ISTRA, Russia: On a small stage in a school outside Moscow, a masked soldier presented Ivan with an army flag, a thank you gift signed by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine to the seven-year-old who has sent dozens of letters and gifts to them. Encouraged by his mother, Ivan has offered words of support and praise for those taking part in what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation.”

Such events have become common as the Kremlin rallies its youngest citizens to support the initiative and embeds its narratives on the conflict into the curriculum. Thousands like Ivan learn from new history books that justify the Ukraine operation as the latest in a string of successful Russian and Soviet campaigns to defend the motherland. Instilling patriotism in the classroom is just one strand of President Vladimir Putin’s wider attempt to elevate the status of the military and champion soldiers and veterans as the country’s new elite.

“Children, right from the youngest age, need to learn that they have a duty to protect themselves, their family and their nation,” Ivan’s mother Alyona Ilyina told AFP. At the school, the masked former Wagner group fighter, codenamed “Raven”, posed with Ivan on stage for a photo. His comrade, Yuri, a 39-year old soldier back from a mission near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, said he fixed the letters to the walls of his shelter near the front. “They were like icons for us,” he said. Russian children are also being encouraged to join pro-military youth movements, a throwback to the days of the USSR. Ivan’s school in Istra has set up a small museum displaying objects that belonged to Soviet soldiers in World War II alongside some from those now fighting in Ukraine — including helmets riddled with bullet holes.

Around 20 of the 300 pupils, aged between seven and 18, have joined a group called the “Youth Army” — which says it has 1.7 million members nationwide. “I explain to our children the essence of the ongoing conflict, why it started, that it was an unavoidable decision of our president,” Tatiana Kalugina, a music and art teacher who chairs the Youth Army’s Istra branch, told AFP.

Putin has long framed the conflict as an existential battle against Ukrainian “neo-Nazis”, drawing parallels with the Soviet Union’s fight against Adolf Hitler’s Germany in World War II. Kyiv and the West reject that narrative, saying Russia wants to conquer and subjugate Ukraine. The Youth Army’s agenda covers everything from sports competitions to how to handle a Kalashnikov rifle.

“The motivation for parents... is that the child is disciplined,” Kalugina said. They learn “what an order is” and how to be “responsible” toward their comrades, she added. The Kremlin launched its drive to bring its messages on the Ukraine conflict into schools in 2022, with a program of special lessons, called “Important Conversations.” Those efforts have become more systematic as the fighting moves towards its fourth year. In a new textbook on Russia’s military history for 16 to 17 year-olds, a section on the “special military operation” says it was launched to “defend the population of the Donbas.” Kyiv rejects that claim. Alexei, 16, is another young Russian who supports the Russian army. — AFP