Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1465732
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 APRIL 2022 OPINION Jennifer Mathers is Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Aberystwyth University Allyson Edwards is Teaching Fellow in History, University of Warwick Russia: 'patriotic education' aims to create next generation of Putin faithful Jennifer Mathers, Allyson Edwards AS Russia shifts the focus of its "special military operation" in Ukraine to the Donbas region, there seems no end in sight to the fighting. Casualties on both sides are mounting. While Ukraine is able to call on its citizens to help defend their homeland from Russian aggression, Moscow's ability to rally and maintain sup- port for this war among ordinary Russians will be crucial for sus- taining its military effort. The Kremlin regards children and young people as a vital part of this effort. The government has launched a series of patriot- ic education campaigns aimed at Russia's youth to encour- age them to regard the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the second world war and to feel a personal connection to the Rus- sian soldiers fighting there. Targeting propaganda at young people is not new to Rus- sia. When the Bolsheviks took power in 1917, they introduced patriotic-military education to prepare the next generation for war. During the Brezhnev period from 1964 to 1982, the focus of attention turned to Soviet Un- ion's victory over the Nazis in what Russia still calls the "great patriotic war". There was a strong psycholog- ical dimension to Soviet patri- otic-military education during the cold war. Heroic stories of self-sacrifice during the great patriotic war were used to de- velop children's devotion to the motherland. Whether through activities in youth groups or in more formal educational set- tings, a clear message was deliv- ered to young people: they had a responsibility to preserve the memory of the victory that their parents and grandparents had achieved. Since the collapse of the USSR, the memory of the great patri- otic war has become even more important to education in Rus- sia. Young people have not on- ly been charged with preserving the state's version of history, they are also expected to be vig- ilant and denounce efforts by others to "falsify" and "dimin- ish" Russia's historical role in the world. The memory of the great patri- otic war is also central to the way that Moscow is justifying its war in Ukraine to Russian society. The baseless claim that Russia was forced to intervene to com- bat growing Nazi sentiment in Ukraine is now being woven into the messages targeted at Russia's young people. One aspect of this campaign was the launch of the "strength is in the truth" initiative. The opening ceremony in Moscow was attended by schoolchildren from regions across Russia, in- cluding members of the national Young Army Movement created in 2015. In his remarks at the ceremony, Russia's education minister, Sergey Kravtsov, said that a situation like the one in Ukraine will never happen again, because "we have wonderful young people … because you be- lieve in Russia, in our country, in our teachers, in our victories, and that you are right! Thank you, guys, for your position, for speaking directly about this and not distorting history." Another strand of this cam- paign is the use of Holocaust memory to bring Nazi atrocities to the forefront of youth con- sciousness and to make connec- tions with the war in Ukraine. On April 19, the Victory Muse- um in Moscow opened an exhi- bition titled Ordinary Nazism. The exhibition highlights "the atrocities of Ukrainian nation- alists during the second world war, as well as the mass crimes and terror of modern neo-Na- zis against the inhabitants of Ukraine in 2014-2022". The same day was also marked as The Day of United Action in Russia in memory of the gen- ocide of the Soviet people that began in Russia by the Nazis and their accomplices. The event in- volved concerts, exhibitions, ral- lies and performances in schools and universities across Russia. Generation 'Z' In schools throughout Rus- sia, teachers are trying to find age-appropriate ways of con- necting children and young peo- ple with the soldiers fighting in Ukraine. The youngest children are given simple tasks, such as drawing and colouring pictures of the "Z" ribbon or standing in formations to make the shape of that letter. The (non-Cyrillic) letter "Z" has been turned into a symbol of the war and has be- come something of a badge for those who support it. Older children write letters to soldiers serving in Ukraine, es- pecially soldiers who are from their towns or regions, and make care packages to send to them. Schools are now being supplied with desks featuring [images and biographical details] of dis- tinguished soldiers inscribed on them, providing a vivid remind- er of the proud history of Rus- sian military heroism that young people are invited to join. These efforts to deliver careful- ly constructed messages about the war in Ukraine to children and young people serve several purposes. There are short-term benefits, such as encouraging a positive attitude towards mili- tary service in older teenage boys who will be eligible for conscrip- tion in the near future. Given the number of Russian soldiers reported as killed in action so far in this conflict, recruitment will remain a crucial part of the war effort. The work of reaching young people with these messages also makes more Russian adults com- plicit in supporting the Krem- lin's narrative. Some teachers may genuinely support the war, but for many, this will be just another way of showing their bosses they are doing their jobs well – and perhaps showing the state that they are loyal citizens. The consequences for those who refuse can be serious: there is ev- idence of pupils reporting their teachers for making disloyal re- marks. In the longer term, patriotic education aims to establish a deep and enduring sense of pat- riotism, duty and love of country in the next generation of Russian citizens, along with a great deal of respect for the military as an institution. Key to this is Rus- sia's systematic presentation of its history to new youth groups, while cutting them off from op- posing worldviews. The creation of future generations that can be easily moulded to believe the Kremlin's messages and fulfil its agendas is an important feature of Putin's toy soldiers. In schools throughout Russia, teachers are trying to find age-appropriate ways of connecting children and young people with the soldiers fighting in Ukraine