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Russian Schools Stage Mock Weddings for Children to Promote State Values
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Russian educational institutions have begun organizing mass visits to registry offices for children and students across the country.
These excursions often include mock wedding ceremonies for participants ranging from preschoolers to university students. Since the start of 2026, over 100 schools, colleges, and universities have reported conducting such events, according to the independent outlet Vertska on March 3.
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The report identified instances involving very young children, including visits by two kindergartens. In the Kirov region, children from the Rodnichok kindergarten were taken to a registry office as part of a “career orientation” program. In Tatarstan, staff at a local office told visiting preschoolers that “a strong family is the guarantee of a strong state.”
Educational institutions cite various reasons for these visits. Some schools frame the trips as professional guidance, introducing students to the work of registry officials who document births and marriages. At least eight schools and one college conducted these visits as part of a “Family Studies” curriculum.
Official reports often state that the excursions are intended to promote “family values.” On February 14, the St. Petersburg Committee for Registry Offices stated that “during the educational excursion, the children were able to get acquainted with the basics of the work of registry offices and learn about the importance of traditional family values.”
In the Saratov region, two tenth-graders participated in a ceremony where they exchanged rings and signed documents. School officials stated that the “mock marriage registration ceremony” allowed teenagers to “feel the importance and solemnity of the moment.”
Other interactive events have targeted younger students. In another Saratov school, third-graders participated in a game called “Wedding Rites,” where a young girl wore a veil and held a bouquet while a boy wore a floral boutonniere. School representatives said such activities “help children better understand the traditions of their country and develop their communication skills.”
In the Perm region, sixth-grade students participated in a role-playing game where they acted as future spouses during a career orientation week titled “The Future is Here!”
Earlier, Russian school communities began a massive digital campaign to promote early childbirth and large families following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
An investigation by the independent outlet Verstka revealed that state-verified school pages published over 106,000 posts focused on “traditional values” and anti-abortion rhetoric during the 2023–2024 academic year alone.
This surge in propaganda coincided with the Kremlin’s “Year of the Family” initiative, marking an intensified effort to counter falling birth rates and significant battlefield losses by targeting the country’s youth with state-aligned reproductive ideologies.
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