Last bell in Russia 2025

As the academic year came to a close, Russian schools turned traditional graduation ceremonies into celebrations of war, military pride, and patriotic indoctrination. Here's a roundup of just some of the events that took place in May 2025:

📌 A Surprise in a Balaclava – In Tatarstan, a student was awarded a medal “for supporting the Special Military Operation (SVO)” during the end-of-year ceremony. The main “gift” was the surprise appearance of his father — a soldier fighting in Ukraine — who walked on stage in full military gear with his face completely covered by a balaclava.

📌 A Medal for Dad at War – In Buryatia, a schoolgirl received a “My Dad Is a Hero” medal from a local official. Her father is also participating in the war against Ukraine. The medal was awarded during a school ceremony, with applause from staff and local authorities.

📌 Dancing in Uniforms – In Orenburg, Kemerovo region, and Tuva, children dressed in military-style uniforms performed war-themed dances, drills, and songs during graduation concerts.

📌 First Aid Kits Instead of Flowers – In Voronezh region, students took part in an action called “A First Aid Kit Instead of a Bouquet.” Instead of giving flowers to teachers, graduates bought tactical medical kits to send to the front. Younger pupils were made to craft Cheburashka dolls for soldiers.

📌 Prom Dresses and Paramilitaries – In Tula region, a woman in military uniform from the Don Cossack Volunteer Corps visited the graduation ceremony. She taught female graduates in evening gowns how to mimic the mercenary salute. The students then sent care packages to the front.

📌 “God Is With Us” — and a Gun – In Krasnodar region, armed Cossacks from a volunteer corps congratulated graduates while standing in front of children's drawings. “We are Russians. God is with us. Victory will be ours,” they declared, calling themselves protectors of the students’ safety.

📌 A Lesson on War Instead of a Party – In Chuvashia, after the graduation ceremony, students attended a “lesson in courage” featuring a soldier who spoke about “fighting neo-Nazism” and the heroism of his comrades. School officials claimed the event would “leave a lasting impression.”

📌 Mourning at the Ceremony – In Kemerovo region and Astrakhan, graduation events began with a minute of silence and flower-laying ceremonies in honor of soldiers killed in Ukraine. Schools described these rites as “a new tradition.”

📌 Hero Desks on Graduation Day – In Krasnodar region, three “Hero Desks” were unveiled during the graduation ceremony, dedicated to former students who died in the war. Mothers of the fallen were given the honor of cutting the ribbon. “We chose to immortalize their names at the Last Bell, because there are no ‘former’ students,” school staff said.

📌 SVO Guests at Graduation – Hundreds of soldiers involved in the war were invited to school graduation events across the country. In Ulyanovsk region, one soldier couldn’t attend in person — instead, he sent a video greeting recorded directly from the battlefield.

These events reflect a disturbing normalization of war and militarism in Russian educational spaces — with children at the center of the performance.