New subjects outrage

Russian schoolchildren learn to shoot under the “Z” symbol

"Practice" in the middle of the classroom. The "Z" is a Russian military symbol and a symbol of support for aggressive war. Underneath it says: "We will not abandon our own."

(Bild: Илья Наймушин / Спутник / РИА Новости / Profimedia)

Now that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not going according to plan for the Kremlin, the Russian authorities are concentrating all the more on propaganda for children and young people - they are to be indoctrinated from an early age in the spirit of the regime and prepared for war. If parents resist, they face severe penalties.

Since February 24, 2022, the world has been reminded of the bloodshed in Ukraine on a daily basis. It is noteworthy that the majority of related photos were and are taken in Ukraine and from the Ukrainian side of the front. This is due to the fact that independent journalists are still active in Ukraine, while there are virtually none left in Russia. A great deal about the aggressor is therefore in the dark - but exile media are fighting vehemently for more insights.

And these are currently available in educational institutions. The independent Russian exile investigative portal "Agentstvo" reports that the total number of lessons dedicated to "propaganda of the Kremlin's ideas" has doubled in the 2024/2025 school year in Russia. In particular, the subject "Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Fatherland" would include modules such as "Military Training - Fundamentals of Military Knowledge".

Carefree faces look different.

(Bild: Илья Наймушин / Спутник / РИА Новости / Profimedia)

Pupils are to be sent to appropriate training camps as early as lower school. In everyday school life, the children are taught how to handle small arms as well as the basics of "military art". This includes how to behave on the battlefield, make optimum use of the terrain and build shelters. At the top of the list is also the treatment of war injuries and the operation of drones.

The responsibility also lies with the parents
If parents oppose this training, they will be reported to the police in accordance with the article on "discrediting the army". Nevertheless, they are advised not to remain inactive. Children are particularly susceptible to propaganda at elementary school, a clinical psychologist told the exile medium "Medusa".

Countermeasures are called for: "It is enough to talk calmly about what is happening - you can cite facts, explain the connections between cause and effect, and the hesitant child will become more critical of the propaganda," a child psychologist whose daughter goes to school in Moscow told Medusa. But you have to keep at it and repeat the content over and over again - otherwise the child will take the side that it hears more often and therefore considers to be "more convincing".