School curriculum of the temporarily occupied territories: education of children according to Russian standards

Education in the temporarily occupied territories forms a distorted perception of Russian armed aggression and imposes "patriotism" to the Russian Federation on schoolchildren. The way Russia promotes such rhetoric in the occupied schools of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Kherson regions is covered in the article.

Almenda Civic Education Center produces monthly monitoring reviews of the education situation in the temporarily occupied territories; for up-to-date information, please visit their website.

In 2022, the Russians are set to teach the Russian curriculum in the temporarily occupied territories; dissenting educators are intimidated or kidnapped, and Ukrainian textbooks are seized. In particular, the representative of the Almenda Civic Education Center Maria Sulialina said that during the withdrawal of books from schools in Melitopol, the Russian Federation assured that the Ukrainian authorities allegedly used history textbooks to prepare young people for war with Russia. 

 "We see the use of the "Crimean scenario" in the recently occupied territories. Education is immediately integrated into the all-Russian system", said Sulialina and added that in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, there was introduced a"hybrid option".

This was confirmed by a 15-year-old student from temporarily occupied Novoazovsk, whose name is withheld for security purposes. According to him, the transition to Russian standards after the occupation of Donetsk in 2014 was gradual. For several years after the outbreak of the war, the Ukrainian language was still taught as a secondary subject, and local writers were studied at the lessons of Native Literature 

Since 2014, the curriculum of temporarily uncontrolled territories of Ukraine has focused on subjects of the socio-humanitarian cycle, in particular, History and Social Studies. In schools of the Donetsk region, they teach Citizenship Lesson, where they dwell on the "history" of illegal armed formation, its symbols, traditions, leaders, and the pro-Russian vector of development.

 "It was in this lesson that a strong ideological work was carried out... And children with a different position were not exactly humiliated, they tried to "drown them out" against the background of those who supported the occupation," says a student of Novoazovsk school.

Despite the fact that the Illegal military formation of "Luhansk/Donetsk People's Republics" declares alleged independence from the Russian Federation, in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, education is based on Russian textbooks. 

 Upon the occupation of the city, Russia released the"ABC of Kherson" with a tricolor on the cover for "patriotic education". The book was created by analogy with the "ABC of Donbas", with the flag of the illegal military formation "Donetsk People's Republic" on the cover, the pectures of the Kremlin and the Russian kokoshnik, and the Russian Federation is the "motherland". In addition, there is an address of the leader of the temporarily occupied Donetsk region Denis Pushilin. 

 By the beginning of the new academic year, Russians prepared a pseudo-historical lesson "My History" in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region The lesson plan reproduces narratives of Russian ideologists that contradict historical facts. Russia is called the "core of the Earth"; they talk about the "triune people", which allegedly includes Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians; they assure that Ukraine was "invented" by Lenin, and the Ukrainian language was "imposed" by force. 

There were also references to the "Banderivtsi", as well as the US, the EU and NATO, which allegedly contributed to the transformation of Ukraine into an "anti-Russia". Moreover, these materials are used to convince schoolchildren that the Russian cities of Stara Ladoga and Novgorod, which emerged in the early 10th century and in 1478, respectively, are older than Kyiv (founded in 482).

Various pro-Russian events, actions and initiatives have become an integral part of the school life of Ukrainians from the temporarily occupied territories.

"All these events on the occasion of the celebration of the" Victory Day ", "Defender of the Fatherland Day", "Days of liberation of cities from the Nazis" [mentioned in the context of the World War II - ed.] — have a strong impact on children's minds", — says Maria Sulialina.

In the spring of 2022, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, primary school students were included in the "write a letter to a soldier" campaign and organized meetings with the Russian military involved in the war against Ukraine. In Melitopol, on the occasion of Russian Writing Day on June 6, children were forced to write a dictation in Russian. 

However, with the end of the academic year, the number of such events decreased. In the summer, work with children was aimed at "fostering respect and pride for Russia, forming the foundations of patriotism and supporting the interests of the Russian Federation in the world." 

According to a schoolchild from Novoazovsk, a summer school was organized for children deported from Mariupol, where they were taught the Russian Language, History, Literature, and also told about the war. Thus, Russians try to justify armed aggression, and sometimes to enlist support, forming the "correct" view of Russian-Ukrainian relations. 

 The administration and teachers of educational institutions encourage students to participate in various activities, as well as promote the idea of membership in military-patriotic movements such as the Yunarmia. 

Although such organizations target fewer children than formal education, they have a stronger ideological impact.

In 2021, the then Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksii Reznikov initiated the consideration of the program "On Ensuring Stable Ukrainian Broadcasting in the Temporarily Occupied and Border Territories of Ukraine". After the hearings on the program, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy agreed that Ukraine should fight for the brains and souls of Ukrainians in the occupied territories, including young people growing up in information isolation.

Although Crimea-Ukraine and Donbas-Ukraine educational centers were already operating in Ukraine, which helped young people enter Ukrainian higher education institutions under a simplified procedure, in 2021 the Ministry of Reintegration launched preparatory  courses for the applicants who were able to leave the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. In addition to training, participants attended psychological, cultural, educational and sports events. In 2022, they have not been carried out due to the full-scale invasion

 Since September 5, 2022, the Ukrainian online school "SchoolToGo" has been working free of charge for students from the temporarily occupied territories. One can also get psychological support there. And for school leavers a simplified system of admission to higher educational institutions was in effect again: those who were willing had to pass an oral interview. 

In addition, NGOs also contribute to the reintegration of children from the temporarily occupied territories into Ukrainian society. Thus, Almenda Civic Education Center organized Docudays UA film clubs for children and parents. Earlier, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the public human rights organization held unified lessons on the Day of the Beginning of the Crimean Resistance and the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatar People. 

 Almenda believes that work aimed at preventing the impact of propaganda on children from the temporarily occupied territories is insufficient due to underestimation of the role of education in the development of children.

“Education is still taken lightly. Yunarmia, which we talked about at the international level back in 2015, was only included in the 7th EU sanctions package. And personal sanctions against those responsible for the militarization of children have not yet been adopted. The Russian Federation uses education as a tool to prepare the population for war, justify war crimes and destroy the Ukrainian identity," says Maria Sulialina.