Evidence of Russian propaganda

Inside the building we visited, which used to serve as a prison during the occupation, there were dozens of letters scattered on the ground and several boxes of still unopened cards. The local police authorities who regained control of the city gave us the opportunity to read, examine and translate some of them. They had been sent from Russia to the soldiers along with supplies of fuel, food and ammunition.

Among the rubble and dust were drawings made by elementary school children, letters from middle and high school students, and writings from college students attending engineering and medical schools.

In their letters, the youngest children encouraged the troops to “liberate Ukraine from the Nazis and the terrorists,” adding, evidently under dictation, that it is “sad and depressing that Russia and Ukraine were forced by NATO and the U.S. to kill each other.”

Such letters are a clear example of how the Kremlin is pushing its narrative in Russian schools, muddying the truth and manipulating history.

Moscow's educational handbook

But that’s nothing new: on Feb. 28, just four days after the beginning of the invasion, the independent Russian website Mediazona published a handbook circulated to teachers with instructions on how to talk about the “special military operation” according to the age of the students. It featured mock questions and answers for children aged 6 to 10 and 12 to 16, and instructions to be followed in social sciences colleges to report any rebellious, anti-war students.

This is from the handbook circulated in schools called “Events in Ukraine” (7th-8th grades):

“Teacher: We are witnessing the events of modern history. But the events that are happening now have a long history behind them. The state of Ukraine did not exist on the world map until the 20th century. It appeared in 1917 after the revolution in Russia and soon became part of the Soviet Union. Later, Novorossiya (Donetsk and Luhansk) was annexed to it and, after the Great Patriotic War, the Western regions as well.

But unfortunately, in 2014 there was an unconstitutional and bloody coup d'état on the territory of Ukraine, during which many innocent people died, a pro-American government came to power and external control was established.

Russia has made and is still making efforts to peacefully resolve all these difficult and tragic events, but unfortunately, neither the authorities in Kyiv nor the Western community are abiding by the previously concluded agreements. On the contrary, they are strengthening Ukraine's military power by helping with weapons and specialists, and deploying information campaigns to incite anti-Russian policy.”

Patriotism in schools

By March, the letter “Z” had appeared everywhere on school doors and windows. Kindergartens and primary schools had begun posting on social media images of activities organized in support of the “special operation” as part of a mass campaign with children as protagonists.

“Patriotic education” has been one of the pillars of Putin’s Russia since 2005. But now, with the war of aggression in Ukraine and the difficulties that the country is going through internally, the Kremlin is putting even more emphasis on “patriotism” in schools.

Two months ago, as a new school year began, the Ministry of Education launched a compulsory weekly lesson entitled “important conversations” to explain the “peace operation in Ukraine” in schools of all grades and to support the soldiers fighting in Ukraine, depicted as “examples of genuine patriotism.”

Mandatory activities include drawing and writing letters to be sent to soldiers in Ukraine, such as the ones we found in Izyum.