Tin foil hats and patriotism: Russian schools embrace absurdity

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for over two and a half years. Throughout this time, Russian society has been subjected almost daily to propaganda messages regarding the threats facing the country. It appears that with each day of the conflict, the boundary of rationality and common sense in Russia is being pushed further away.

Consequently, the media encouraged those who remained in the country after the outbreak of the war to engage in increasingly extreme behaviors. A perfect example is the recently documented activities in Russian schools, where, under the guise of patriotism, children were dressed as tanks and soldiers or asked to write poems in honor of the army fighting in Ukraine.

Nonetheless, Russian society is pushing the boundary of absurdity even further, resulting in a video shared online involving what appears to be several teachers from a rural school. According to the Russians themselves, they were the victims of a prank that involved sending a letter to schools with an unusual task.

This task turned out to be creating tin foil hats, which are typically associated with conspiracy theory believers. As we learn from an online video featuring a group of teachers, these hats are intended to be patriotic, symbolizing readiness to defend the homeland against external enemies.

Making tin foil hats is not only an interesting and creative activity but also an important patriotic act, symbolizing readiness to defend the homeland against external threats. Let our hat become a symbol of unity and resilience in the face of external challenges — say the women fooled by the prank in the video.

The appearance of such recordings online highlights how susceptible Russian society is to propaganda. If the information that the women recorded are teachers is also true, it indicates the tremendous pressure and fear of dismissal prevailing in Russian education.