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At least 57 schools across Russia have been ordered by court decisions to buy and hang geographical maps showing the annexed Ukrainian territories as part of the Russian Federation. This was reported by DW, citing the Verstka publication, which analysed data from court files.
Lawsuits from the prosecutor’s office
In 2023-2024, Russian prosecutors filed at least 52 lawsuits against schools demanding that they purchase “up-to-date” maps of Russia and the world. In some cases, lawsuits were filed against several educational institutions at the same time.
The prosecutor’s office demanded that Crimea, as well as the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, be marked as part of the Russian Federation on the new maps.
According to the security forces, schools that do not use such maps “violate the Constitution” and the law “On Basic Guarantees of Children’s Rights”. The prosecutor’s office believes that the use of old maps gives children “inaccurate knowledge of Russia’s borders”, which “contradicts the state policy on interethnic unity”.
Schools did not have the funds for the “right” cards
Lawsuits were recorded in seven regions of Russia:
– Yaroslavl region
– Kirov region
– Novgorod region
– Leningrad region
– Altai Territory
– Republic of Udmurtia
– Kabardino-Balkaria
Before the lawsuits were filed, the authorities forced schools to purchase cards on their own, but educational institutions refused due to lack of funding. To receive new cards, schools would have to apply for state funding, which complicated the process.
In two cases, prosecutors dropped the lawsuits because the schools voluntarily agreed to put up the “correct” maps. In the remaining cases, the courts ruled in favour of the prosecutor’s office, and now the schools have to find the funds for new maps to avoid fines.
Annexation without clear boundaries
In September 2022, the Kremlin signed a document on the annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, including the self-proclaimed “DPR” and “LPR”, as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
However, Russia does not fully control these territories, and the Kremlin has not yet been able to give a clear answer as to what extent it considers these areas to be “its”.
What’s next?
This situation demonstrates the coercive nature of propaganda in Russian educational institutions. Schools that do not have the funds for basic needs are forced to follow political orders to avoid persecution by the authorities.
Such actions are part of a larger ideological campaign aimed at getting children used to a distorted version of Russia’s borders from an early age.
