On the first day of school in Russia on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted students in five schools–including one in occupied Ukraine–via videoconference, espousing the glory of the old Soviet Union and touting the newly rewritten history books and military prep programs introduced this year, the Washington Post reports.
The new history books, going to students across the Kremlin-occupied territories, continue glorification of the dismantled Soviet Union, which Putin described as “absolutely invincible”; it’s unknown if the books teach the USSR crumbled in 1991. They also include what Putin described as the “new territories” freed from “neo-Nazis,” the occupied territory of Ukraine, calling the entire country Russia’s “historical land.”
Putin also touted the new, mandatory “Fundamentals of Life Safety” for grades 5 to 11, which is training in weapons, drones, and standard military training and formations. Next year, the Defense Ministry will introduce the “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland” course, which will teach military theory.