As of: March 6, 2024, 2:57 a.m
By: Alexandra Heidsiek
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Press
Split
Putin is ramping up his propaganda efforts.
Currently in focus: kindergarten children.
Moscow – You can never start early enough with the patriotic education of young people.
The “Formation and Songs” competition took place at the end of February in Saransk, a city less than 700 km southeast of Russia’s capital Moscow.
In front of a banner reading “Life for the fatherland, honor for none,” preschool children demonstrated their skills in marching, singing and drilling.
A video of the event was shared by Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashenko on X.
Assault rifles, knives, grenades: just the best toys for Russia's youth
Russia has its own organizations for the military indoctrination of young people, one of them: the Voluntary Society for the Support of the Army, Air Force and Fleet, or DOSAAF for short.
In keeping with its Soviet heritage, DOSAAF has been organizing the “Sarnitsa” Games for young people under 16 every year since 2014.
“Sarnitsa” means “lightning of the weather”.
Participants compete against each other in disciplines such as assembling AK-74s, throwing knives and grenades and following orders.
In 2022, 290,000 young people played.
Children hold Soviet weapons from the Second World War in their hands in Palace Square during a military exhibition marking the end of the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) 75 years ago.
(Archive image) © Dmitri Lovetsky/dpa
In keeping with this, a new textbook has been available since 2023 that introduces students to history from the perspective of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There are not only justifications for the annexation of Crimea, but even the war of aggression in Ukraine as a justified act of self-defense has already found its way into the teaching material.
Putin takes responsibility for early military education
Students are also being forced to pay homage to the Ukrainian war: in 2023, the “Animation” course at the Moscow Financial and Industrial University Synergy organized an exhibition with 24 graphic novels about “heroes” in cooperation with the Kremlin-affiliated Snanie Foundation so-called military special operation.
These can still be viewed today on the website героиспецоперации.rf.
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Putin has long been making attempts to inspire the younger generation to go to war.
Even before the fall of Crimea in 2014, the patriotic-nationalist youth movement Nashi (Ours) existed; since then, Set (the Network), the Junarmiya (Youth Army) and, since July 2022, the “Movement of the First” have followed.
The latter is aimed at children from the age of six and operates on Putin's personal directive.
Offshoots of the “Movement of the Firsts” should be created in all schools and ideally at all universities in Russia - ideally with a poster of the exhibition in every classroom.
Over seven million people are already taking part in the movement's events.
(uh)