Vladimir Putin's education minister has terrifying plans to brainwash 17-year-olds, here's how

The Kremlin has been coming down hard on the education system, demanding that schools teach their children the ‘correct’ historical narrative when it comes to Russia’s ‘special military operation’ - also known as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday 8 August, Vladimir Putin’s education minister Sergei Kravtsov presented a new textbook at a press conference in Moscow that is designed for this very purpose.

What do we know about this book?

In his explanation, he parroted language previously used by Vladimir Putin to defend the war against Ukraine. Kravtsov said that the book will outline ‘the aims [of the Ukraine offensive] to schoolchildren’; namely, ‘demilitarisation and denazification’. The text covers the period from 1945 to the 21st century and will be updated after, as Kravtsov put it, Russia’s ‘victory’.

What does it say about Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea?

The text praises Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, repeatedly labelling the peninsula a ‘nazi state’. The cover of the book really hammers this point home as it features the Crimean Bridge, an extremely important access point that allows people and goods to flow from Russia into Ukraine to fuel the fighting.

What other examples of the Kremlin’s tightening rules have we seen?

In April, a Russian 13-year-old girl was taken from her fatherafter she drew an anti-war picture at school. It showed a woman holding her child’s hand next to a Ukrainian flag, defying Putin’s attacks with her other arm. A teacher at the school reported the drawing to the principal, who in turn alerted the police. The next day, Alexei Moskalev was violently interrogated and his daughter was sent to an orphanage.

A former teacher’s opinion

Before this textbook, a new subject had already been included in the Russian curriculum. It’s called ‘Conversations about important things’ and is for children as young as eight. One of the lessons they learn is that loving your country means being prepared to ‘bear arms in its defence’ when necessary.

The Guardian reports that Aleksei, a former history teacher at a well-respected school near Moscow, left his job as a result of the extremely ‘patriotic’ curriculum. He described this new textbook as ‘total fiction’ and has expressed his fears for the children who will grow up brainwashed.

Read more:

⋙ Vladimir Putin’s latest appearance sparks speculation over health concerns once again

⋙ Vladimir Putin accused of breaking up this famous Russian couple, fans left shocked

Sources used:

The Guardian: Russia releases history schoolbook praising Ukraine invasion

The Daily Mail: Russian schoolgirl, 13, is forced into an orphanage and her father 'violently interrogated' by Putin's men after she drew anti-Ukrainian invasion picture in art lesson

The Independent: Kremlin rushes out schoolbook praising Putin’s Ukraine invasion