How the Kremlin is influencing Russia’s youth to its propaganda

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin around ruler Vladimir Putin has increasingly focused on the country’s youth in order to bring them into line: There are military programs in schools and lots of patriotic messages. These messages resonate with many people, as the Washington Post writes (Source here).

The newspaper introduces Maryana Naumova, “one of the freshest faces of Putin’s war propaganda machine”as the article states. The 25-year-old has a show on the Kremlin-controlled television station Channel One, 85,000 subscribers on Telegram and regularly appears in youth forums, universities and talk shows.

According to Post journalist Francesca Ebel, the young woman reported on most of the major battles of the war in Ukraine. And of course, she does not describe the Russian military as an invading force, but calls them liberators of the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine – thus adopting the Kremlin’s narrative to justify the war. Naumova was also among the guests at Putin’s address to the nation on the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

“This new generation is being raised with the idea that the West hates us,” said a former senior Kremlin official, who still works in government circles and spoke to the Washington Post only on condition of anonymity. “Now everyone, including young people, has to be for the war, for traditional values ​​and religion – you have to act like a patriot.”

Those who follow this path can quickly be rewarded. Mikhail Dzhnyakov has also chosen this path. He gets his information from Western business media, but also from the Kremlin’s website and state news agencies. His goal: to go into politics. At just 21 years old, he is “already fluent in Russian political language,” writes the Washington Post. He stresses, for example, that there are no political prisoners in Russia, as Russian law does not provide for such a term.

But there are also those who have not left the country and yet do not want to follow the Kremlin’s propaganda. Like Yegor Balazeikin: He was arrested at the age of 16 and is serving a six-year prison sentence for attempted terrorism. He threw Molotov cocktails at two military recruitment offices in protest against the war, but they caused no damage.

The most important news of the day:

• EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to provide Ukraine with new EU financial aid of up to 35 billion euros, despite resistance from Hungary. She announced this on the platform X. More here.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the counterattack on Russia in the Kursk border region as a success. The chief military coordinator of German aid to Ukraine, however, assesses the situation differently. More here.
• A Russian news portal and the BBC say they have identified more than 70,000 Russian soldiers killed in the Ukraine war“We have identified the names of 70,112 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, but the real number is probably much higher,” the Russian service told the BBC. More in the news blog.
• Ukraine has largely banned the use of Telegram for government, military and security personnel. The National Defense and Security Council announced this on the online service Facebook.
• According to a report, authorities and military in the Russian region of Kursk may have had indications of a Ukrainian advance. This was reported by the Guardian, citing alleged Russian documents that the Ukrainian military claims to have discovered during its Kursk offensive.
• The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has responded to the proposal of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to place Crimea under UN mandate to prepare a referendum. The ministry stressed that the status of Crimea as Ukrainian territory is not up for discussion.
• Ukrainian air defense shot down 61 of 70 Russian drones during the night, the country’s air force said. In addition, one of four Russian missiles was destroyed.
• The government in Moscow is urging the West not to ignore warnings about the release of longer-range weapons against targets in the Russian interior. In this case, the nature of the conflict changes, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
• Chechnya’s ruler Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Elon Musk of deactivating a Tesla Cybertruck that he allegedly received from the tech billionaire in August. Musk “recently shut down the Cybertruck remotely,” he explained on Telegram.
• In his evening message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a Russian attack on the city of Sumy. According to the Interior Ministry, one woman was killed and at least 13 people were injured. “Russia had to know that this is a nursing home – not a military base, not a military facility,” he said.
• According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian armed forces have significantly weakened the striking power of the Russian army in the Donetsk region. Nevertheless, the head of state said in his evening address that the situation remains extremely difficult.