When her seven-year-old daughter was told to learn a poem about Russia's glorious army for a school event, Nina from Moscow thought it was too much. She has struggled to shield her daughter from an ever-increasing number of patriotic activities and lessons.
This ramping up of war propaganda directed at Russian children has been brought to life before a global audience in an Oscar-winning documentary, Mr Nobody Against Putin. The BBC documentary is based on footage created by Pavel Talankin, a primary school events coordinator in the small provincial town of Karabash in the Ural Mountains.
Nina's greatest concern is that her daughter enjoys participating in the state-backed patriotic program. She likes her teacher, she likes her classmates - she likes being a part of it, says Nina. She worries that opposing school activities could alienate her daughter socially, as she recalls a time when her daughter was upset after being kept home from a patriotic event.
Pavel Talankin's film documents how he was reluctantly drawn into Putin's propaganda machine as the full-scale invasion of Ukraine unfolded in 2022. New educational reforms include flag-raising ceremonies and compulsory lessons teaching students the government’s version of Russian values and global events. History books are being rewritten to reflect these narratives, emphasizing a skewed portrayal of the conflict.
Despite some parents opposing these messages, navigating the school environment while instilling different values at home poses considerable challenges. Psychotherapist Anastasia Rubtsova suggests that focusing on universal values rather than directly confronting school propaganda can help children form their own understanding.
Studies indicate that young children are particularly susceptible to indoctrination from authority figures, with the possibility that these state narratives could shape their beliefs long-term if not balanced with opposing views from home.
As the documentary and the ongoing situation reveal, the effectiveness of this propaganda is a pressing concern, raising questions about the future of a generation being molded under such intense state control of education and information.
