Russian Kindergartens Require Children to Engage in Pro-War Activities

Russian schools and kindergartens have begun pressuring children to record video messages for soldiers fighting in Ukraine and to collect supplies for the frontlines. This effort, reported by the independent outlet Verstka, is part of Russian Leader Vladimir Putin’s declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Defender of the Fatherland.”

At Kindergarten No. 263 in Ufa, children were instructed to record messages of gratitude for soldiers. Similarly, students at a school in Achinery, Kalmykia, created trench candles for soldiers, while pupils at School No. 1 in Arsk collected gas canisters for the frontlines.

Many schools and kindergartens have also organized meetings with soldiers. For instance, students in Srednee Kechevo village, Udmurtia, met a serviceman who, according to reports, has been “writing history alongside his comrades for three years.” They gave him packages containing trench candles, socks, and wet wipes.

In Rostov-on-Don, Kindergarten No. 313 hosted a soldier who brought a training parachute for the children to see. The kindergarten described him as a “true hero,” with children asking questions about life on the frontlines, military equipment, and combat. In Yazykovo, Ulyanovsk region, a girl whose father is currently fighting in Ukraine was assigned the task of raising the Russian flag.

Additionally, many schools and kindergartens have shared brochures online to promote the “Year of the Defender of the Fatherland.” These materials include poems and messages glorifying the initiative. Putin’s announcement in December framed 2025 as a year to honor participants in the “special military operation” and coincided with the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in WWII.

Such actions echo earlier tactics, like the forced deportation of over 3,000 children from temporarily occupied areas of Kherson in the summer of 2024, under the guise of “vacation” programs, as reported by Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets.