January 21, 2025

The Politics of the Class of 2025


The Politics of the Class of 2025
Class dismissed. The Russian Life files

In 2025, a new group of students will graduate from high school. Kholod spoke with a queer student of the class of 2025 to reflect on her upbringing in a Russia characterized by its crackdown on dissent and what the future looks like for teenaged Russians.

Daria, whose name was changed for this story, said she remembers when the famous dissident Alexey Navalny was arrested – she was in seventh grade. Fellow students in her Moscow school debated: some protested his arrest, others defended it. But, Daria thought, "[when] I become an adult, I'll think about it." In her mind, as long as she didn't pay taxes, she had no business getting involved in politics. In Daria's household, the television was only used to watch downloaded movies, never for news. Her family was not connected to politics. Her dad worked in the auto industry and her mom was a stay-at-home parent.

In 2022, the now-17-year-old was confronted with "collective shame, shame for my country, and anxiety for its future and mine." Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine horrified her to the point where she doesn't even remember February and March of 2022. "I needed to know who was right and who was wrong," she said. She quickly understood that Russia was responsible for the war.

Daria met Ukrainians and like-minded queer and anti-war Russians through online groups. She said that she, her friends, and other dissenting Russians have created their own "bubble," where they can talk about the war in Ukraine. But, as soon as she leaves her community, she said she sees a different picture: "I see how teenagers are sometimes supporting violent things, they have conservative views."

In school, Daria's classmates support Putin and are fascinated by the war. Younger students play pretend soldiers. Daria said the boys in her class voluntarily shaved their heads to be ready to join the army when they graduate from high school in the spring.

Her classmates' rhetoric infiltrated her own home. Daria recalled how her brother showed her a TikTok and tried to convince her that in Ukraine there are "evil and terrifying khokhols [a slur for Ukrainians] that needed to be killed." Then, he said that the full-scale invasion was a war to "defend Donbas." Her whole family intervened to convince Daria's brother that he was watching harmful propaganda.

Pro-war views are not just popular among male teens. Daria recalled how a friend with whom she had an interesting discussion about queer literature later posted that she would be attending a concert by the pro-war singer Shaman. Daria doesn't understand how some queer people joined the pro-war side. "How does it all fit in her head?" she asked.

Daria has struggled academically and emotionally since 2022. She stopped studying and started cutting class. She stopped going to her favorite after-school activities. She was even showering less frequently. She struggles to complete household tasks. The Muscovite teen wants to study abroad, but her mental state is impeding the completion of her applications. She believes that she may have depression, but is scared to go to a psychiatrist. She blames the war for her mental health problems.

"Adults expect us to continue to work as usual, studying and preparing for the Unified State Exam," Daria told Kholod. Her parents advised her to focus on her own life. Yet, in school, she must attend "Conversations about Important Things," a class where teachers often bring "war heroes" who fought in Ukraine. "Conversations about Important Things" is tough to skip, as attendance is monitored more than in regular school. Teachers ensure students will pay attention by taking away their cell phones. 

The war has also affected Daria's ability to build a future in Russia as an LGBT person. She can't date openly because of her sexual orientation. She also won't be able to have a family. Daria is even scared of buying an apartment. Therefore, she said, her only option is to leave the country.

Daria considers herself lucky. Her parents have supported her decision to leave Russia. She can discuss politics openly with them. She discusses fictional characters in online chatrooms to distract herself. She has also started writing poems about the war, which she hopes to publish someday. Yet Daria worries for the future of other LGBT kids. According to the teen, when the next generation of queer kids looks for information and affirmation "they will find that it is abnormal, unhealthy, and they will no longer see any representation in Russia."

You Might Also Like

Orthodox Church Rising
  • January 14, 2025

Orthodox Church Rising

The power of the ROC is growing in the government, according to independent publication Verstka.
A Pro-War Childhood?
  • October 31, 2024

A Pro-War Childhood?

Russian children are being instilled with militant patriotism through plays, stories, cartoons, and toys.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
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.
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.
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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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