By EUvsDisinfo
The Kremlin has long injected propaganda into the Russian educational system in order to boost the ‘patriotism’ of Russian youth. Putin’s future ‘child soldiers’ not only take part in regular flag raisings, anthem singings, and meetings with ‘heroes’ of the ‘special military operation’ (‘SVO’) in Ukraine. They also participate in drone assembly and other types of military training. Besides patriotic rituals, the authorities also indoctrinate Russian schoolkids by systematically rewriting schoolbooks on history and social studies. The Kremlin is not hiding its plan to adapt all school and university textbooks to the alternative reality in Putin’s mind.
The situation with ‘patriotic’ indoctrination in Russian schools is portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary film ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ (2025), where the exiled Russian teacher Pavel Talankin presents footage capturing pro-war indoctrination, including direct justification of the invasion of Ukraine, school visits of the Wagner mercenaries, and grenade-throwing competitions. In March 2026, this movie was banned in Russia for alleged ‘propaganda of extremism and terrorism’. The Kremlin pays particular attention to harsh ideological control over the educational establishments in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – over 580,000 kids go to local schools there. Moscow clearly wants to bring up the Ukrainian children living in the occupied territories as ‘regular Russians’.
Starting in 2026, the Kremlin will target the youngest schoolchildren with propaganda. Soon Russian authorities will start three new ‘patriotic’ classes: the ‘Good Games’ class for three- to seven-year-olds in preschool, the ‘My Family’ class for Year 1 to Year 4 students, and the ‘Spiritual and Moral Culture’ class for Year 5 to Year 7 kids.
The Kremlin’s foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) campaigns are well-crafted to influence audiences abroad. Now it is turning its campaigns inward towards the most vulnerable viewers, with the goal of making ‘true patriots’ out of three-year-olds.
‘Conversations about Important Things’: Putin’s flagship indoctrination class
Since 1 September 2022, every Russian school has started its week with an obligatory patriotic ritual that includes flag raising and anthem listening. The routine also features a mandatory class – ‘Conversations about Important Things’ – taught from Year 1 to Year 11. This class is the Kremlin’s flagship project to ‘promote patriotism, traditional values, historical remembrance and civic identity’ in schools. It is so important for Putin that he personally taught the very first lesson.
Putin teaches the first lesson of ‘Conversations about Important Things’, 1 September 2022, Kaliningrad. Source: Profimedia.cz
While some topics cover non-political issues such as culture, hobbies, and science, Conversations has become the most evident example of propaganda in the Russian school system. The class’s main focus is justifying Putin’s SVO in Ukraine and militarising Russian youth. The Kremlin also uses this class to implement its policies. For example, in September 2025, Russian schoolchildren had a class, ‘Russia’s Digital Sovereignty’, that promoted the use of the Kremlin’s messenger Max.
In 2025-26, Conversations included more obviously propagandistic topics such as ‘The Hero from Next Door’, ‘Russia – a Country of Victors’, and ‘65 Years of Space Triumph’.
Example of ‘Conversations about Important Things’: ‘A Hero from the Neighbourhood: Regional Activity dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day’. Source: Official webpage of ‘Conversations about Important Things’.
‘Good Games’ turns preschool into a new arena for patriotic indoctrination
In February 2026, the Russian authorities introduced a new class, ‘Good Games’, designed for preschoolers. Starting on 1 September 2026, this class will aim to develop ‘spiritual and moral values’ for kids aged three to seven. ‘Good Games’ is a rebranding of the ‘Conversations’ class for the youngest students. Back in October 2024, Putin supported the idea of introducing ‘Conversations’ to preschools, saying that this step would be a ‘serious start of big work’.
On the surface, ‘Good Games’ classes look harmless. Kids play games, talk, and engage in creative activities about their families and friends, among other activities. However, ‘patriotic’ topics are also part of the talks, such as narratives about Russian Unity Day, Russian heroes, historical remembrance, and messages that ‘[w]e must unite for the defence of the Motherland’ and ‘I will not leave to go anywhere but stay in my country’. Moreover, the class gives parents recommendations about what kinds of cartoons and books they should watch and read with their kids at home. Many recommendations appear neutral, but someday, Russian parents may be asked to play more ‘patriotic’ games with their kids.
Good Games’ can become more ideological depending on the books chosen for the class. For example, one pilot book – ‘Important Conversations for Preschoolers’, published in 2025 – glorifies Russian victories and heroes with descriptions of military parades, pictures of tanks and trenches, and so on.
‘My Family’ expands Kremlin ideology into primary education
The Kremlin will soon introduce another ‘patriotic’ class for the youngest Russian schoolkids. After 1 September 2026, children in Years 1 to 4 will take part in a new ‘optional’ extracurricular course, ‘My Family’, that will take place once a month. Kids will be taught about love, the role of family in society, and love for Motherland, while Year 2 kids will learn about traditional Russian values such as strong families, patriotism, and historical remembrance. The class is supposed to teach ‘how to live in society and love their compatriots and the Motherland’. Classes will probably include direct references to the SVO and militarism, as happens in all ‘patriotic’ Russian classes.
‘Spiritual and moral culture’ embeds state propaganda at the core of schooling
Starting from January 2027, Year 5 students will be enrolled in a new mandatory class, ‘Spiritual and Moral Culture’. It is expected that in 2027-28, this class will also be taught to Year 6 and 7 students in all Russian schools. The official goal of this class is to form a worldview based on ‘traditional Russian spiritual and moral values’. Kids will study the lives of prominent Russian statesmen and heroes, including SVO participants. Notably, the class will replace foreign language teaching. The Kremlin prefers to brainwash Russian kids with propaganda to teaching them foreign languages.
Introducing this class is a major achievement for the Russian Orthodox Church, which has promoted this initiative in recent years. One author of the textbook used in the class is Metropolitan Tikhon (Georgiy Shevkunov), known as Putin’s personal ‘confessor’. Since the early 2000s, Shevkunov has often accompanied Putin on his visits to Russian churches and monasteries. In his words, ‘[S]ometimes, Putin consults with him’. Russian students, then, will learn about ‘morale and spirituality’ from Putin’s spiritual advisor. The Kremlin is trying its best to make Putin’s worldview the students’ own.
By EUvsDisinfo
