Russian pupils forced to record video messages wishing Putin happy birthday

Schools and kindergartens across Russia have been holding “patriotic flash mobs” to mark Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday on Monday, Russian news outlet Mozhem Obyasnit has reported.

Children in several Russian regions recorded “congratulatory messages” for Putin, while a leading United Russia party group in the southern Rostov region posted photographs of children lining up to form the word “Putin” in a school yard.

Independent media outlet Verstka published several videos featuring schoolchildren holding Russian flags and wishing Putin well. In one of the videos, the children wished the de facto Russian leader “a long life”, “a peaceful sky” and “less bad news”, unenthusiastically waving their flags at the end of the message.

In another video, the children wished Putin “happiness, patience and the people’s love”. As of 12pm on Monday, at least 30 schools from various Russian regions had posted similar messages, Verstka estimated. Some of the messages end with the children proclaiming, “Victory will be ours”.

Last week, Putin urged Russian educators to extend the Important Conversations programme — mandatory propaganda classes aimed at “boosting patriotism” — to kindergartens, noting that Russia’s “basic values” should be “imparted carefully” to even the youngest children.

A small number of Russian schools also introduced Family Studies classes at the beginning of the academic year in September, a new initiative designed to teach “traditional family values” to Russian youth. The classes resemble propaganda far more than education, with pupils discussing the “spiritual and moral values” of the family.