Chronicles of Indoctrination

Even in the July heat, Russian authorities pressed forward with their agenda — from military training in kindergartens to neurotesting teenagers for “patriotic leadership potential” and monitoring parents through state-run messengers.

📌 Mentor With Seven Criminal Convictions — In Ussuriysk, a war veteran with convictions for robbery, theft, and fraud is training children for the military game Zarnitsa. In March 2024, he was charged with hooliganism for reloading an assault rifle near a shopping mall.

📌 Patriotic Profiling via Brain Tests — The Rospatriotcenter launched a project using neuroprofiling to identify “leaders” and “anti-leaders” among youth aged 12–18. The goal: test 10,000 teenagers and send the 50 with the most “positively expressed profiles” to a patriotic seminar.

📌 Military Training in School Curriculum — Authorities in Sverdlovsk region launched a pilot program for basic military training in schools. Three schools will be equipped with gear for “military-patriotic games,” meetings with veterans, and the development of teaching materials.

📌 Drones for Preschoolers — Six kindergartens in Perm have opened UAV control centers. Officials say this fulfills a presidential order mandating drone competitions for children from age 7. In June, Perm hosted Russia’s first drone piloting competition for preschoolers.

📌 Total Control Over School Chats — Russia plans to move all parent and school group chats from WhatsApp to the state-owned messenger Max. Teachers have been ordered to install and register in the app by August 15. Authorities say this move will allow them to “finally block WhatsApp” in schools.