October 31, 2024

A Pro-War Childhood?


A Pro-War Childhood?
Z symbol flash mob at Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk. City of Khabarovsk, Wikimedia Commons.

Since the start of Russia’s War on Ukraine, children's books, cartoons, plays, comics, and even toys glorifying the conflict and the Russian soldiers have emerged across the country.

In September 2023, students in some regions began receiving a brochure called “Azbuka o Vazhnom” (“The ABCs of the Important"), which offers a “patriotic word” for each letter of the alphabet. For example, the letter "B" corresponds to the word “bratstvo” ("brotherhood") and the slogan “Svoikh ne brosaem” ("We do not abandon our guys") — a phrase widely used in pro-war propaganda.

Other pro-war children's books have also been published. The publishing house of The National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) released “Alexander PotapovGeroy Rossiy Posmertno. 'Glavnoe Chtoby vy zhili.' SVO Rossii na Ukraine” (“Alexander — Posthumous Hero of Russia. 'The Main Thing Is That You Live.' Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine”). The book echoes the Soviet-era story of Pavlik Morozov, whose loyalty to the Communist Party was depicted as more important than family ties. In the Rosgvardiya book, a girl in a Ukrainian city occupied by Russia betrays her father, who is spying for Ukrainian forces, to Russian soldiers.

The same publisher also produces comics about the defenders of the fairy-tale metropolis of Dubrava, where residents are protected from invaders by Lesgvardia, an anthropomorphic detachment of animals.

This use of animal imagery to explain war to children isn’t unique. In 2022, with support from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the puppet show “Kak Medved оt volkov les Zashchishal” (“How the Bear Protected the Forest from Wolves”) was staged in Cherkessk. The production received a government grant of R500,000 ($5,300). The story is an allegory for Russia's War on Ukraine, depicting an “overseas” jackal and hyena convincing wolves that they shouldn’t befriend a bear. The wolves plan to attack the forest, but the bear intervenes, explaining that they are in the wrong. The wolves eventually recognize their mistake and return home. One participant in the play told a journalist from Novaya Vkladka (New Tab) that the jackals represent Western countries, the bear symbolizes Russia, and the wolves are nations that were once friendly with Russia but began to question their alliances.

In other Russian children's plays, the war is depicted without metaphor. For instance, the play “Radio Pasha” tells the story of a soldier who was mobilized and lost a leg. Created by the family-friendly theater “Kovcheg” (“The Ark”), the play premiered in St. Petersburg.

Children have also been involved in creating patriotic, pro-war content. In 2023, students at a social rehabilitation center in the village of Omutinskoye, Tyumen region, worked with Oksana Toveskina, head of an animation studio, to create the cartoon “Pismo lyubimomu soldatu” (“Letter to a Beloved Soldier”).

Toy manufacturers have joined the effort to promote war, with new toy soldiers representing participants in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Irina Metelkina, founder of the Museum of Childhood in Vologda and an advocate for distributing such toys in schools, told Novaya Vkladka that these toys should become popular among children. Otherwise, she said, “boys will stop wanting to join the army and defend their homeland.”

However, experts interviewed by Novaya Vkladka expressed doubt that all these efforts to glorify war among children will have a lasting impact. Children’s author and teacher Nina Dashevskaya criticized “The ABCs of the Important," saying, “If a child is learning letters, they need concrete objects like a house, a dog, a tree, not abstract concepts.”

Children’s author and editor-in-chief of “Pereplet” (“Bookbinding”), a magazine for children’s and adolescent literature, Alexey Oleynikov, pointed out that there are few pro-war works for children today. He attributed this to two factors: the state apparatus has not fully transitioned to a “besieged fortress” mentality, and children’s literature tends to be conservative. According to Oleynikov, current trends in children’s and adolescent literature lean toward escapism, such as Korean dramas and “retro texts” that take readers away from present realities. He predicted that literary works about the war in Ukraine for children might be published in greater numbers when a “recognizable heroic character” emerges from the war zone. However, he questioned whether this would be enough to achieve effective propaganda among children.

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955