Teaching children to love Russia should begin at an early age, Russian officials say, as authorities prepare to roll out state-backed patriotic lessons known as “Kind Games” in preschool classrooms across the country.
Russia’s Education Ministry began piloting the preschool lessons last year across 19 Russian regions and in parts of occupied Ukraine.
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In some preschools that tested the program, children were photographed dressed in military uniforms, carrying toy weapons, and wrapped in bandages to simulate battlefield wounds.
As part of the lessons, children aged 3 to 5 will be shown a map of Russia including occupied Ukrainian regions and taught the importance of “protecting our motherland,” according to the exiled news outlet Agentstvo.
Russia’s Deputy Education Minister Olga Koludarova said “Kind Games” would be introduced in all preschool classrooms across the country starting on Sept. 1.
Back to “Pioneers” and “Komsomol”
Russian State Duma deputy Mikhail Matveyev has also proposed restoring the Soviet-era names “Octobrists,” “Pioneers,” and “Komsomol,” reviving terminology closely associated with communist youth movements.
Matveyev made the remarks during a Russian parliamentary discussion on Thursday, suggesting that the historic labels, once used for children’s and youth organizations in the USSR, could be reintroduced in modern Russia.
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