how they were abused as children by Mark Gondelman.

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Mark Gondelman is a former teacher at Sambation, a summer camp for high-achieving students in Russia. He’s also been accused of sexually abusing children. Nastya confronts him at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, where he works as a research assistant.

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