Ukraine Crisis Media Center hosted a briefing on “Putinjugend: Militarisation of School Education in Russia”. Full an in-depth look, read the full analysis here
During the event, Volodymyr Solovyan, the moderator and a senior analyst at UCMC’s Hybrid Influence Analysis Group, highlighted the often-underappreciated issue of propaganda within Russian school education. He stressed the broad spectrum of threats that encompass more than just the promotion of militarization among Russian youth.
“Around 800,000 students leave Russian schools every year. Half of them are potential soldiers who can join the occupation contingent on the territory of Ukraine, and this is a subject of study for Ukraine from a security point of view,” the senior analyst stressed.
Matt Wickham, an analyst at UCMC’s Hybrid Influence Analysis Group, shared an alarming example of a distorted Russian history textbook for 11th graders. However, he emphasized that the indoctrination of Russian children doesn’t stop there, likening it to a method employed by dictatorial regimes throughout history, such as the Hitler Youth.
“This is a common method for dictatorial regimes,” said UCMC’s analyst. “The Hitler Youth, for example, served to indoctrinate German youth with Nazi narratives and prepare them for military service in Germany.”
Serhii Terepyshchyi, a Professor of Social Philosophy and Educational Policy at Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian State University, delved into the topic of intellectual responsibility and the promotion of national narratives worldwide. He highlighted Russia’s extensive efforts in propaganda, not only in schools but also in higher education.
Terepyshchyi stressed that Ukraine needs to invest in its own global narrative to effectively counter Russian myth-making.
The expert believes that Ukrainians should explain why Russia is indoctrinating and what its true goals are: “In fact, the Russian empire is an illusion that needs to be dispelled by research and constant investment in the information product.”
- Read more:
- “North Korean Rus”: The Image of the DPRK in Russian Propaganda
- Back to the Future: Russia’s School Kids Return to Soviet-Style Military Training
- Is Yerevan “slipping” out of the Kremlin’s orbit?
- Kremlin’s Shady Horses: Tim Anderson. Anti-imperialist, Russian imperialism supporter and an anti-semite