Russian Schools Deploy Textbook Telling Students to Prepare for Death

Earlier this year, several schools in Novosibirsk, a Siberian city of 1.6 million, received a state-issued patriotism textbook. According to students who spoke to DW on condition of anonymity, the book urges children to prepare themselves to die for their country. It equates homosexuality with pedophilia, labels Disney cartoons as pornography, gives instructions on how women should use their “charms,” and describes Europeans as “thieves, murderers, and liars.”

The textbook provides “materials for spiritual, moral, and patriotic upbringing” and is designed for “patriotism lessons” introduced to the curriculum in 2022. Though absent from the national list of core curriculum books, its content reflects the Kremlin’s intention to embed propaganda in educational institutions.

Love Always Demands Sacrifice

One of the book’s central themes is the war in Ukraine, with the idea that dying for one’s country is a blessing repeated throughout: “Love always involves sacrifice,” writes one author. “The sacrifice of a defender of the homeland is their life.”

Elsewhere, the authors insist Russia is superior to Western countries, claiming children are “mentally crippled” by “computer games, Hollywood action films, pornography, and Disney cartoons.”

They argue that European nations that were once colonial empires legitimized “murder, lies, and plunder” through conquest, while Russia “never exploited its numerous peoples,” merely improving their living conditions. The book makes no mention of Indigenous cultures in Russia today or any religions other than Christianity and “Slavic paganism.”

More Cannon Fodder

For Ilya, a 16-year-old Novosibirsk student who requested anonymity, the notion of dying for his country is unacceptable. “It’s proof that the country wants more cannon fodder,” he told DW, adding that “dying for the country” actually means dying for “the president’s interests and ambitions.”

He said he started watching Alexei Navalny’s videos a few years ago “more for fun than for any other reason,” initially drawn by Navalny’s 2021 investigation into Putin’s Black Sea palace. But it was the blocking of YouTube and Discord that pushed him to oppose the government. He set up a VPN out of “contrariness,” seeking information on other opposition figures and independent media. As he learned more about the war’s cruelty and futility, his criticism deepened.

Ilya confirmed that propaganda has become an integral part of the curriculum over the past four years. Alongside Monday morning “Conversations about Important Things,” new subjects such as “Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense” have appeared. He said participants in the Ukraine war are invited to lessons about students’ future career decisions.

Patriotic pressure extends beyond the classroom. Ilya recalled a student being reprimanded by the principal for wearing a sweater with an English-language slogan. “Young man, do you realize that your sweater has words on it in the language of unfriendly countries?” she reportedly asked. “A call to the Federal Security Service will take care of that!”

He also remembered a May 9 assembly where the principal and her deputy compared the “Great Patriotic War” to the current conflict, declaring that Russia would once again be steadfast and victorious.

I Love Freedom

Alexei, another 16-year-old Novosibirsk student who requested anonymity, told DW that many classmates avoid “patriotic events.” He too said the YouTube blockade changed 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 concluded that authorities wanted to eliminate inconvenient citizens and suppress free speech.

Ilya thinks most students do not 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, an educator and host of the Russian-language podcast “Love, Don’t Discipline,” 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 acknowledged there is no statistical data, but said his conclusions come from extensive experience with Russian children and parents. He noted that parents often realize the severity only when children start saying things like “We’ll crush them” or “Putin is great,” or discussing supposed Nazis and fascists in Ukraine.

Alexei and Ilya, who reject the propaganda and want the war in Ukraine to end, worry about Russia’s unstable situation and plan to leave the country after graduating.

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This article was originally published in Russian.

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