The “University sessions”: the Glazov State University named after V. G. Korolenko
When we are talking about the goal of the war which Russia began against Ukraine in 2014, we should always remember the fact that the problem is not only the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the increase of the areas of Russia due to this, but also eradication every Ukrainian thing, as if Ukrainians and Ukrainian culture do not exist at all. In order to destroy the Ukrainian identity in the temporary occupied territories, Russia uses different methods and instruments for achieving its goal, and in some cases these methods are hidden under quite permissible things.
In general, Russia are actively trying to influence children in the occupied territories using quite often the educational sphere for indoctrination of the young people. And the “University Sessions” Program is one of such instruments of influence (hereinafter called the “University Sessions”), which was implemented by Russia for schoolchildren from the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine in 2022.
It would seem that what could be dangerous in excursion trips of children from the TOT to universities in Russia? But there are hidden meaning and such trips is primarily aimed at the Russification of Ukrainian children, but not on their recreation.
Therefore, we continue series of investigations, where we are talking how Russian universities implements the program, which indoctrinates our children. These investigations are focused on demonstrating the fact that the Kremlin’s actions aimed at eradication of the Ukrainian identity of the children from the TOT and their Russification are deliberate, comprehensive and sequential.
Well, what is the “University sessions”?
The “University sessions” is the short-term movement of children of high school age from the temporarily occupied territories (parties of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions) to institutions of higher education of the Russian Federation in order to create conditions for the destruction of the Ukrainian identity of children through participation in cultural, educational, propaganda, militaristic and other activities.
Carrying out the “University sessions” by the Russian Federation contradicts the international law, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Article 43 of The Hague–Visby Rules.
Russia began to carry the children for participation in the “University sessions” already a few months after the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Since June 2022, the “University sessions” have engulfed more than 20 thousand of Ukrainian children aged from 12 to 17 years old. 81 universities from 37 Russian regions were involved to this program. The “University sessions” required significant funds and according to rough estimates more than 500 million rubles (more than 6 million dollars) were spent only in 2022.
The “University sessions” were developed according to the personal mandate of the Russian president V. Putin, and subsequently they were extended and scaled by him. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodyozh), the Russian child and youth movement “Movement of the First”, and many regional ministries, departments, institutions and organizations, including the so-called governing bodies and institutions in the temporarily occupied territories are implementing this program.
According to the plan of organisers, many activities were prepared for children from the TOT within the program such as educational lectures on the history of Russia, educational campaigns, master classes, competitions aimed at forming civil identity and patriotism. It must be admitted that patriotic orientation is a key point of all activities of the “University Sessions”.
The Glazov State University named after V. G. Korolenko is one of the brightest examples of organization and carrying out the “University Sessions” (and more), and in this article we will tell about it.
The “University sessions”: the Glazov State Engineering and Pedagogical University named after V. G. Korolenko
The Federal state budgetary educational institution of higher education “Glazov State Engineering and Pedagogical University named after V. G. Korolenko” (hereinafter called “GEPU”).
Location: the Russian Federation, Udmurt Republic, Glazov, 25 Pervomayskaya Street,
Established: 1939
Website: http://ggpi.org/news.php
Students: 2322.
International cooperation: 23 concluded agreements with universities in such countries as: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
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There is an interesting fact that the GEPU always was a pedagogical institute, but in July 2023 it changed its status as the university and received an engineering profile. Such sessions are connected with the fact that the GEPU will train engineering personnel for the state corporation of the Russian Federation “Rosatom“, which are involved in the war against Ukraine by Russia. In particular, “Rosatom” directly participate in the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. Furthermore, this corporation invests significant funds in the development of “atomgrad” – Glazov: only in 2024 the amount of assistance is 377 million rubles, and for more than ten years of cooperation it is more 3 billion rubles.
The chancellor of the Glazov State Engineering and Pedagogical University named after V. G. Korolenko
Chygovska-Nazarova Yanina Oleksandrivna: she was born on March 4, 1967 in Dzhankoi. She finished the school in Melitopol. Since 2014 she has been the head of the GEPU, firstly as an acting chancellor and in 2017 she has been elected one. Also, she is a deputy of the State Council of the Udmurt Republic of Russia from the pro-government party “United Russia” and the head of the Udmurt regional branch of the Russian society “Znanie” (you can read more about the society in the article of the NGO “CCE “Almenda”). And “for persistent and effective work in promoting ideas and supporting educational projects of the Russian society “Znanie” received of thanks from the general director of the society Maxim Dreval.
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The children from the TOT on the “University sessions” in GEPU and instructions on their “correct” implementation
For children from the TOT of Ukraine, the University sessions at GIPU have been held since 2022, and in two years, at least 400 children from the TOT of Luhansk and Donetsk regions (the so-called DPR, LPR) have visited the university:
The GEPU is one of those universities to which orphans from the TOT of Ukraine were taken for the “University sessions”: in the summer of 2022, children from the Luhansk Orphanage took part in sessions at the university. And for their organized departure to the territory of Russia to the Republic of Udmurt, the notary of the so-called LPR illegally issued a power of attorney at the request of the pseudo-director of this orphanage, Victoria Mochalova. In addition to this, there are a post on the website of the Luhansk Orphanage, which shows that such “assistance” of the notary in the departure of children to the territory of Russia is provided on a permanent basis. Such removal of orphaned children is illegal due to the fact that the state of Ukraine (an authorized person on their behalf), as their legal representative, did not consent to any transfer of children to the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to the results of the sessions, the university publishes the guide “University sessions of the GEPU-2023: to help the organizers”, which was prepared as part of the state order and financed by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. The main goal of publishing this guide is the construction of a model of successful integration of “new regions” into the Russian education system through the prism of the University sessions or in other words this is instructions for implementing another method of influencing Ukrainian children through the Russian educational sphere: to persuade them to enter Russian universities, to teach them to love everything Russian and to make them Russians, destroying the Ukrainian identity. Generally, this guide is the pride of the university, because the sessions allow children “to rediscover Russia for themselves” and the GEPU has developed methodological recommendations for their implementation, which have already been used by 5 pedagogical universities of the Russian Federation.
How the University sessions were held: indoctrination of Ukrainian Children in the Glazov State Engineering and Pedagogical University named after V. G. Korolenko
The program of the University sessions in all higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation, in particular in the GEPU, includes such parts as adaptive, educational, civic-patriotic, educational and entertaining part. However, in spite of different names, activities of the three last parts were reduced to the study of history, culture, traditions, state symbols of Russia, and they were aimed at forming the personality of a citizen and patriot of Russia in children from the TOT of Ukraine with its inherent values, views, attitudes and motives of activity.
The University sessions in the GEPU were characterised by the following activities:
- the opening of the sessions was accompanied by the mandatory introduction/raising of the state flag of the Russian Federation, the performance of the anthems of the Russian Federation and the Udmurt Republic;
- the screening for Ukrainian children of a Russian military biographical film about the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle Mykhailo Kalashnikov – “Kalashnikov” and attending to the eponymous Museum and Exhibition Complex of Small Arms;
- the organization of a meeting with soldiers of the Sirius student law enforcement unit, during which children were taught self-defenсe techniques. Also, Ukrainian children met with the representatives of combat brotherhood of Glazov;
- the holding of the brain-ring “Lessons of war” on knowledge of the history of Russia;
- the videoconference with Ural State Pedagogical University, Chechen State Pedagogical University, Astafiev Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University for holding the quiz-game “Opening Russia together”, which is dedicated to the historical monuments and culture of the peoples of Russia;
- the holding a day with the “Movement of the First” during which the children were told “about such values as love for the Motherland (Russia), respect for history (the Russian version of history).
In general, all activities, which were held in the GEPU for Ukrainian children, were aimed at imposing them the Russian identity, instilling them knowledge and love for Russian values, culture and history, making Ukrainian children “worthy citizens of a great, invincible state.”
University sessions in the GEPU were necessarily accompanied by speeches by representatives of the administration of the Udmurt Republic and the university, beyond that the chancellor of the GEPU, Yanina Chygovska-Nazarova sometimes personally met children from the TOT of Ukraine. This points to the fact that the University sessions are paid special attention at all levels of the Russian Federation, and these actions also are intended to create an illusion in children about their connection to Russia and their value for the aggressor state.
The experience of the GEPU in carrying out University sessions is so “unique” that it was presented at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. And in addition to that, the GEPU has received a thanks “for the high level of organization and implementation of the “University Sessions 2022”” from Serhii Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.
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Support for the war of Russia against Ukraine or what else the GEPU distinguished itself by
The chancellor of the GEPU, Yanina Chygovska-Nazarova is the supporter of Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and on March 2022 she was one of those chancellors, and accordingly universities, who in their address supported the actions of Russian President Putin V.V., calling the war against Ukraine a decision of Russia “to finally end the eight-year confrontation between Ukraine and Donbas and to achieve the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and thereby protect themselves from growing military threats”. Taking into account the position of the university, on March 9, 2022, Ukraine indefinitely imposed sanctions on the GEPU and the chancellor of the university, Yanina Chygovska-Nazarova.
But on this support of the so-called SMO has not ended: students of the GEPU repeatedly collected humanitarian aid for soldiers of the Russian Federation participating in the war against Ukraine, and also made camouflage nets for them.
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March 18 is the day when the President of the Russian Federation signed the so-called ‘Treaty on the Admission of Crimea to Russia”, and in the GEPU, festive concerts are held in honour of the so-called reunification of Crimea with Russia and this day for them is full of pride “for the state and its national integrity”. These actions demonstrate that the university has supported the war of Russia against Ukraine since 2014, calling the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea a return to the “home harbour”.
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The activity of the GEPU in carrying out the “University sessions”, which in its essence is aimed at forming Russian identity in children from the TOT of Ukraine, should not be left out of the attention of the international academic community. During the entire time of the University sessions, at least 20 thousand Ukrainian children aged 12 to 17 years were involved in this. However, in spite of this, foreign universities or international education programs did not break relations with the universities that implement them (in most cases), including the GEPU.
Furthermore, the GEPU directly supports the war of Russia against Ukraine, and helps participants of the so-called SMO, recognizes the occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian, in other words it supports actions of the leadership of the Russian Federation to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Continuing international cooperation
Taking into account all the illegality of the actions of the university – indoctrination, the Russification of Ukrainian children from the TOT, our organization believes that there are all the reasons for severing ties of the foreign academic community with this university and all its representatives. According to the data posted on the university’s official website, the GEPU continues cooperation within the framework of the international project for the promotion of physical and mathematical education in the Russian language “Power of Mind” and under 23 agreements with representatives of such countries as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and others, and also promotes the Russian language in Latin American countries.
Only the complete isolation of this university can make they think about the advisability of continuing to implement Putin’s University Sessions program.
The publication was prepared by the Center for Civic Education “Almenda” with the financial support of the Czech organization People in Need Ukraine, as a part of the SOS Ukraine initiative. The content of the publication does not necessarily match their position.
