New ideological discipline introduced in russian schools and in the TOT
russian schools are integrating a new ideological course into the curriculum for grades 10–11 — “education in service. the first ones.”
▫️ The stated goal of the course is to develop students’ social activity. Senior students will carry out projects for public organizations and state structures under the guidance of mentors. In practice, however, this represents another stage in the institutionalization of ideological work with youth.
▫️ The discipline is directly linked to the kremlin-affiliated movement “dvizheniye pervykh,” which has become a key instrument for promoting kremlin military propaganda among children and young people. Introducing the course as part of the mandatory school program will allow even more students to be involved in this structure.
▫️ Starting in September, the number of “ideological” lessons is expected to increase for students in grades 5–7, highlighting the systematic nature of the approach. Importantly, similar pseudo-educational programs are also being implemented on temporarily occupied territories. In this way, russia integrates children from the TOT into its own political and social space.
Under the guise of “social service,” a hierarchy of controlled youth activity is being formed. The russian authorities are consistently building an educational model aimed at raising a generation oriented toward unconditional loyalty to the state.
