Moscow's 2022 'Teacher of the Year' killed while fighting in Ukraine, Meduza reports
Gennady Starunov, a physical education teacher who was named Moscow’s "Teacher of the Year" in 2022, was killed while serving in the Russian military during its invasion of Ukraine, school officials confirmed on July 21.
Starunov taught at Marshal Chuikov School in Moscow before being mobilized in October 2022. He held the rank of junior sergeant and, by January 2023, was training at a military base in Belarus alongside other mobilized troops, according to Meduza, an independent Russian media outlet.
The school's director, Mikhail Klochikhin, said Starunov died while fulfilling his "military duty." No details have been released about the location or circumstances of his death.
Starunov actively supported Russia's invasion and documented his experience in a Telegram blog titled "Frontline Notes." In May 2025, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly praise his "important work" both on the battlefield and on social media.
Starunov's death adds to the growing toll of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine — with more than 119,000 verified deaths as of July 17, according to independent Russian media.
Ukraine's General Staff estimates that the actual number is far higher, claiming Russia has lost 1,041,990 troops since the start of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 — figures that largely align with Western intelligence assessments.
