

{"id":5832,"date":"2024-01-19T13:50:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T11:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/?p=5832"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:54:15","slug":"tovarystvo-znanie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/tovarystvo-znanie\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMonopoly on Truth\u201d or why Russia needs the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Russian Federation, considering itself the successor to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,&nbsp; is attempting to revive the defunct union in every way possible, governing the state in the same totalitarian manner. One of the manifestations of this is the revival of Soviet practices \u2013 in the 2000s, this included the return of the anthem of the USSR, the republication of Stalin-era \u00ab<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommersant.ru\/doc\/346981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Great Soviet Encyclopaedia<\/a>\u00bb, and the revival of Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy (<a href=\"https:\/\/actualcomment.ru\/putin_vosstanovil_dosaaf.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">DOSAAF<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the beginning of the occupation of part of the Ukrainian territory, Russia began to actively use its ideological resources to carry out effective propaganda against both its citizens and Ukrainian citizens who ended up in the temporarily occupied territories (hereinafter referred to as TOT). Special focus is placed on children and youth, as their upbringing in the spirit of Russian patriotism is considered one of the Russian government&#8217;s priorities, as repeatedly emphasised by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, in 2022, on the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, children\u2019s movements are being restored <a href=\"https:\/\/lb.ua\/blog\/koalitsiia_ua5am\/585136_ruh_pershih_nova_pioneriya.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">as successors to the Pioneer movement<\/a>, actively <a href=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/dinamika-rostu-molodizhnix-ruxiv-na-okupovanix-teritoriyax-pivdnya-ukraini\/?fbclid=iwar1xisthmeqapamvg_cqc2erw4o4qon_m-aw6rqfwytxmg6t2ovg4z8jgo0\" rel=\"nofollow\">spreading throughout the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine<\/a>, and the educational society \u201cZnanie\u201d (English \u2013 \u201cKnowledge\u201d, hereinafter referred to as \u201cZnanie\u201d), which has a Soviet past, is being revived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The \u201cZnanie\u201d Society \u2013 a new old propaganda tool<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:28% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"946\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big-1200x946.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5833 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big-1200x946.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big-820x646.jpg 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big-768x605.jpg 768w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big-1536x1210.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/937348_big.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>The educational society \u201cZnanie\u201d was founded in 1947 by dictator Joseph Stalin as a system of organisations fully controlled by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union that carried out Soviet propaganda <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130915053514\/http:\/\/interznanie.ru\/files\/magazine_pdf\/9.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">under the guise of education<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hse.ru\/news\/community\/4210683.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Russian scholars have also pointed out<\/a> the main function of agitation and propaganda of the Society in Soviet times.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Highly evaluating the existence of such an instrument of influence, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin issued a decree on the revival of the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society <a href=\"http:\/\/publication.pravo.gov.ru\/Document\/View\/0001201512110006?index=1\" rel=\"nofollow\">in 2015.<\/a> Dissatisfied with the results of the Society&#8217;s propaganda efforts, in 2021 V. Putin declared it ineffective and called for the Society to be relaunched on a \u00abdigital platform\u00bb. \u00abIn recent years, it (note \u2013 referred to \u201cZnanie\u201d) seems to exist, but no one seems to notice it\u00bb <a href=\"https:\/\/tass.ru\/obschestvo\/11205735\" rel=\"nofollow\">the president of the Russian Federation says<\/a> (note \u2013 author\u2019s translation). It is noteworthy that the idea of modernising the Society was presented to Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the supervisory board of the ANO \u201cRussia \u2013 Land of Opportunity\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/special.kremlin.ru\/events\/president\/transcripts\/65227\" rel=\"nofollow\">by the winner of \u201cLeaders of Russia. Politics\u201d competition Maksim Dreval, who later became the head of the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Monopoly of information<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, \u201cZnanie\u201d was not only \u201cdigitised\u201d, but also turned into the main education authority and effectively monopolised. This became possible due to amendments to the federal law &#8220;On Education in the Russian Federation&#8221;. These amendments introduced the concept of &#8220;educational activities&#8221;, which can be carried out \u201cbeyond the scope of educational programmes\u201d only with the approval of the Government of the Russian Federation, which establishes the procedure, conditions and forms of educational activities. Thus, any lectures, meetings, seminars, as well as video tutorials or podcasts, have come under the supervision of the Russian central authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:48% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/67d9873d54a04359a93f796fcc518f33-1200x675.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5834 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/67d9873d54a04359a93f796fcc518f33-1200x675.webp 1200w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/67d9873d54a04359a93f796fcc518f33-820x461.webp 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/67d9873d54a04359a93f796fcc518f33-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/67d9873d54a04359a93f796fcc518f33.webp 1282w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Even at the stage of consideration by the State Duma, the educational bill was criticised for its repressive and censorial nature. The scientific community pointed out that the bill would ban any exchange of knowledge, and more than 400 scientists and popularisers of science signed a declaration <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.krymr.com\/a\/zakon-o-prosvetitelstve-v-rossii-poziciya-uchenyh-zapret-znaniy\/31047800.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">demanding the withdrawal of the bill from the State Duma.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Even the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, a state body, noted in its conclusion that the bill could lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommersant.ru\/doc\/4730859\" rel=\"nofollow\">restrictions on the activities of non-profit organisations and discussion platforms<\/a>. Despite all the objections, the amendments to the legislation on educational activities were adopted, with the following reasoning: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommersant.ru\/doc\/4752408\" rel=\"nofollow\">The absence of appropriate legal regulation creates preconditions for the uncontrolled implementation of a wide range of propaganda activities under the guise of educational activities in the school and university environment by anti-Russian forces, including those supported from abroad and aimed at discrediting the state policy pursued in the Russian Federation, reconsidering history, and undermining the constitution<\/a>\u201d (note \u2013 author\u2019s translation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The role of \u201cZnanie\u201d in the war against Ukraine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Consequently, with the establishment of state control over educational activities, the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society has entered a new phase of its activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><strong><strong>The new Director General<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u0434\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0430\u043b\u044c.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5835 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>In May 2021, at the third conference of the Znanie Society, Maksim Dreval, the very person who<a href=\"https:\/\/industrytv.ru\/series\/maxim_dreval\/\" rel=\"nofollow\"> proposed to V. Putin that the Society should be modernised<\/a>, was elected as its new Director General.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>New supervisory board with high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/znanierussia.ru\/management\" rel=\"nofollow\">The new supervisory board includes a number of officials:<\/a> First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Kiriyenko, presidential aides Vladimir Medinsky, Maksim Oreshkin, and Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, and Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Ksenia Razuvayeva, most of whom also lead the all-Russian public and state movement of children and youth &#8220;Movement of the First&#8221;, which indicates total state control.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d-1200x253.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5836\" width=\"821\" height=\"173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d-1200x253.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d-820x173.jpg 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d.jpg 1313w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 821px) 100vw, 821px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d\u043d\u0430\u043d-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5838\" width=\"491\" height=\"144\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d\u043d\u0430\u043d-1.jpg 798w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438-\u0437\u043d\u043d\u0430\u043d-1-768x225.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>A 20-fold increase in <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/meduza.io\/feature\/2022\/02\/04\/platforma-dlya-putina-snoudena-i-maska\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>the company\u2019s financing<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>From 100 million rubles per year to 2 billion rubles, equivalent to more than 22.5 million US dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>New logo<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:27% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"198\" height=\"254\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/images-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5839 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>A new logo was created that includes the z symbol <em>(note \u2013 &#8220;z&#8221; has become an unofficial symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>Expansion of activities to the TOT of Ukraine<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Society has expanded its activities to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine \u2013 Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, where it has opened <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/maxdreval\/815\" rel=\"nofollow\">representative offices and is engaged in Russification of the local Ukrainian population<\/a>, including children. For example, in December 2023, representatives of the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society <a href=\"https:\/\/znanierussia.ru\/news\/v-zaporozhskoj-oblasti-proshla-prosvetitelskaya-akciya-dostizheniya-rossii\" rel=\"nofollow\">held an educational campaign in Zaporizhzhia region called \u00abAchievements of Russia<\/a>\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>Solovyov, Peskov, Shoigu and even Putin himself became lecturers of the Society<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The topics of the lectures and the list of lecturers have also changed: Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bMK0NlrnmGw\" rel=\"nofollow\">Dmitry Peskov<\/a>, Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, and President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m7XH18L_JMs\" rel=\"nofollow\">Vladimir Putin<\/a> himself became new lecturers of the Society, endorsing Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine during the events, spreading pro-Kremlin disinformation and war propaganda, Russian narratives about Russia\u2019s greatness, a hostile Western world, the danger of NATO, the heroism of Russian military personnel participating in the war in Ukraine, the development of combat robots, the activities of scientific companies, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:44% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"417\" height=\"227\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/111.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5840 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>The renewed \u201cZnanie\u201d is one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kommersant.ru\/doc\/5422483\" rel=\"nofollow\">the developers of ideological courses for school and university students, \u00abConversations about Important Things\u00bb and \u00abFundamentals of Russian Statehood\u00bb<\/a>. The Society also developed the project \u201cZnanie.Heroes\u201d, within which artists created 22 comics about the \u201cexploits\u201d of participants in the war against Ukraine \u2014 printed editions of the graphic novels are now being given to children in the occupied territories of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another area of activity of the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society is participation in the \u201cUniversity Changes\u201d project, which aims to hold lectures and military-patriotic educational events for children based on the Society\u2019s goals of \u201cfostering patriotism and combating the falsification of history\u201d. In fact, during such lectures, children are given information regarding the glorification of Russia, the heroisation and romanticisation of the Great Patriotic War, <a href=\"https:\/\/znanierussia.ru\/news\/lektory-rossijskogo-obshestva-znanie-vystupayut-v-detskih-lageryah-pered-yunymi-zhitelyami-novyh-regionov\" rel=\"nofollow\">including parallels with the war on the territory of Ukraine, and the \u201creturn of territories\u201d<\/a> <em>(note \u2013 referred to the TOT of Ukraine).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"820\" data-id=\"5843\"  src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-1200x820.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-1200x820.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-820x560.jpg 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-768x525.jpg 768w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-1536x1049.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3417-2048x1399.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"723\" data-id=\"5842\"  src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-1200x723.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-1200x723.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-820x494.jpg 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-768x463.jpg 768w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-1536x926.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_3439-2048x1234.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/photo_2023-12-20_14-26-40.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5841 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/photo_2023-12-20_14-26-40.webp 840w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/photo_2023-12-20_14-26-40-820x469.webp 820w, https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/photo_2023-12-20_14-26-40-768x439.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>For example, at the Lipetsk State Pedagogical University, the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society <a href=\"https:\/\/znanierussia.ru\/news\/v-lipecke-proshla-vstrecha-s-veteranami-svo-v-ramkah-sovmestnogo-proekta-obshestva-znanie-i-fonda-zashitniki-otechestva\" rel=\"nofollow\">organised a meeting between children and participants in the war in Ukraine.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the scale of the Znanie Society and the involvement of the highest military and political leadership of the Russian Federation in its functioning, it can be concluded that Russia aims to raise a new generation of young people who will have a distorted and false view of historical and political processes in the world, spread the idea of Russia\u2019s uniqueness and \u201cspecial role in history\u201d as a fighter against \u201cfascism\u201d and primordial enemies in order to increase the level of militarisation of society for pursuing further aggressive policies against neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In December 2023, \u201cZnanie\u201d was placed on the sanctions lists of the <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=OJ%3AL_202302871&#038;qid=1702915124272\" rel=\"nofollow\">European Union<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seco.admin.ch\/seco\/de\/home\/Aussenwirtschaftspolitik_Wirtschaftliche_Zusammenarbeit\/Wirtschaftsbeziehungen\/exportkontrollen-und-sanktionen\/sanktionen-embargos\/sanktionsmassnahmen\/massnahmen-zur-vermeidung-der-umgehung-internationaler-sanktione.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Switzerland<\/a> for conducting activities aimed at spreading pro-Kremlin disinformation, propaganda for war, and Russification of the population in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The imposed sanctions are an important step towards ending the impunity of Russia\u2019s actions, but it is important to continue to exert pressure and emphasise the importance of imposing personal sanctions on the Society\u2019s management, in particular, the Director General, who is personally responsible for the implementation of all its activities and who has not yet been brought to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">The publication was prepared by the Center for Civic Education \u201cAlmenda\u201d 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.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Russian Federation, considering itself the successor to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,&nbsp; is attempting to revive the defunct union in every way possible, governing the state in the same totalitarian manner. One of the manifestations of this is the revival of Soviet practices \u2013 in the 2000s, this included the return of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cMonopoly on Truth\u201d or why Russia needs the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society - Almenda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How Putin&#039;s government actively creates and disseminates propaganda among the population of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine through an educational society\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/tovarystvo-znanie\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cMonopoly on Truth\u201d or why Russia needs the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How Putin&#039;s government actively creates and disseminates propaganda among the population of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine through an educational society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/tovarystvo-znanie\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Almenda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-19T11:50:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T09:54:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ArPxmjyHI2K6-f-pJ0tYEg.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"980\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"653\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u0426\u0413\u041f \u0410\u043b\u044c\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0434\u0430\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u0426\u0413\u041f \u0410\u043b\u044c\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0434\u0430\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/tovarystvo-znanie\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/tovarystvo-znanie\/\",\"name\":\"[:uk]\u201c\u041c\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0456\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0434\u0443\u201d \u0430\u0431\u043e \u043d\u0430\u0432\u0456\u0449\u043e \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0456\u0457 \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u201c\u0417\u043d\u0430\u043d\u0456\u0454\u201d[:en]\u201cMonopoly on Truth\u201d or why Russia needs the \u201cZnanie\u201d Society[:] - 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