Russian schools instructed to promote military recruitment to parents
Sources have told the Verstka publication that schools in Russia's Voronezh region were instructed to conduct an information campaign among students' parents, encouraging them to enlist for service in the Ukraine conflict.
The sources indicated that this directive was not issued as a formal, written order but was delivered verbally during a meeting with school directors. Directors were reportedly warned that they risked dismissal if they failed to carry out these efforts to promote recruitment, according to reporting by The Moscow Times.
Deputy directors have been designated as the officers responsible for enlistment promotion within the schools. They are required to submit reports on the parental discussions to the Voronezh Department of Education and Youth Policy.
Crucially, the report titles must not disclose the content of the discussions; deputies are instructed to only state the school number in the header. Verstka has reviewed several of these documents, which contain the passport data, phone numbers, and workplaces of men who were allegedly briefed on "benefits offered to participants in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, officially termed the 'special military operation' (SMO)."
However, sources revealed that many officials responsible for these conversations have "ignored instructions" and "simply put numbers on paper," resulting in falsified reports. This claim was supported by the administration of one school, which confirmed that the discussions do not actually take place.
Instead, reports are filled with the details of acquaintances whose children attend the school, including, in some cases, the husbands of current employees. School management often tacitly supports this practice. "The director said, 'Write a paper that, supposedly, the social pedagogue or psychologist spoke with someone.' He says everyone understands that no one needs to talk to anyone," one official shared.
Furthermore, school employees in the Voronezh region were ordered to print information materials from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and distribute them in mailboxes "at the current residence address of the employees." This directive was reportedly contained in a letter from the region's Ministry of Internal Policy, to which Verstka gained access.
A school source also confirmed that institutions must officially report on these activities. The established requirement mandates that a school must claim the distribution of between 200 and 250 flyers weekly. In reality, however, no one distributes the materials. "We are sorry to waste paper," the source explained.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
