The Kremlin is systematically expanding its influence over the education and leisure of Russian schoolchildren, creating a centralized model of ideological control. Key tools include state funding, media assets, and educational platforms controlled by structures close to the president.
The main supplier of school textbooks in Russia is the “Prosveshchenie” publishing house, which is controlled by the “Fin-Partner” fund linked to the Rotenberg brothers—longtime allies of Putin.
The state corporation “Rostec,” headed by Sergey Chemezov, oversees the development of tasks for science and technology clubs and competitions involving tens of thousands of students across the country.
Media consumption is largely controlled by Yuri Kovalchuk’s structures. His assets include the National Media Group, Gazprom-Media, and VK—the owner of the new messenger Max, actively promoted among young people.
In 2025, the Russian government plans to spend 66 billion rubles on patriotic education programmes. Of this, 20 billion will go to the “Dvizhenie Pervykh” movement, equivalent to the annual budget of the Jewish Autonomous Region, where the level of gasification of housing does not exceed 30%.
At the same time, Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development plans a major expansion of the video surveillance system. By 2030, an additional 5 million cameras with facial recognition capabilities are to be installed in the regions. The total project budget is 12 billion rubles. To date, over 68 federal subjects have already integrated the technology, and the number of active cameras exceeds 1 million.
