Inside the Russian classrooms where 'patriotism lessons' prepare children to die for their country

Patriotism has become a core part of the national curriculum since 2022Image: Konstanin Kokoshkin/Pivcario/picture allianceAdvertisementEarlier this year, several schools in Novosibirsk, a city of 1.6 million in southern Siberia, received a textbook on patriotism from the authorities. According to students, with whom DW spoke to on condition of anonymity, in the book the authors urge children to prepare themselves to die for their country. Furthermore, they equate homosexuality with pedophilia and Disney cartoons with pornography, and give instructions on how women should use their "charms." Europeans are described as "thieves, murderers and liars."

The textbook, which provides "materials for spiritual, moral, and patriotic upbringing" is supposed to be used as part of "patriotism lessons" that have been on the curriculum since 2022. Though it is not included on the national list of core curriculum books, the content reflects the Kremlin's intentions to spread propaganda in educational institutions.

One of the main topics of the book is the war in Ukraine and the idea that dying for one's country is a blessing is repeated several times: "Love always involves sacrifice," writes one of the authors. "The sacrifice of a defender of the homeland is their life."

Elsewhere in the book, the authors make constant claims that Russia is better than Western countries. They also say that children are "mentally crippled" because of "computer games, Hollywood action films, pornography and Disney cartoons."

They argue that European nations that used to be colonial empires legitimized "murder, lies and plunder" through the conquest and subjugation of new territories. Russia, on the other hand, "never exploited its numerous peoples," they say, but merely improved their living conditions. The book makes no mention of the culture of Indigenous peoples in what is Russia today, or of any religions other than Christianity and "Slavic paganism."

For Ilya, a 16-year-old student in Novosibirsk who has read the book and whose name has been changed, the idea of dying for his country is anathema. "It's proof that the country wants more cannon fodder," he told DW, adding that "dying for the country" actually meant dying for "the president's interests and ambitions."

He said that a few years ago, he had started watching the videos of Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin critic and opposition leader who died in jail in 2024 "more for fun than for any other reason." He said it was Navalny's 2021 investigation into Russian President Vladimir Putin's Black Sea palace that had first drawn his attention.

But it was when the authorities decided to block access to the US platforms YouTube and Discord that he began to oppose the government. He set up a VPN out of "contrariness" he said, looking for information about other opposition figures and reading the independent media. As he found out more about the cruelty and senselessness of the war, he criticized the government more strongly.

He confirmed that propaganda had become an integral part of the curriculum in the past four years. On top of the "Conversations about Important Things" that take place every Monday morning, there are now also subjects such as "Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense." He said that people who have taken part in the war in Ukraine are invited to lessons focusing on students' future and decisions regarding what career path to take.  

Even outside of the classroom, students are encouraged to be "patriotic." Ilya said that a student had been reprimanded by the principal for wearing a sweater with a slogan written in English on it. "Young man, do you realize that your sweater has words on it in the language of unfriendly countries?" she reportedly asked him. "A call to the Federal Security Service will take care of that!"

Ilya also recalled that a school assembly held to mark May 9, which commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, the principal and her deputy had compared what is known in Russia as the "Great Patriotic War" to the current war in Ukraine. They had said that Russia would once again be steadfast and emerge victorious.

Alexei (name changed), another 16-year-old student in Novosibirsk, told DW that many of his classmates avoided going to "patriotic events." He too said that the blocking of YouTube had made a difference to him. "I looked into why it was blocked," he said. "Because nothing happens by chance. And that's how my interest in politics began." That's when he realized that the authorities wanted to get rid of inconvenient citizens and suppress free speech. "I love freedom, so it was hard," he said.

Ilya thinks that most students don't take the propaganda seriously. "On the one hand, we laugh about it in class, at least my friends do," he said. "On the other, we don't care. Some simply don't listen. We're very good at being quiet and not talking much about it,"

Dima Zicer is an educator and the author of the Russian-language podcast "Love, Don't Discipline" who moved to Estonia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He told DW that "many students are happy to be part of a pro-Putin majority that doesn't think about things, according to the principle: 'We'll crush them all; we're stronger than everyone else. Everyone will be scared of us.'"

He said that there was no statistical data to back his argument, but he said that he had drawn his conclusions from his extensive experience working with Russian children, as well as his communication with parents. He said that these often only became aware of how serious the situation was when their children started saying things such as "We'll crush them" or "Putin is great," as well as talking about supposed Nazis and fascists in Ukraine.

Alexei and Ilya, who think differently and want the war in Ukraine to end, are worried about the unstable situation in Russia. They want to leave the country after graduating.

This article was originally published in Russian.