Preschoolers across Russia will begin state-backed patriotic lessons known as “Kind Games” later this year, a senior Education Ministry official said Wednesday.
The state-run news agency RIA Novosti described “Kind Games” as the preschool equivalent of “Important Conversations,” which were introduced in high schools in 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Critics have slammed “Important Conversations” as political indoctrination.
Russia’s Deputy Education Minister Olga Koludarova said “Kind Games” would be introduced in all preschool classrooms in Russia starting Sept. 1.
President Vladimir Putin previously called for younger children to be given patriotic lessons.
Koludarova described “Kind Games” as activities dedicated to “spiritual and moral values,” according to RIA Novosti, adding that the Education Ministry was still in the process of drafting the new curriculum.
The Education Ministry began piloting the preschool lessons across 19 Russian regions and parts of occupied Ukraine last year, though they were not initially known as “Kind Games.”
In some preschools that trialed the program, children were photographed dressed in military uniforms, given toy weapons and had bandages wrapped on them to simulate battlefield wounds.
Independent media reported in February that “Kind Games” will encompass six overarching themes, including “Peoples of Russia” and “A Corner of Russia Is My Native Land.”
As part of the lessons, children aged 3 to 5 will be shown a map of Russia with the occupied Ukrainian regions and taught the importance of “protecting our motherland,” according to the exiled news outlet Agentstvo.
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