Silence in Music Class: Ramenki School vs Residents
In Moscow’s Ramenki district, an unusual conflict has been going on for over a year. On one side is a children’s music school; on the other, their upstairs neighbors, who complain about noise and initiate inspections.
The court ruled to suspend the school’s operations for 90 days. The school’s director believes the complaints are not really about noise. MSK1.RU correspondents looked into the situation.
«The child runs to class»
The small private music school «Rhythm» has been open for eight years. Classes first took place in rented space, but a couple of years ago they moved into their own premises on the ground floor of an apartment building on Mosfilmovskaya Street. Here children learn to play piano, violin, and guitar.
Year by year, the number of students grew. The school, management insists, became a local hub for many families, including large ones: classes can be paid for with maternity capital.
«Our school matters as a social project. For many years, children have become laureates of various all-Russian and international competitions,» says the school’s director Olga (name changed. — Ed.).
Many parents also give the school positive reviews and say the children love it.
«It’s a wonderful music school. The child runs to class, and any missed session is simply unacceptable,» shares Tatyana, the mother of one student. She never expected her son to become so passionate about something.
«They pay close attention to each child, taking into account their traits and individuality. My daughter has been studying here for years. And all the teachers are laureates of international competitions,» adds another parent.
The director claims there were never any noise problems. The school, she says, always monitored soundproofing and its reputation. Residents never complained before.
«You’ll start having problems»
Everything changed in December 2024. A resident of the apartment directly above the school approached Olga. According to Olga, as an individual entrepreneur he wanted to buy the space where classes were held for his own business. After the director refused, the conversation turned.
«We refused, and he replied, “Then you’ll start having problems and court proceedings,”” recalls the school director.
Already in January 2025, Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) came to the school for an inspection based on an anonymous resident complaint. They found noise levels exceeded the norm. Trying to fix the situation, the school undertook renovations in the summer using modern sound-absorbing materials. But in September, the inspection was repeated. They came right during classes.
«They cranked our equipment to the maximum, deafening students and teachers. Our explanations that we don’t work in such noise, and if we did we would have gone deaf long ago, fell on deaf ears,» says Olga.
The premises were sealed. The Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow’s Western Administrative District suspended operations for 90 days. The school filed motions to resume work early, but according to Olga, Rospotrebnadzor opposed it each time.
Inspection after inspection
After the first penalty expired, classes resumed on 8 December. But on 23 December Rospotrebnadzor came again. On that day, Olga insists, there were few classes and no vocal lessons at all. The school was sure the inspection result would be in their favor.
«But on 25 December we were unofficially warned that the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology [the body that tested the school for noise] was preparing negative conclusions for us. By order of higher management. They decided to evict us from our own premises,» the director is certain.
The next day they received the negative conclusion. By court ruling on 12 January 2026, the school was sealed again. For the same maximum term of 90 days. The court found Olga guilty of an administrative offense under Part 1 of Article 6.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences (violation of legislation in the field of ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population).
Olga could not attend the court hearing on 19 January: she had recently given birth. Her lawyer defended her interests. To their regret, the court did not side with the school; it deemed the inspection valid and Olga guilty of the administrative offense. The lawyer will appeal the court decision.
What do the upstairs neighbors say?
The MSK1.RU editorial team also contacted the source of the complaints — the neighbor, individual entrepreneur Valery Bolshakov (name changed. — Ed.). He confirmed that he had complained to authorities about excessively loud music lessons on the ground floor.
«Does the noise bother us? Well, if we’ve been trying to bring this school to its senses for two years, what do you think, does it bother us? Look at the court cases and you’ll understand everything,» answered the upstairs resident.
Valery denied Olga’s accusations that he wanted to acquire the space for his own activities.
«I’ve been living in this apartment with my family since 2014. Olga bought the ground-floor space a couple of years ago. Do you realize how many years that space existed below me? If I had wanted to buy it, I would have done so long ago,» the individual entrepreneur assured.
When asked to comment on the alleged threats against the music institution, Valery said that, on the contrary, he has recordings of conversations with “representatives” of the school.
«I have recordings where they [people connected to Olga], introducing themselves under various pretexts, threatened me, said they would make my life hell. And that we would still sell them the apartment for next to nothing,» claimed the upstairs apartment owner. Valery refused to provide the recordings to MSK1.RU because “journalists are not a court.”
School director Olga responds to the allegations of threats: «It never even crossed my mind! What would be the point of buying their apartment with the illegal extension over the balcony canopy? They can’t sell the apartment with that extension, so they’re trying to drive us out.»
According to Valery, he and Olga peacefully discussed the noise issue for two years, but after failing to reach a solution agreeable to all, they involved various authorities.
«It’s impossible to negotiate with Olga. I don’t want to hear anything about this person or talk about her,» said the individual entrepreneur.
Doubts about the expertise and an independent specialist
The inspections at the school based on the upstairs neighbor’s complaints were carried out by the Federal Budgetary Healthcare Institution “Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Moscow.” This is part of the unified system of Rospotrebnadzor, serving as its technical, laboratory, and expert base. The basis for suspending operations was their report on exceeding the noise level norm.
But the school is convinced the inspectors made several errors. Olga hired an independent expert to verify Rospotrebnadzor’s conclusions.
«We found that besides the last report being falsified, the initial measurements of excessive noise were also incorrect. That is, there was no exceedance back in January 2025, and the halt of the educational process for three months was illegal,» she asserts.
This is a serious claim. If the inspection was conducted with violations, the entire decision collapses. In legal practice, reports can lose validity due to errors in measurements or the use of untested equipment.
According to the latest, December report from the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, the noise level in the apartments above the school was 38.6 decibels, 39.1 decibels, and 40 decibels depending on the instrument. The Center concluded that the noise level supposedly exceeded the norm, even though the Sanitary Rules and Norms (SanPiN) specify a norm of 40 decibels.
The outside expert pointed out an error. According to their conclusion, Rospotrebnadzor misinterpreted the correction from point 105 of the SanPiN document. Here is how that point appears in the official ruling: “105. For tonal and impulse noise, a correction of 5 dBA should be applied (correction = +5 dBA).”
The expert believes the specialists from the Center mistook the “dash” for a “minus,” subtracting 5 from 40 decibels, taking 35 decibels as the norm. This mistake by the inspectors cost the school a 90-day closure — the harshest sanction for institutions.
The music school director is certain that the Center’s conclusion, contradicting SanPiN norms, suspiciously coincided with neighbor Valery’s desire to acquire the premises. The Bolshakov family does not allow outside experts — not from the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology — into the apartment, despite numerous notices and requests from the school director.
Who is right?
School director Olga believes that the agency decisions, based on a misinterpreted SanPiN, play into the hands of the entrepreneur who allegedly tried to buy her space. Entrepreneur Valery, on the contrary, insists that it is he who is being forced out, and the noise disturbs their life.
In the legal arena, this story has been resolved in favor of the residents on Mosfilmovskaya Street. And there is no longer any way to hear for yourself whether it is noisy in the apartments during lessons: now the music class is silent. The parties are split into two irreconcilable truths. One defends a socially significant project and the development of children’s talents. The other defends silence and peace in their own apartment. Each is certain they are right.
One way or another, Olga does not intend to cease the music class’s activities. Ahead lie court appeals and waiting for the 90-day period to expire. The children who studied music are now without lessons.
MSK1.RU sent official requests to Rospotrebnadzor and the prosecutor’s office to learn their positions on the situation with the private music school Rhythm. At the time of publication, no responses had been received.
Earlier, residents of the Lianozovo district expressed outrage over the demolition of an elementary school and kindergartens.
