Undercover Film Reveals Indoctrination in Russian Schools
Grenade-throwing contests replaced physical education classes, and speeches on “denazification” became homework assignments. Pavel Talankin’s undercover documentary exposing a propaganda campaign in a Russian primary school won a Bafta and is an Oscar nominee, but it has forced him into exile.
Students at Karabash School No 1, where much of the film was shot, have had to watch the documentary secretly on bootleg copies, viewing it privately on phones or laptops.
Russian state media have largely ignored the film’s Bafta win last week for best documentary, as well as its Sundance prize last year. School staff and Kremlin officials appear united in denying knowledge of the film.
Pavel Talankin, a teacher, co-director, and central figure in the documentary, hopes the film’s Oscar nomination will raise awareness among Russians about its content.
His footage captures teachers struggling to implement a government-mandated patriotic education program aimed at shaping primary schoolchildren into supporters of Vladimir Putin and the war against Ukraine. The documentary exposes the workings of Russia’s propaganda apparatus.
“I hope it will help these children in the future to understand that they were the victims of all this,”
Talankin says.“This film is primarily aimed at Russians, showing them what is happening inside their schools now.”
Talankin’s role at the school was to coordinate and film events and extracurricular activities. Over two and a half years, he documented the widespread indoctrination effort. The footage had to be uploaded regularly to a government website as proof that staff were meeting the education ministry’s patriotic teaching requirements.
At great personal risk, he also sent the footage abroad to US director David Borenstein, who began editing it into a feature film.
The documentary depicts compliant, obedient children who initially appear bored and confused by the new classes. Before the war in Ukraine began, they sing cheerful songs such as “May there always be sunshine; may there always be sky.” Months later, they are shown holding their heads in confusion as teachers read government scripts about the Russian army’s objectives in Ukraine, stumbling over terms like “denazification” and “demilitarisation.”
Soon, the school corridors echo with the sound of children marching solemnly, backs straight and arms swinging in unison. Members of the Wagner paramilitary group visit to teach them how to identify and avoid mines that could cause severe injury. Grenade-throwing contests replace regular sports classes. At home, children watch television programs where Russian soldiers discuss the war, stating phrases such as:
“We mustn’t kill them [Ukrainians] out of hate, we must kill them out of love for our own children.”
“The propaganda is very effective,”Talankin, 34, said in London two days after the Bafta win.
“The state spends a lot of money on it; they wouldn’t bother if it didn’t work.”
The introduction of these classes across thousands of primary schools spanning Russia’s 11 time zones has a profound impact.
“Putin’s government is doing everything it can to create a generation loyal to his politics. The film highlights not just what is happening now, but how when these children emerge from education, in 10 or 15 years’ time, a new generation of pro-Putin loyalists will have been created,”he explained.
Impact on Education and Staff Reactions
The indoctrination program negatively affects the children’s standard education. An emergency staff meeting is called to discuss a sharp decline in grades. Some teachers speculate that the extensive time devoted to patriotism classes may be responsible. The head teacher admits she would be dismissed if she stopped teaching the mandated material.
“It’s impossible to get inside Russian schools with a camera, so to be able to hear her say that makes this the film’s most important scene in my view,”Talankin said.
Talankin is surprised and encouraged that many people in Karabash, a small industrial town in the Urals, have seen the film. Pirated copies circulated like samizdat during the Soviet era, he said.
“Parents didn’t really know what was being taught in these classes. Some people have written to me with gratitude, others have said we will break your knees next time we see you.”
When local authorities learned the film had been widely viewed, officers from the FSB state intelligence agency visited the school to speak with teachers. They instructed the school leadership that Talankin did not exist and that the film did not exist, warning them not to comment on it or contact him.
Exile and Personal Sacrifice
Talankin believes it is vital that the film reaches a wide audience, despite the personal cost. His involvement forced him to flee Russia to avoid arrest under newly enacted anti-treason laws introduced during filming. Had his project been discovered, he faced life imprisonment.
The day after the 2024 school graduation ceremony, he told his mother, the school librarian, his friends, and colleagues that he was going on a one-week holiday to Turkey. He packed copies of all his recordings and left the country, hoping his luggage would not be searched.
He has secured political asylum abroad and knows he cannot return home. He considers the sacrifice worthwhile.
“It’s better to talk about problems than be silent about them.”
Recognition and Praise
In his Bafta acceptance speech, David Borenstein praised Talankin’s extraordinary courage.
“He is not Mr Nobody. He wanted to show how quickly totalitarianism can take over a school, a workplace, a government. And how our complicity becomes fuel in that fire,”Borenstein told the audience.
“When a treason law threatened him with imprisonment, he kept filming. When a police car started parking outside his house, he kept filming. And when he had to sacrifice his entire life in Russia to smuggle out this footage, he didn’t hesitate. No matter who we are, there is always power in our actions. Courage is found in unlikely places. We need more Mr Nobodies.”
