Russia’s Ministry of Education will today teach students across the country an online lesson promoting the claim that NATO poses a danger to the Kremlin as Vladimir Putin intensifies its efforts to brainwash 11-year-old children.
The president is desperately trying to control the narrative in his homeland as the war in Ukraine enters its second week.
Teachers reportedly received manuals requiring them to describe the bloody invasion as a “special peacekeeping mission.”
Russia has already banned the use of the words “invasion”, “offensive” and “declaration of war” in the media, while reporters are also banned from mentioning civilian deaths caused by the conflict.
Special military science classes are now being held in secondary schools, in which students are being told the official government position on Russia’s history with Ukraine.
Handbooks instructing teachers to tell students that Ukraine did not exist as a nation until the 20th century and that it suffered a bloody coup in 2014, which led to the installation of the American puppet regime, have been circulated throughout the school system. Al Jazeera reports.
Vladimir Putin is desperately trying to control the story in his homeland as the war in Ukraine enters its second week
Police detain a protester during a rally against Russia’s attack on Ukraine in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday
Unprofessional propaganda at the time claimed that Donetsk and Luhansk, recently recognized by Putin as independent, had risen up against the “coup” and had been subjected to “genocide” for eight years.
That is why Russia has intervened to carry out a “special peacekeeping mission”, the leadership ordered.
Further details include allegations that Russia’s security concerns about NATO have been ignored by Washington and concerns about Ukraine’s capacity to build nuclear weapons.
A source told Al Jazeera that teachers are given no choice but to conduct these lessons in history or social studies and provide evidence that they are doing so.
The source added that opinions among teachers vary depending on their age, but even among those who generally support Putin, there are those who are horrified by the war.
Teachers also received letters from schools warning them to monitor their children’s activities on social media platforms such as TikTok.
Russian opposition politician shares heartbreaking photos of children (pictured) detained in the back of a police van after participating in anti-war protests
War in Ukraine: the latest
- Russian forces take over the Black Sea port of Kherson in southern Ukraine, the first major city to fall
- The invasion has so far been poorly managed, “a catastrophe, through and through”, say US defense experts
- The second city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, continues to be the target of heavy Russian shelling
- A convoy of Russian vehicles north of Kyiv has stalled due to fuel and food shortages and Ukrainian resistance
- More than a million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion
- Moscow acknowledges that 498 soldiers have died in Ukraine, which is considered an underestimated but still record total for post-Soviet Russia
- ICC chief prosecutor says active investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine “will continue immediately”
- A Bangladeshi sailor was killed in an attack on his ship, moored in the Black Sea port of Olbia
- Russia has announced the possibility of a ceasefire with talks with Ukraine scheduled for Thursday
- Russia tells citizens in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol to leave, raising fears that bombing will intensify
- The UN General Assembly has demanded that Russia withdraw “immediately”. Moscow has won support from only four countries: Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria
- Swedish armed forces say four Russian fighter jets have entered its airspace in the Baltic Sea
- US launches KleptoCapture to seize yachts, private jets and homes of Russian oligarchs
- Russian Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich confirms he is selling the Premier League club
- Ukraine invites the mothers of captured Russian troops to come and pick up their sons
- Closed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny calls on Russians to protest daily against invasion
- The United States is following the EU in targeting sanctions against Russia’s ally Belarus in support of the invasion
Kremlin chiefs say they could be encouraged to use the hashtag #notwar (“not to war”) and be involved in “dangerous” protests.
There are also “warnings” that children may be exposed to “suicide flash mobs, detailed instructions on gender reassignment and the promotion of same-sex relationships,” it said.
This comes when the United States accused Russia of waging a “complete war on media freedom and truth” by blocking independent news outlets and preventing Russians from hearing news of the invasion of Ukraine.
“The Russian government is also blocking the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms that tens of millions of Russians rely on to access independent information and opinions,” the State Department said in a statement.
Russians have also used social media to connect with each other and the outside world, he added.
Yesterday, a Russian opposition politician shared heartbreaking photos of children detained in the back of a police van after taking part in anti-war protests.
Although the Kremlin has no tolerance for dissent, protesters opposed Moscow and took to the streets against President Putin’s illegal war in Ukrainerisking imprisonment and even accusations of treason.
Nearly 7,000 people have so far been detained by Russian police in about 50 cities, according to OVD-Info, an organization that monitors protests in the country.
According to photos shared on Tuesday by opposition politician Ilya Yashin, the children are among those abducted by officials.
The photos show at least three children – no older than elementary school – sitting in the back of what is reportedly a Moscow police van holding flowers and banners. A reporter said they went to lay flowers at the Ukrainian embassy in the city.
A girl is shown holding a sign reading “No War” in Russian. Small Russian and Ukrainian flags are painted around the words. On the right, the two flags are drawn, followed by a small pink heart that says “Russia plus Ukraine is equal to love.”
The girl is shown sitting in a chair in the back of a police van with an empty expression, with two children sitting on either side of her, who also look calm despite the circumstances.
A girl on the left is shown with a pink jacket and gloves with a bouquet of flowers and another banner, while a boy on the left has his backpack at his feet.
Another photo shows the girl in the pink jacket facing metal rods holding them in the van. Her face looks red, as if she were crying.
Behind her are the other children, as well as what looks like at least two Russian police officers in black uniforms.
Officers in the same uniforms were seen in Russian cities smashing protesters and gathering them in vans.
A third photo, which again shows the girl in the pink jacket, suggests that the children were taken to a police station. He is seen sitting in a chair next to a desk, where a woman in a police uniform and mask is working on a computer.
The “no war” banners they held were placed on the desk behind the girl, as was one of her flowers. It seems dark outside.