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Russian Teachers Instructed to Identify Disloyal Students During Weekly Patriotic Classes
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Russian educators leading the mandatory “Conversations about Important Things” classes have been directed to track students who display "lack of understanding or disagreement with value orientations," avoid discussions, or ask provocative questions.
Updated guidelines from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation for the 2026/2027 academic year instruct teachers to record these incidents in specialized forms following lessons, as reported by The Moscow Times on September 2.
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Teachers are also required to complete a self-assessment section where they answer "Were there situations when students demonstrated lack of understanding or disagreement with value orientations? How were they resolved?", while also tracking student passivity.
The official document states that the objective is to provide educational staff and school administrators with data to evaluate the impact of lessons, adjust teaching practices, and assess the "formation of value orientations" and "personal results."
Schools are required to measure these personal outcomes twice a year, at the beginning and end of the term. Individual institutions can choose their own schedule and tools, with school psychologists, deputy directors for guidance, and homeroom teachers tasked with gathering and evaluating the collected data.
In late May, the Ministry of Education released 3 surveys for school students, pedagogical university students, and teachers under 35 years old. These surveys examined views on civic, patriotic, and moral standards, traditional values, the mandatory weekly classes, and willingness to participate in patriotic activities.
Students were asked to evaluate historical figures like Lenin, Stalin, and Brezhnev on a 4-point scale, as well as answer questions about social media usage and their ability to verify information, including content from foreign agents.
University staff were required to submit their completed surveys through the state messenger app Max, while school surveys were distributed directly by teachers.
Conversations about Important Things became a required part of the school curriculum in September 2023, with officials framing the weekly sessions as a way to build patriotism and love for the country.
The lessons cover Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and regularly feature guest speakers, including combatants, former prisoners, and private military company fighters. Schools have also implemented a mandatory Family Studies course that encourages students to have large families and emphasizes sacrifice for the nation.
Previously, an injured Russian serviceman, identified as former machine gunner Alexander Klaus who fought in Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine, addressed students at Lyceum No. 11 in Krasnoyarsk during a September 1 school opening ceremony.
Citing late nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he urged schoolchildren to learn the operation of the Kalashnikov assault rifle to ensure global recognition of the Russian language, made a gesture associated with Wagner Group mercenaries, and repeated a military slogan.
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