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Al Jazeera
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Propaganda lessons for everyone': Russia's wartime curriculum exposed
In Pavel Talankin's film, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, one scene depicts Russian schoolteachers struggling to explain the reasons for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to their pupils, early on in the war. One cannot say 'denazification', a word the Kremlin often uses to justify its onslaught. Later, though, a history teacher displays no hesitation. 'The economic component of hybrid warfare, these are the sanctions against our country,' he tells a class of 12- and 13-year-olds. 'You already know that Europe, not Russia, is suffering the most from these sanctions now … There are no local agricultural products: No wheat, oils and so on. Well, OK, in France they're used to eating oysters and frogs. They will last for some time. But what about the others, like England?' Since the war erupted three years ago, classrooms, lecture halls and even kindergartens across Russia have reflected the new normal in a militarised syllabus that critics accuse of indoctrinating children into a warlike ideology. Talankin's documentary aims to expose how the 'special military operation', as the invasion is officially termed, has spilled over into the nation's schools. 'Wars are won not by commanders, but by schoolteachers,' Russian President Vladimir Putin says in archival footage in the film. From 2018, Talankin had worked at the Karabash Primary School #1, in a small industrial town of the same name in the Ural mountains. He planned events like concerts and school discos and was also the school's designated videographer. Soon after the war started, he was instructed by the Ministry of Education to film how the new patriotic programme was being implemented at his school. But he told Al Jazeera that since he felt 'broken' at the news of the invasion and found it 'incomprehensible' that he would be forced to take part in a pro-war agenda, he secretly shared the footage with American filmmaker David Borenstein. He has described himself as feeling like 'these kids' propagandist'. 'At the beginning of the war, various special events were held to support the soldiers and the military,' said Talankin. 'The children had to sing songs, read poems, cut out some pigeons and stick them on the windows. My task was to shoot it all and publish it with hashtags … so that the public got the impression that everyone supports it en masse.' The Russian education system has been overhauled since 2022. History lessons have been reframed around the Kremlin's current geopolitical outlook. A number of schools now host mini-museums and exhibitions about the war. One school in rural Bashkortostan has hung portraits of local soldiers who have died on the front lines, as well as everyday objects from the battles such as wet wipes. Weekly classes were introduced in 2022, under the banner 'Important Conversations'. They emphasise the importance of duty to one's country and themes of self-sacrifice and military history, such as Soviet heroics in World War II. They have even been taught in kindergartens. Each lesson is preceded by raising the flag and performing the Russian national anthem. 'It was every Monday, at first, and then Thursdays as well,' Talankin said. 'The classes were planned completely, from start to finish: What should the teacher say, and when? What questions should be asked of the children? What presentations should be used? Everything is well thought-out, and I was a little offended, [and felt] sorry for the teachers because we do not have adequate equipment at school. There are no textbooks, there are no manuals for teachers. In the same way, they could explain physics, they could do [any other subject] like this, but this is not the case. But they have all this strength for propaganda.' In his film, one teacher is seen telling a group of bored-looking children, 'If you live in our country and don't love it, then you're a parasite. Leave.' In addition, extracurricular activities such as drills and parades led by veterans who have served in Ukraine, grenade-throwing contests, and classes to instil discipline in students are all aimed at stoking patriotic fervour. Since 2023, military training, including firearms, has been reintroduced in schools, a practice from the Soviet era. A representative of the Education Ministry told Al Jazeera in an email that Moscow is 'implementing a number of educational projects aimed at shaping the worldview of Russian citizens'. 'The most optimal conditions for accumulating impressions, forming ideas, and nurturing children's feelings are created at primary school age,' they said. 'It is at this age, when a person begins to form as an individual, that it is important to explain to him what the all-Russian civic identity is. Patriotism is one of the most important spiritual and moral values, which is rooted in the history of the people and the state.' They added that it is 'important to instil in the younger generation of children a sense of love for the Motherland, a sense of duty to the Fatherland and respect for the history and traditions of their native country'. In another scene of Talankin's film, students sit through a presentation by the mercenary outfit Wagner Group, fully kitted out in camouflage and berets, and pass around a landmine. In another, a group of frustrated teachers lament that there is hardly time left for regular classes. 'The purpose of militarising both the school curriculum and extracurricular life for Russian children is explicitly aimed at raising a large number of indoctrinated young Russians ready to serve in the military and support the state's aggressive military expansionism,' Ian Garner, historian of Russia and author of the book Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth, told Al Jazeera. 'These policies are being adopted with one eye on the long-term: not the war against Ukraine, but the next war in five, 10, or 15 years' time. Russia's sociocultural fabric is being totally reshaped and militarised. Children's education is a vital component of this.' In the film, the history teacher professes a fascination with Lavrentiy Beria, the notorious chief of Josef Stalin's secret police and the architect of the Gulag system, among other Soviet officials. 'History lessons in Russia now teach national and quasi-religious myths about the country's messianic destiny, past imperial glory, and exceptional military history,' continued Garner. 'Most notable in this is the rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin, who is portrayed as the wise leader who transformed the country's economy, united the Soviet peoples, and saved the world in World War II. The terrors and purges of the 1930s, let alone crimes like the Holodomor, are completely absent,' he said, referring to the mass famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. Garner believes that while many students are probably jaded with the material, together with the barrage of pro-war messages through Russian society and social media, the system is at least partly successful in raising a generation of militaristic young nationalists. 'It all depends on their age,' said Talankin. 'Small children are very receptive to the words of the teacher: They trust them very much.' According to him, some educators still try to subvert or play down the Important Conversations classes. 'There are teachers who resist a little,' he said. 'For example, they'll say today we are talking about something important … and we are talking about important mathematics, for example. But this is rare. I really feel sorry for the teachers. They are like hostages in captivity, forced to say all sorts of things.' Resisting the Kremlin's orders in education comes with personal and professional risk. Teachers expressing views contradicting the official position have found themselves denounced by parents, pro-Kremlin campaigners and even their pupils. In some cases, their colleagues have turned against them, leading to them being fined or prosecuted for 'discrediting' the Russian armed forces. In Crimea, activists have targeted teachers for displaying a Ukrainian flag on social media, tracking them down and coercing them into filming an apology video which is then circulated over social media. Sometimes the harassment continues even after that, until the teacher loses their job. However, according to independent human rights monitor OVD-Info, which tracks politically motivated persecution in Russia, by 2024 the number of teachers being penalised dropped sharply, perhaps indicating a climate of self-censorship or fear. Talankin, who quit his job and fled Russia in 2024, said some of his students have since enlisted in the army. His film, which has played at international film festivals, has stirred controversy in his hometown. 'The reactions are varied,' he reflected glumly. 'From calling me scum and a b*****d and a traitor to Russia to, 'Well done, you finally showed this swamp.' I would like everyone to watch it, both in Russia and the world. There is a lot of love in it: To the country, to the homeland. But not to Putin's Russia. Because it clearly shows how Putin destroys everything alive.'
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Riveting Look Inside an Increasingly Totalitarian Russia
In the wave of documentaries about the Ukraine War that have come out over the past two years, there hasn't been one that's offered what David Borenstein's 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' does — and certainly not with such wit, verve, and insight: The view inside Russia. Borenstein is the credited director, but the footage itself was largely shot by Pavel 'Pasha' Talankin, a guy with an impish grin and a freethinking sensibility who worked as a videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1. Karabash is a small town of 10,000 in the Ural Mountains, which outside visitors have tried to paint as the 'most polluted town in the world' due to its copper smelting plant that one observer says has resulted in the town's population having an average life expectancy of 38. 'It's not so bad,' Pasha says in his voiceover right after that. And as much of the film that follows is about illuminating the dark turn Russia has taken since the Ukraine War — especially in terms of indoctrinating its children — it's also slyly a message to the West: Russians don't all think alike, and they don't all live in grinding, miserable conditions. More from IndieWire 2025 Sundance Keynote Looks Ahead: 'We'll Not Only Adapt to the Changing Industry but Also Shape Its Future' For Cooper Raiff to Build a Market for Indie TV, He Needed to Make 'Hal & Harper' 'Undeniable' Since Talankin shot almost all of the footage in his role as the school's videographer himself, he's credited as DP (and as co-director) of 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin.' And though he's aiming for the kind of nuance that the West doesn't typically see in depictions of Russia, he's clear-eyed about the all-out descent into totalitarianism the country has experienced since those harrowing days of February 2022, when Vladimir Putin began his 'special military operation' against Ukraine. Not too many years removed from the school himself, Pasha has the kind of the connection with the students there indicative of someone who was a student there himself. We see him filming poetry readings and trying to shoot a music video with the older students (the school appears to be veritably a K-12). And then suddenly, in February 2022, they're asked 'from above' to start staging patriotic displays and the singing of anthems about the Motherland. It's about both indoctrinating the students, and making sure that the school staff are willing to indoctrinate the students when ordered so that the government knows the adult population is falling in line (which priority is more important is unclear, though we know even in the U.S., as seen in the documentary 'The Librarians,' that bad-faith political actors believe indoctrinating children will help achieve future goals). Pasha then has to upload all the patriotic videos to a mysterious government website. From that point on, each schoolday begins with a 'presentation of the colors' ceremony that requires kids to do a military-style march. 'Are we completely fucked up?' Pasha asks his supervisor when the order comes down to start doing this. 'Fuck! It hurts!' Suddenly, class lectures are all about the need to 'demilitarize' and 'denazify' Ukraine. Assault rifle demonstrations are held. And younger students are encouraged to join a new 'patriotic' group that has its roots in the Soviet Pioneers (but that most U.S. viewers watching this will be inclined to think of as akin to the Hitler Youth). The way that Pasha shows us these things being added to the curriculum, it's clear it wasn't always like this. Russians have a greater diversity of thought when it comes to Putin and the Ukraine War than is typically acknowledged in the West. And this particular slide into totalitarianism is a rather recent development (which gives one hope that it could be reversed). Presumably, Putin felt that ramping up the propaganda efforts for the Ukraine War, a war in which Russians might feel they are fighting against their brothers and sisters, required greater effort than anything attempted for Russia's involvement in the wars in Syria and Chechnya. There are definitely some true believers here. One teacher, Mr. Abdulmanov, wins an award because he's turned his history class into a veritable daily propaganda lecture. When asked, he includes Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's NKVD head, and a notorious murderer and sexual predator (several children's skulls were found on his property, among those of others), as one of his personal heroes. Even Pasha's mother, a librarian who he clearly loves (though he says he's never told her), supports the war — even if her justification is that 'our people have always been involved in all the battles' and that 'people love shooting each other.' Over time, Pasha makes contact on Instagram with a producer in the West who's interested in footage being taken about how the war's being communicated inside Russia. Presumably, that's how this resulting film came to be. But Pasha also gets it in his head to start subverting the day-to-day propaganda at the school, which could make him a target even before delivering the footage he's taken to the producer. One day, Pasha even subverts the daily 'procession of the colors' ceremony by swapping out the Russian national anthem for Lady Gaga's rendition of the 'The Star Spangled Banner,' and in his voiceover notes that nothing could be more threatening to the regime than the fact it was Gaga's version. The Western view might be that Pasha would be spirited away to a gulag as soon as he did that, but nothing happens right away. There is a police car suddenly parked in front of his apartment block, however. And he knows that he'll have to leave the country if he's ever to share all the video footage he's taken. There are moments when Pasha laments what's happened here, even if he immediately qualifies it by saying 'of course, it's nothing like what's happening in Ukraine.' But even still, he grieves over former students he knew who've been drafted and sent to Ukraine and never returned. When the school's graduation ceremony finally arrives, Pasha uses the occasion to deliver a speech that's both about honoring the grads and a statement about how much he himself has learned here — with hindsight everyone would have recognized it as a farewell speech. And indeed, he fled the next day. Borenstein assembled all of this into a film that's not only a revealing bit of journalism on Talankin's part but a satisfying character study about an independent thinker suddenly faced with totalitarianism. You're rooting for Pasha so hard in all of this, even if, based on the existence of this film and his retroactive voiceover, you know from the very beginning he must be okay. 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' is unique in dealing with serious issues about war and dehumanization with a light, even humorous, and certainly personality-filled, touch — in the serious-as-a-heart-attack war documentary landscape, it is a unicorn. The fact that it leads to more empathy and understanding, and a capacity for seeing ordinary Russians in a more human light, makes it profound film as well as an engaging one. 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' world premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Want to stay up to date on IndieWire's film and critical thoughts? to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings — all only available to subscribers. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked Every IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade from Best to Worst
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Riveting Look Inside an Increasingly Totalitarian Russia
In the wave of documentaries about the Ukraine War that have come out over the past two years, there hasn't been one that's offered what Daniel Borenstein's 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' does — and certainly not with such wit, verve, and insight: The view inside Russia. Borenstein is the credited director, but the footage itself was largely shot by Pavel 'Pasha' Talankin, a guy with an impish grin and a freethinking sensibility who worked as a videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1. Karabash is a small town of 10,000 in the Ural Mountains, which outside visitors have tried to paint as the 'most polluted town in the world' due to its copper smelting plant that one observer says has resulted in the town's population having an average life expectancy of 38. 'It's not so bad,' Pasha says in his voiceover right after that. And as much of the film that follows is about illuminating the dark turn Russia has taken since the Ukraine War — especially in terms of indoctrinating its children — it's also slyly a message to the West: Russians don't all think alike, and they don't all live in grinding, miserable conditions. More from IndieWire 2025 Sundance Keynote Looks Ahead: 'We'll Not Only Adapt to the Changing Industry but Also Shape Its Future' For Cooper Raiff to Build a Market for Indie TV, He Needed to Make 'Hal & Harper' 'Undeniable' Since Talankin shot almost all of the footage in his role as the school's videographer himself, he's credited as DP (and as co-director) of 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin.' And though he's aiming for the kind of nuance that the West doesn't typically see in depictions of Russia, he's clear-eyed about the all-out descent into totalitarianism the country has experienced since those harrowing days of February 2022, when Vladimir Putin began his 'special military operation' against Ukraine. Not too many years removed from the school himself, Pasha has the kind of the connection with the students there indicative of someone who was a student there himself. We see him filming poetry readings and trying to shoot a music video with the older students (the school appears to be veritably a K-12). And then suddenly, in February 2022, they're asked 'from above' to start staging patriotic displays and the singing of anthems about the Motherland. It's about both indoctrinating the students, and making sure that the school staff are willing to indoctrinate the students when ordered so that the government knows the adult population is falling in line (which priority is more important is unclear, though we know even in the U.S., as seen in the documentary 'The Librarians,' that bad-faith political actors believe indoctrinating children will help achieve future goals). Pasha then has to upload all the patriotic videos to a mysterious government website. From that point on, each schoolday begins with a 'presentation of the colors' ceremony that requires kids to do a military-style march. 'Are we completely fucked up?' Pasha asks his supervisor when the order comes down to start doing this. 'Fuck! It hurts!' Suddenly, class lectures are all about the need to 'demilitarize' and 'denazify' Ukraine. Assault rifle demonstrations are held. And younger students are encouraged to join a new 'patriotic' group that has its roots in the Soviet Pioneers (but that most U.S. viewers watching this will be inclined to think of as akin to the Hitler Youth). The way that Pasha shows us these things being added to the curriculum, it's clear it wasn't always like this. Russians have a greater diversity of thought when it comes to Putin and the Ukraine War than is typically acknowledged in the West. And this particular slide into totalitarianism is a rather recent development (which gives one hope that it could be reversed). Presumably, Putin felt that ramping up the propaganda efforts for the Ukraine War, a war in which Russians might feel they are fighting against their brothers and sisters, required greater effort than anything attempted for Russia's involvement in the wars in Syria and Chechnya. There are definitely some true believers here. One teacher, Mr. Abdulmanov, wins an award because he's turned his history class into a veritable daily propaganda lecture. When asked, he includes Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's NKVD head, and a notorious murderer and sexual predator (several children's skulls were found on his property, among those of others), as one of his personal heroes. Even Pasha's mother, a librarian who he clearly loves (though he says he's never told her), supports the war — even if her justification is that 'our people have always been involved in all the battles' and that 'people love shooting each other.' Over time, Pasha makes contact on Instagram with a producer in the West who's interested in footage being taken about how the war's being communicated inside Russia. Presumably, that's how this resulting film came to be. But Pasha also gets it in his head to start subverting the day-to-day propaganda at the school, which could make him a target even before delivering the footage he's taken to the producer. One day, Pasha even subverts the daily 'procession of the colors' ceremony by swapping out the Russian national anthem for Lady Gaga's rendition of the 'The Star Spangled Banner,' and in his voiceover notes that nothing could be more threatening to the regime than the fact it was Gaga's version. The Western view might be that Pasha would be spirited away to a gulag as soon as he did that, but nothing happens right away. There is a police car suddenly parked in front of his apartment block, however. And he knows that he'll have to leave the country if he's ever to share all the video footage he's taken. There are moments when Pasha laments what's happened here, even if he immediately qualifies it by saying 'of course, it's nothing like what's happening in Ukraine.' But even still, he grieves over former students he knew who've been drafted and sent to Ukraine and never returned. When the school's graduation ceremony finally arrives, Pasha uses the occasion to deliver a speech that's both about honoring the grads and a statement about how much he himself has learned here — with hindsight everyone would have recognized it as a farewell speech. And indeed, he fled the next day. Borenstein assembled all of this into a film that's not only a revealing bit of journalism on Talankin's part but a satisfying character study about an independent thinker suddenly faced with totalitarianism. You're rooting for Pasha so hard in all of this, even if, based on the existence of this film and his retroactive voiceover, you know from the very beginning he must be okay. 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' is unique in dealing with serious issues about war and dehumanization with a light, even humorous, and certainly personality-filled, touch — in the serious-as-a-heart-attack war documentary landscape, it is a unicorn. The fact that it leads to more empathy and understanding, and a capacity for seeing ordinary Russians in a more human light, makes it profound film as well as an engaging one. 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' world premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Want to stay up to date on IndieWire's film and critical thoughts? to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings — all only available to subscribers. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked Every IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade from Best to Worst
