In post-Soviet Russia, sex education has a
complicated history, marked by a rollercoaster of shifting attitudes and intense debates, sometimes veering into moral panic. Nevertheless, various forms of sex education have existed in Russian schools since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The turn to
“traditional values” at the state level in the 2010s
led to more systematic indoctrination into schools. For a long time, this turn did not mean any formal and centralized version of teaching these values to Russian children, however.
The situation has changed drastically just in the last few years. In 2021, topics related to family values were added to the curriculum for “Social Science,” which is a mandatory secondary school course. In the same year, some Russian schools also introduced an experimental subject, “Moral Foundations of Family Life,” based on a textbook written by priest Dmitri Moiseev and nun Nina Krygina.
In November 2023, Nina Ostanina, chair of the Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood,
announced the introduction of the centralized course on family matters for the 2024/25 academic year, developed by a working group led by United Russia Duma Deputy Tatyana Larionova. This is the first successful attempt to establish a nationwide subject focused on family and traditional values in the history of post-Soviet Russia.
Highlights of the Family Studies programThe program, published by the Institute for Strategy of Education Development, offers a mix of ideological cliches and practical advice.
Its objectives align closely with “traditional values,” which are frequently mentioned throughout the text, written in dense bureaucratic language. It seeks to “form in the younger generation a commitment to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” such as “the value of a strong family with many children,” described as “the cornerstone of civic identity.”
The program advocates fostering a “healthy family atmosphere” and “conflict-free relationships” at home and school. It addresses the “demographic problems of the Russian Federation,” claiming that the values promoted in the course will help solve them by encouraging young people to create families and give birth to more children.
Three cornerstone values promoted in it are “marriage” (
brachnost’), “having many children” (
mnogodetnost’) and “chastity” (
tselomudriye).
In line with state documents, as well as Vladimir Putin’s repeatedly made
statements, the program emphasizes the importance of developing a single “civic and social identity as citizens of Russia,” as well as Russia as a “multicultural” and “multi-confessional” society, meaning classroom discussions should include regional differences and local customs.
The authors rely on modern pedagogical trends and active learning strategies, such as discussions and collaborative digital encyclopedia projects. Nevertheless, they are combined with Soviet-style indoctrination, an authoritative teaching style and a hierarchical classroom structure.
Besides the ideological aspects, the program includes significant sections on practical matters, such as family finances (e.g., budgeting, borrowing and investing) and legal issues (e.g., the Constitution, Family Code and commissioner for children’s rights).
It also covers state support for families, including family capital, preferential mortgages and the Stalin-era “mother heroine” award – the honorary title introduced in 1944 for women raising 10 or more children, which was abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union and reintroduced by presidential decree in August 2022. The preferential mortgage program for families with small children was, however,
terminated in the summer of 2024, as Russian banks could not afford it. So, it seems that the Family Studies curriculum will have been revised before even being implemented.