Estonia is next: Russia is actively spreading its narratives among local Russian-speaking children
14 April 14:28
In 2024, Russia took Estonian children to the occupied Crimea to participate in the Artek propaganda camp. This was reported by the Estonian Security Police (KaPo) in its annual report, Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing ERR.ee.
According to the report of the special service, since 2015, Russia has been conducting a propaganda program aimed at young people in the occupied Crimea, in fact reviving the Soviet tradition of pioneer camps.
Last year, children from the Estonian region of Ida-Virumaa, which is predominantly populated by Russian-speaking residents, were sent to the camp. From there, a children’s ballroom dance group, Flamingo, from the Narva cultural center Rugodov, went to Artek in Crimea. It became one of the winners of the Artek – the Capital of Childhood contest among 20 delegations from all over the world and received a free trip to the eighth international camp shift.
“This means that children from Estonia were offered to go to the war zone,”
– KaPo emphasizes in its report.
The Estonian intelligence service notes that only a few weeks before the planned trip, missile debris fell on the coast of Crimea as a result of Russian military activity, killing five people, including three children.
Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко
“Cultural” program
In Artek, the Estonian children were placed in a camp called “Forest”. According to KaPo, meetings were organized for them with individuals who are under sanctions in a number of countries for war crimes. Among them were Roscosmos CEO Yuri Borisov and TV presenter Dmitry Kiselev, known for supporting Russian military aggression and spreading Kremlin propaganda.
The children were also addressed by singer and politician Denis Maidanov, whose songs often contain themes of Russian nationalism. During the meeting, he publicly justified Russian aggression against Ukraine, stating that “Ukraine up to the Dnipro is Russia.”
The children took part in the project “Bridge of Friendship: Russia and the World” and met with the military who fought against Ukraine, and were shown military uniforms and weapons. According to KaPo, the children were later used in Artek’s propaganda materials – published photos show children from Estonia lined up in the shape of the Latin letter “V,” one of the symbols of Russia’s propaganda war against Ukraine.
KaPo Director General Margot Palloson explained that four children from Narva took part in the trip.
Until the end of last year, Estonian residents could not be prosecuted for organizing such events, but later the government introduced additional sanctions against those who organize similar events for young people in Russia.
