Returning Russian 'Heroes' Conduct 'Courage Lessons' in Schools

Children are being indoctrinated and told that the Motherland needs them to overcome the fascist West

The first waves of Russian citizens, the men who one day were toiling as pizzamakers, auto mechanics, or even tram drivers, and then ended up in Ukraine killing “anything that moves,” are now returning home. The new “front” requires them to battle for the hearts, souls, and minds of Russia’s children.

A program called, “Your Hero” has been introduced into Russian schools, most of which go from first grade through eleventh, and the former soldiers share the lessons of their experiences in a lecture series called “Courage Lessons.” The experiences of the war are unfiltered for the most part in terms of hyperbole regarding the “enemy,” the Ukrainians, and the West. Sharing any negatives about the war, the truth about it, however, is not encouraged.

The unfiltered propaganda depicts Russia as being the last frontier for protecting the sanctity of the family, heterosexuals, Christian values, and freedom. The Courage Lessons are designed to not just scare the students into wanting to become soldiers but to instill in them a sense of messianic duty: If not Russia, then who? As one of the veterans told the students:

In the recording, Vayerovsky reminded the students of how the Soviet Union fought against Nazism and stated with full confidence that the West, which “was powerless to cope with Russia,” had decided to revive Nazism in modern times. He claimed that when “the Nazis came to power in Ukraine in 2014, they started terrorizing the Donbas.”

“Russia didn’t seek domination,” Vayerovsky said. “We Russians have a beautiful culture, beautiful customs, we are very kind people. Yes, we can become fierce; when it comes to our homeland, a Russian can’t feel at ease if it’s in danger (The Explosions Calm Them Down).”

The lectures and meetings with the veterans are big events with all of the students gathered in the auditoriums. In preparation for the day, students are pressured to make up patriotic poems which are then recited before the gathered parents, teachers, and children.

Some of the returning soldiers, the ones more at ease with their crimes, tell wonderful tales about how the fate of the Russian citizen is always tied to “saving” mankind from evil. The effectiveness of Soviet and Russian propaganda speaks to the abject failure of Russian education. A system that enthusiastically subordinates the truth to political expediency. If anyone ever wants to know what American right-wing conservatism and politicization of education will lead to, Russia is the example.

Some soldiers struggle mightily to not just tell tales about their experiences but to just answer basic questions. One such soldier who was speaking at his alma mater can be seen in a video posted by the school after the event barely able to answer yes and no questions. Every answer he gave was a one or two-word whisper and he was clearly struggling to find a workable peace in his own head with the hell from which he had recently returned.

Most disgustingly is how the teachers, the supposed guardians of a child’s innocence as they are transitioned from the family to society, work so diligently to justify the war in Ukraine. “Wars come and they go and we must fight them to protect our homeland,” one teacher can be heard telling the wide-eyed little children. It was frightful to watch.

Another teacher, clearly retired long ago, was invited to sit with the young man struggling to answer questions. One of the students, regarding the clearly lost veteran, as a true hero asked the woman what kind of student he had been: “Andrei was a typical, happy student, Just like each one of you here and now he is our hero.”

How many of the little boys in that auditorium suddenly imagined themselves being one day praised for their war-making efforts? The retired teacher knew exactly what she was doing and she didn’t flinch. She was clearing away the brush and setting those boys and girls on a path to future death and destruction because of her sick, and pathological love for a fascist dictator. The moral weakness of the Russian people is their yoke but because of it, the world suffers. It is a damned nation and a woman like this one, and the teachers all around Russia preparing these children for more war all deserve to rot in hell.

One veteran, a former medical student who volunteered to fight in Ukraine, stated the purpose of the Courage Lesson eloquently.

“The main purpose of these meetings is to foster courage from our men’s example, from their view of the situation from the trenches, not from the news. Love for our homeland must be taught by personal example. We live in our homeland, and it’s called Russia. It’s worth loving — [and] it’s worth fighting for, if necessary (The Explosions Calm Them Down).”

The veterans receive a small payment for each lecture, around $50, which for some is a large sum of money. The medical student was returned home because he was injured. He plans to return to the front, though.

He plans to return to the front line and has already purchased almost all the necessary equipment. “The only thing left to wait for is the armor. The rest is up to our doctors — if they can make my arm work, I’ll go. If they can’t — I’ll look for a place where they take people by their conviction, not their health,” said the volunteer (The Explosions Calm Them Down).

Imagine a country that so loves you so much that they make you buy the equipment you need to wage war. Imagine if U.S. soldiers were expected to purchase their kit before heading off to basic training. The thing is, this young man, a medical student, sees nothing wrong with this and that is why Putin can do whatever he wants with this nation of slaves.

Putin, the master, is obsessed with proving he is a big, tough man. He is obsessed with proving he was right. The cowards around him, like the vile little Dimachka Medvedyev, support him because they don’t want to lose their wealth and comfort. These criminals wilfully send innocent children to their deaths in a war of genocide against a neighbor whose only crime was to live free of Moscow’s sick and vile ways.

While the Russian elite laugh and make toasts — and sometimes fall from windows — Russians are sending their children to the front to die and doing so willingly.