“Today our kids are secret agents and medics”
Schools and kindergartens across Russia are organising “patriotic shows” ahead of the May 9 celebrations. In Nikel, a town near the borders with Norway and Finland, kindergarten teachers dressed in military-style uniforms staged war-themed games for children.
“Our kindergarten is quiet. All you can hear is the whisper of commands and the clatter of boots. Today, our pupils are acting as secret agents and medics,” Kindergarten No. 7 in Nikel, Murmansk region, wrote on its social media page.
Photographs published by the kindergarten show teachers in military-style uniforms marching in the playground and organising what were described as “patriotic activities”.
Among the activities were “walking through a minefield”, “carrying the wounded”, and firing “artillery” at tanks.
"Instead of toys, a time schedule. Instead of mischief, discipline," the kindergarten administration explained.
The event was organised under the slogan “Young Heroes of Victory.”
Kindergarten No. 7 in Nikel has on several previous occasions staged pro-war and military-themed events. Soldiers on leave from occupied Ukrainian territory have repeatedly visited the children, and “patriotic” concerts and performances have been organised.
On May 1, the children performed in a show called Katyusha devoted to the Second World War. Three days later, they visited a local military hospital, where they handed out gifts to soldiers wounded in the war against Ukraine.
The children also recited what organisers described as “heartfelt poems about Victory and peace” for the injured servicemen.
Similar “patriotic” activities are being organised by kindergartens and schools across Russia.
As part of the May celebrations, a theatre group from Pechenga staged a performance titled “We’ll get through this! We’ll stand firm! We’ll see it through!”
The actors in the performance were wives, mothers and children of soldiers. According to Natalya Renitsa, director of the Pechenga District Cultural Centre and of the production itself, the play focused on the families of men fighting in the war.
“While the soldiers are carrying out their duty on the front line, their loved ones at home are knitting, collecting aid and raising children, becoming a true source of support for their husbands and sons,” she said.
Nikel is the administrative centre of Pechenga municipality, which borders both Norway and Finland. The municipality hosts two major military brigades, and a significant share of the local population works for the armed forces.
It is not known how many men from Pechenga are fighting on occupied Ukrainian territory, but a recent school excursion for children of servicemen offers an indication. According to the organisers, “almost 300 children” took part.
Pechenga was previously heavily involved in cross-border cooperation with neighbouring Norwegian and Finnish municipalities, and many local schools and kindergartens had partner institutions across the border.
A “friendship agreement” between Pechenga and the neighbouring Norwegian municipality of Sør-Varanger remained in force until early 2024.
“The only thing totalitarian regimes understand is clarity,” Mayor Magnus Mæland said after the municipal council voted to terminate the agreement.
“In Pechenga, Putin’s soldiers are being trained to fight in Ukraine. Enough is enough. The friendship agreement has been terminated.”
