Think of the children: How the Kremlin is Educating a New Generation of Russians

In the early months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin narratives served to justify the state’s decisions to its domestic audience, casting Russia as the saviour of Russian-speaking minorities and Ukraine as the unfortunate by-product of a much wider war between Russia and the West. And that narrative has broadly served its purpose; some who opposed the war or attempted to avoid mobilization (these groups are not one and the same) and had the means or desire to do so, have left the country. Those who remained but opposed the war have been restricted by oppressive legislation limiting freedom of movement, expression and information, rendering organised protests against the war extremely challenging.