First Bells Now Rung by Participants in the War Against Ukraine

This year, Russian schools altered one of the most recognizable traditions of Knowledge Day — the moment when a graduating student carries a first grader on their shoulders while ringing a bell to symbolize the start of the school year. Instead of 11th graders, the role was given to “SVO veterans.”

In Salekhard, the bell was rung by a participant in the war and the daughter of a soldier killed in action. In the Leningrad region, the honor went to a war veteran and head of the local Combat Brotherhood chapter, accompanied by his daughter Nika. In Khimki, the bell was rung by first-grader Ivan, whose father died in the war, together with the head of the local Veterans Association.

🎒 What was once a gentle symbol of childhood and new beginnings has been transformed into yet another tool of militarization.