Russia’s Education Ministry has decided that the so-called Important Conversations, a patriotic lesson introduced into the school curriculum last year after the start of the war in Ukraine, would be conducted for parents too, Russia’s state news agency TASS reports, citing Russian Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov.
According to the minister, the form of the event is now being worked out.
“It’s a correct idea to talk to parents about [these things], including questions on how to raise children and our country’s achievements. I think parents would be interested. I’m in favour of this idea,” Kravtsov said yesterday, 18 February, during a TASS press conference.
Kravtsov added that the flag raising ceremony would soon begin to be carried out in pedagogical universities too. It was previously introduced in schools together with the Important Conversations classes.
It was previously reported that Important Conversations would be broadcast weekly on Russia’s main state channel’s morning show Dobroye Utro. The first episode aired on 13 February, with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov making an appearance. The next episode will be broadcast tomorrow, 20 February.
Extracurricular lesson Important Conversations was introduced in Russian schools on 1 September 2022, the start of the school year. The goal of the lesson is to instil “patriotism and love of homeland” in children. According to the curriculum, the aim of the lesson is “protection of Russian society from the destructive informational-psychological pressure” and “strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”. The curriculum is based on Vladimir Putin’s presidential decree “On the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation”.
