Pavel Viktor (also spelled Pavlo Viktor) is a renowned Ukrainian physics teacher and internet sensation from Richelieu Lyceum, Odesa, known for recording and uploading his entire school physics curriculum to YouTube. As of 2026, his educational legacy has reached millions of students worldwide.
Richelieu Lyceum is a highly-regarded, specialised secondary school for gifted students in Odesa, Ukraine. It is particularly known for its focus on mathematics and natural sciences and has a close affiliation with Odesa University.
A telling anecdote of his popularity occurred in October 2018. Just days after his first major international interview, Viktor was attacked and robbed while cycling home from the lyceum. He was hospitalised with a head injury and a fractured hip.
The incident horrified the nation, but the public response was a testament to his impact. A massive wave of support flooded social media from former and current students. Even while in his hospital bed, Viktor’s primary concern was not his health, but getting back to the classroom to finish filming the curriculum. Despite his massive following, Viktor famously refused to monetise his channel with advertisements for many years, stating that he didn’t want to profit from students’ education. He viewed the completed series of 473 lectures as a “monument” to his career.
The YouTube Journey
Born on April 6, 1954, in Syktyvkar, Pavel Viktor followed a path of rigorous scientific study. He graduated from Odesa University in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics in 1979. He beganhis teaching career the same year and spent decades at the Richelieu Lyceum in Odesa.
In the early 2010s, many of Viktor’s students at the Lyceum were frequently falling ill or were unable to attend school due to severe cold weather. To ensure they didn’t fall behind, he initially tried teaching them via Skype. However, the technical limitations of one-on-one calls for entire classes led him to start recording his lectures and uploading them to YouTube.
Unlike many ‘pop-science’ channels, Viktor’s videos are comprehensive, formal classroom lectures. By 2020, he had successfully filmed the complete physics curriculum for grades 7 through 11.
He never expected these niche, formal classroom recordings — which include full experiments and complex mathematical derivations — to reach anyone beyond his local students.
Instead, his channel, Pavel VIKTOR, surpassed 1 million subscribers and 100 million views by 2025. By 2026, he has become a “digital mentor” to millions. Students worldwide credit him with helping them win International Physics Olympiads and gain admission to elite universities like MIT.
Even after officially concluding his primary lecture series in late 2020, Victor has continued to work on Ukrainian translations of his study materials and specialised videos for physics olympiads.
Victor has been awarded the ‘Order of Merit (Ukraine)’ for his contributions to education.
Image of Pavel Victor courtesy: Odesa News