Kremlin Patriotic Education Policy Hampers Country’s Development

Executive Summary:

• As the new school year begins in Russia, the Kremlin is restructuring the curriculum to be more patriotic, teaching school children about “what is important,” including the “Fundamentals of Religious Culture” and military training.
• Due in part to limited access to technology and teacher shortages, the quality of education in Russia is deteriorating. This will leave the next generation of Russian students uncompetitive and stunt the country’s technological and scientific growth in the future.
• The Kremlin’s insistence on sending yesterday’s schoolchildren to the frontlines and its increasingly influential patriotic indoctrination will leave the country with an exacerbated demographic problem and no one to rebuild following the war.

On September 1, Russia celebrated Knowledge Day, Russian children’s first day of school. This year, however, the celebration looked different than the usual joyous holiday. In numerous regions, local administrators requested that students be accompanied by only one relative, and in Moscow, Rostov, and Bryansk oblasts—which have endured numerous Ukrainian strikes—festivities were held indoors without parents due to security issues. In the regions bordering Ukraine, the school year began remotely. The first day of school began with a video message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking on the new year’s theme: “The Future of Russia” (Kremlin.ru; Siber.Realii, September 2). The effects of the war in Ukraine can be seen throughout Russian society, especially in its education system (see EDM, November 8, 2023, February 27). Education in Russia is rapidly deteriorating, increasingly becoming a system designed to  prepare students not for admission to prestigious educational institutions or building a prosperous future for Russia but rather a propaganda incubator for new soldiers. This will lead to a lack of competent individuals in Russian society needed to advance its economy broadly and high-technology sectors in particular, further contributing to the country’s future rupture.

Independent journalists explained that in the new school year, the primary workload for students will be “patriotic” subjects and extracurricular activities. In addition to the notorious “Conversations About What Is Important,” introduced at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, schools will teach the “Fundamentals of Religious Culture” and provide military training. The previously existing “Fundamentals of Life Safety” will be replaced by the “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland.” As explained by the curriculum developers, the program should include “knowledge of the elements of basic military training” and “safety requirements for handling firearms.” The new standards also imply “an understanding of modern combined arms combat … including methods of use of unmanned aerial vehicles in combat” (Verstka.media, August 30).

Beginning in the new academic year, 523 schools and 30 practical training centers at colleges in Russia will launch educational programs on developing, producing, and operating unmanned aircraft systems. In total, such courses will appear in at least 30 regions of Russia (Pnp.ru, May 12). Another subject introduced in the new year will be “Family Studies.” Within this framework, schoolchildren will be introduced to the “traditional system of family values ​​for our Fatherland” and will be taught such “pro-family values” as “marriage, having many children, and chastity” (Verstka.media, August 22).

These subjects not only facilitate the ideological indoctrination of children but also come at the expense of “normal” subjects. Combining education with propaganda is becoming increasingly difficult in Russia due to a teacher shortage. Independent journalists, citing the Russian Ministry of Education, note that the student population has grown steadily since 2010, while in the 2023–24 school year, fewer teachers were hired than quit in almost three-quarters of the regions. Schools are trying to compensate for the teacher shortage by increasing the workload on those who remain. In the 2023–24 school year, one teacher taught an average of 27 lessons per week, requiring nearly ten hours more than what is recommended to be an effective educator. Simultaneously, in 15 percent of open vacancies, teachers are offered only minimum wage salaries of 19,242 rubles (about $225) a month. As a result, teachers are forced to earn supplemental income as cleaners, which negatively affects the quality of education these teachers are able to provide (Istories.media, September 2). Matters are even worse in the Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, where the best teachers refuse to switch to Russian educational standards and continue to instruct children in “underground” online courses following the Ukrainian curricula. Occupation authorities are forced to seek new teachers (Istories.media, September 3).

Yet another long-term consequence of Putin’s war in Ukraine, and perhaps the most terrible, is the physical destruction of the next generation of Russians—those who, in other circumstances, might become specialists capable of developing the country and the engine for new advanced technologies. The Kremlin’s continued commitment to sending yesterday’s schoolchildren to the front each year goes hand-in-hand with its patriotic indoctrination.

The declining number of young people going into advanced education is causing a degradation in the training of new specialists. Due to this, many of Russia’s technological industries will continue to deteriorate because of a dwindling workforce, compounding the effects Western sanctions have already had on the sector. As Moscow’s war in Ukraine continues through its third year, it is evident that Western sanctions against Russia have not had the effect initially expected of them, as they have not stopped Russian aggression in Ukraine (Novaya Gazeta–Europe, August 30). Independent experts note that at its current levels of military spending, the Russian economy will be able to last a long time. “Militant Putinism” may outlive the dictator himself (Istories.media, June 5; Re-Russia.net, June 11). Analysts agree in their evaluation of the long-term effect of sanctions, which all but precludes the possibility of growth  of Russian scientific development and high-tech industries. The roots of this deterioration could be seen at the beginning of the war, as experts three years ago predicted that the industries related to metallurgy, machine-building, and electronics manufacture would suffer because they heavily depend on both imported components and Western technologies (Voice of America Russian Service, August 10, 2022).

As Russia’s future workforce is sent to the frontlines to become cannon fodder for the Kremlin’s war, the next generation of potential scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs will die on the front or return to Russia carrying the effects of fighting in the long war with them (see EDM, October 25, November 13). Beginning November 1, electronic draft notices will be in effect throughout Russia, after which conscripts are automatically prohibited from leaving the country. Additionally, a military registry will be launched, which will transition military registration and enlistment offices to an electronic format and make it possible to receive data from various sources, including the Federal Tax Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Pension Fund. Draft dodgers face various punishments, from fines to imprisonment, and conscripts are increasingly sent to combat zones (Verstka.media, September 4). The wiping out of young and able-bodied Russians is already noticeable, but over the years, these losses will become even more catastrophic. Should Russia continue to send its young people to the front and patriotically indoctrinate its schoolchildren, when the long war is over the Kremlin may find that there is not anyone left to rebuild the country.