Yanis Kanidis (, ; January 1, 1930 – September 3, 2004) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher, born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

of Caucasus Greek origin.

Hostage crisis

When armed Chechen extremists took more than 1,200 school children and adults

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

on September 1, 2004, in the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n town of

Beslan Beslan (; , ''Beslæn'', ) is a town and the administrative center of Pravoberezhny District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located about north of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz, close to the border with the Republic ...

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, in what has become known as the

Beslan school hostage crisis The Beslan school siege, also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre, was an Islamic terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004. It lasted three days, and involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 peop ...

, 74-year-old Kanidis insisted on staying with his students, helped them survive and ultimately died to save their lives. Two days after the start of the hostage taking, a number of nursing mothers were allowed to leave the building with their babies. The commander of the terrorist squad saw Kanidis, an elderly sickly man, and offered to allow him to leave as well. But Kanidis refused, saying he would stay "with isstudents till the end". And throughout the ordeal, Kanidis guarded and fought for the lives of his students as best he could. When the children were succumbing to the sweltering heat, stuffy air and thirst, Kanidis approached the terrorists insisting that "You have to give them something to drink, at least to the smallest children". When he was heavily beaten with the butt of a rifle by one of the terrorists, Kanidis continued defiantly, "How dare you!? You claim you are people of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region, but here in the Caucasus even a dog wouldn't turn down the request of an old man!" At which point the terrorists allowed Kanidis to wet one of the bibs of the children and pass it around to dampen the mouths of the smallest children who were choking from thirst. The surviving hostages tell how he repeatedly risked his own life in order to save those of the children and how he moved explosives which had been placed near the children, and tried to prevent others from being detonated. Kanidis was killed on the third day of the hostage taking. The circumstances of his death remain unclear. According to the Israeli newspaper

Yediot Aharonot (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

, he was killed when he jumped on a grenade the terrorists had thrown at fleeing children, sacrificing his life to save theirs. According to the Greek/English newspaper

Kathimerini ( Greek: Η Καθημερινή, ; ) is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Piraeus, Athens. Its first edition was printed on 15 September 1919. is considered a newspaper of record and the leading right-wing newspape ...

, he was shot when he tried to dismantle a ceiling fan that had been wired to an explosive device. According to a feature by C.J. Chivers, Esquire, June 2006 Kanidis was killed while struggling with one of the terrorists, trying to buy time for others to escape. His last words were: "Get the children out!" Afterwards one of the saved students compared him to the Polish man

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish pediatrician, educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). He ...

, who had accompanied his pupils to

Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...

Awards and memorials

On December 9, 2004, Kanidis was posthumously awarded the medal For Protection of Human Rights by the

Russian Government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

. Later in the same month, one of the two new schools being constructed to replace the school destroyed in the attack was named "Ivan Kanidis".

References

External links

* ,

, September 6, 2004. Last accessed July 15, 2006. *
The Hero Teacher of Beslan
, Joanne Jacobs,

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, September 17, 2004. Last accessed July 15, 2006.
Pedagogical Tragedy
, Rossijskaya Gazeta, September 8, 2004. Last accessed July 15, 2006. *

By C.J. Chivers.

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

, June 2006, Volume 145, Issue 6. Last accessed July 15, 2006. *
Feat of teachers of Beslan
,

Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...

, September 8, 2004. Last accessed July 17, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanidis, Yanis 1930 births 2004 deaths Beslan school siege Russian people of Greek descent Russian educational theorists Russian terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in Russia