Kremlin Proposes Removal of Golf and Cheerleading From School Programs to Align With Traditions

The Russian Ministry of Education has offered to remove golf and cheerleading from physical education classes as sports that “do not correspond to the national historical experience and traditions, national moral and ethical standards.” 

The corresponding draft order was published on the website of draft regulatory legal acts.

Additionally, in order to form "a conscious attitude of students to the history, experience and values ​​of domestic physical education and sports," the department proposes to remove information about foreign athletes, coaches and competitions from the curriculum.

The changes are planned to be applied to federal educational programs “at the levels of primary general, basic general, and secondary general education.”

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has stepped up ideological propaganda in Russian schools. In particular, since September 2023, educational institutions have been holding propaganda classes called “Conversations about the Important.” As part of the lessons, schoolchildren are told, among other things, about the war in Ukraine. The decree of the Ministry of Education noted that this is necessary for “developing love for the homeland, pride in their country, and patriotism in schoolchildren.”