One Teacher’s Defiance Against Russia’s Propaganda Machine

Russian authorities arrested teacher Yekaterina Dotsenko in October after she questioned the government’s mandatory patriotic lessons about the Ukraine war in a private chat with colleagues. Her story illustrates the mounting pressure on educators as the Kremlin intensifies its efforts to control classroom narratives.

Dotsenko, 30, worked at a school in Tatarsk, a small Siberian town near the Kazakhstan border. Like all Russian teachers, she was required to deliver weekly “patriotic education” lessons called “Important Conversations” – a program introduced shortly after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

When school administrators shared materials for an upcoming lesson celebrating the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – territories that aren’t fully under Russian control and aren’t recognized internationally as Russian territory – Dotsenko voiced her concerns in a private WhatsApp group with fellow teachers.

“I can’t lie to children,” she wrote, questioning the educational value and accuracy of the materials. “This isn’t education, it’s propaganda.”

Within hours, screenshots of her messages reached the school principal. By the next day, police arrived at her apartment. Dotsenko now faces up to ten years in prison under Russia’s wartime censorship laws for “spreading false information about the Russian army.”

Her case highlights the growing repression in Russia’s education system as President Vladimir Putin’s government works to build support for its military campaign in Ukraine. Teachers have become frontline enforcers of state ideology, expected to instill patriotic values and prevent any dissent.

“The education system has been completely transformed into a propaganda machine,” said Daniil Ken, head of the now-banned Alliance of Teachers union, who fled Russia in 2022. “Schools are used to control not just students but parents and teachers too.”

The “Important Conversations” program was designed by Sergey Novikov, who previously led the Kremlin’s “anti-propaganda” department. The weekly lessons cover topics like Russia’s “historical mission” and frame the Ukraine war as a defensive struggle against Western aggression.

Teachers receive ready-made presentations, videos, and scripts. School administrators and education officials closely monitor compliance, often requiring photo evidence that lessons have been conducted according to guidelines.

The pressure on educators has increased dramatically since the war began. According to OVD-Info, a Russian human rights organization, at least 113 teachers have faced administrative or criminal prosecution for expressing anti-war views since February 2022.

In September, Russian lawmakers strengthened the state’s grip on education by passing legislation requiring schools to “protect” students from “anti-Russian propaganda” and information deemed harmful to traditional values.

“The system is designed to make everyone complicit,” explained Katya Dolinina, a former Russian teacher now living in Georgia. “You’re either actively spreading the state’s narrative, or you’re silent. There’s no middle ground anymore.”

For many teachers, especially in small towns with limited employment opportunities, losing their job would be devastating. The average teacher salary in Russia is about 42,000 rubles ($470) per month, well below the national average income.

Dotsenko had already submitted her resignation before her arrest, planning to leave the profession. Her husband, Vladimir, told CNN that she had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the patriotic curriculum. “She just wanted to teach her subject, not politics,” he said.

After her arrest, Dotsenko spent two months in pre-trial detention before being transferred to house arrest in December. Her trial is expected to begin later this year.

Her case has sent shockwaves through Russia’s teaching community. Human rights advocates worry it signals an escalation in the government’s crackdown on dissent within schools.

“What happened to Yekaterina could happen to any teacher who questions these materials, even privately,” said Aleksandr Peredruk of First Department, a legal aid group that assists teachers facing persecution. “The message is clear: total loyalty is required.”

As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third year with no end in sight, the pressure on teachers to conform to state narratives shows no signs of easing. For Russia’s 1.3 million schoolteachers, the classroom has become an increasingly perilous political space where a misplaced word can end a career – or worse.