Putin's push: Indoctrination efforts target preschoolers

The President of Russia held a press conference where he met with the finalists of the "Teacher of the Year" contest. "It's no coincidence that these enduring phrases have emerged in our nation, like 'absorbed something with mother's milk,'" Putin quotes, according to "The Moscow Times."

Putin emphasized that all core values must be conveyed to the youngest with care and connected to concepts such as the homeland, country, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, brother, or sister.

As reported by the Russian media, Putin stressed that "everything must be done in moderation." He explained, "These are children. They have a certain level of development. And based on that, we must work with them," although Russian propaganda is seldom accused of moderation.

According to "The Moscow Times," such proposals were made by Nadezhda Vorontsova, a teacher from kindergarten No. 84 in Vologda and a finalist in the contest. She specifically advocated starting "Talks about Important Issues" with preschoolers from the age of five. Propaganda lessons had already been introduced in Russian schools a year ago.

Classes occur every Monday. They begin with the raising of the flag and the playing of the national anthem. During these sessions, students learn about topics such as the war in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, Russia's role in the world and its "allies", the benefits of paying taxes to the state, and the importance of government bodies' work, as reported by "The Moscow Times".

The classes are not part of the educational curriculum, yet attendance is mandatory. Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov stated that these lessons aim to instill spiritual and moral values in children that are in line with the national security strategy. Russians shared their opinions in a specialized survey on this topic, indicating that they view this subject as useless.