“Treason to the Motherland is the gravest crime”

Novaya Gazeta Europe drew attention to the cool clock with that name. However, the scale turned out to be much larger - we are not talking about dozens of schools , but hundreds .

We found these events in our Archive and found out that more than 200 schools in 13 regions of Russia took such lessons . They were held not only for high school students, but also for children in elementary grades - right up to first graders.

❗️ Tatarstan became the leader in the number of publications about such cool hours - schools posted 129 posts.

The first message about the lesson appeared on April 7 on the page of the Novokakerlinskaya Public School. The school indicated that the lesson was held on the basis of order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan dated February 16, 2026 No. pod-278/26.

“Students were given clear explanations of what constitutes treason, what forms it takes, and why it is one of the most dangerous crimes,” the school reported .

The children were also given examples of “historical cases of betrayal of the Motherland, showing the devastating consequences for the state and society.”

At the MBOU "Gymnasium 4", eighth-graders were shown the film "Unchildren's Terror" , after which they discussed that "betrayal begins small: with indifference, lies and disrespect for the law."

MBOU "Cheremshanskaya Secondary School No. 1" called betrayal "the most serious sin" , and also told how a personal position is formed: "to be a defender of your Fatherland or someone who violates the oath and trust."

❗️ In second place is the Tver region. There, schools made 28 publications. Educational institutions began reporting on events back in March.

On March 18, at the Kryuchkovskaya Secondary School for students in grades 5-9, a meeting was held with the police inspector and the local police officer, who spoke about the “negative aspects associated with the commission of terrorist acts.”

At MBOU "Secondary School No. 1" in Bologoye, an assistant prosecutor spoke to high school students. She told the schoolchildren “What true patriotism is and how to distinguish it from false ideas.” The children were also shown the film “Betrayal”.

❗️ Oryol region took third place - 16 publications. In most cases, lectures of the Russian Society “Znanie” were held here. According to the organizers, similar meetings will be held in all municipalities of the region by the end of April.

“In the format of an open dialogue, students talked with speakers about what constitutes true patriotism, what actions are worthy of real heroes, what a feat is, as well as the stories of heroes that inspire entire generations,” - MBOU gymnasium No. 16 in Orel .

❗️Classes were also held in Buryatia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Mordovia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Irkutsk, Kursk, and Orenburg regions.

📌 It is noteworthy that after publication, some schools edited posts about classes, replacing them with identical template texts.

For example, in MBOU secondary school No. 9, it was first reported that they discussed the topics of “patriotism, neo-Nazism and terrorism” with children, recalled the history of the Russian army and talked about “valor, bravery and bravery of the participants of the North Military District.” At school No. 2, teenagers were asked to discuss the questions: “What is more important - personal ambitions or the security of the country?” and “Where is the line between mistake and betrayal?”

Later, both posts were replaced with a unified, more formal version: now it is said that schoolchildren became participants in a “regional educational event”, in which they remembered the exploits of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and “paid attention to modern defenders of the Motherland.”

The original versions of publications are preserved in our Archive and on the school website .