The Teacher, Vladimir Putin - the Student, and the Tel Aviv Apartment

 

While the world's stage is often dominated by geopolitics, there is a deeply personal story that bridges the gap between the Soviet Union of old and the Israel of today. 

It is the story of Mina Yuditskaya Berliner, a Jewish woman who taught German to a young Vladimir Putin in Leningrad, and how that bond survived decades of silence and a move across the world.

The Leningrad Classroom In the late 1960s, at High School No. 281, Mina was more than just a teacher; she was a mentor to a young man who was reportedly quite reserved. She remembered him as a student who excelled in her German classes—a skill that would later define much of his early career in the KGB.

The Aliyah In 1973, Mina left the Soviet Union and made Aliyah, joining the "People of Israel" in their indigenous home. For decades, she lived a quiet, humble life in a small, rent-controlled flat in Tel Aviv, likely never imagining that her former student would one day become one of the most powerful men on Earth.

The King David Hotel Meeting (2005) When Putin arrived in Jerusalem for an official state visit in 2005, Mina reached out to the Russian Consulate. She didn't want a favor; she simply wanted to see her student.To her surprise, she was invited to the King David Hotel for tea with the President of Russia.

"I walked in and told him: 'Now you really look like yourself.' He looked at me and said: 'See, I haven't changed much,'" she later recalled."

The reunion was filled with nostalgia. She later told the press that they sat and talked about their old school days as if no time had passed at all.

The Gift on Pinsker Street Following that meeting, Putin demonstrated a level of loyalty that is rarely seen in international politics. After discovering his former teacher was living in cramped conditions, he instructed the Russian government to purchase a comfortable apartment for her on Pinsker Street in Tel Aviv. He also sent her a signed copy of his autobiography and a clock.

The Final Honor Mina passed away in December 2017 at the age of 96. In a final act of respect, the Russian Embassy funded her funeral in Petah Tikva, and Putin himself reportedly sent a wreath to be laid at her grave.

A Teacher’s Legacy As a retired teacher myself, I find this story particularly resonant. It reminds us that:

• The relationship between a teacher and a student transcends borders, political shifts, and even the "civil" frameworks of states.
• Even those who rise to lead empires cannot forget the Jewish educators who shaped their formative years.

Mina’s journey from a Leningrad classroom to a Tel Aviv apartment is the story of our people—the quiet, persistent return to Zion.

For those of us observing the Hebrew calendar and the approaching Tu BiShvat, Mina’s life is a reminder of a different kind of "planting"—the seeds of knowledge and language planted in a classroom that bore fruit decades later in the Land of Israel.