Historical speech. “Have patriotic lessons begun to be introduced in schools — something is not as in the pamphlet in this country” — Lev Shlosberg

**Historical speech: "Have patriotic lessons begun to be introduced in schools - something is not as in the textbooks in this country" - Lev Shlosberg**

On August 17, the Pskov City Court of the Pskov Region, Russia, sentenced Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, to 11 years and one month in prison on charges of repeatedly "defaming" the Russian army and spreading "fake news" about it.

Politician Lev Shlosberg was declared a "foreign agent" in June 2023 and was twice administratively fined for "defaming" the Russian army this year. The first criminal case against him was opened in June 2025 for repeatedly "defaming" the Russian army. According to Meduza, this was due to a discussion post by Schlosberg on the Odnoklassniki network. In this discussion, the politician advocated an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

A criminal case for "fake news" was initiated on December 3, 2025, for Schlosberg's repost of a February 25, 2022, post on his Telegram channel featuring the cover of the British Daily Mirror newspaper with a picture of Putin. After that, on December 5, Lev Schlosberg was taken into custody.

Lev Schlosberg's case was considered by the Pskov City Court on August 14. Meduza noted that the negotiations at the hearing took place without the participation of all three of the politician's lawyers (two were busy with other legal proceedings, and one was in the hospital). The court hearing was not postponed, and despite Schlossberg's objections, the state appointed him a lawyer. As a result, the politician did not participate in the negotiations, but at the end of the proceedings he addressed the court with his last words.

**Pskov regional branch of the Yabloko party.**

Schlossberg stated that he was being illegally persecuted by order of the government, and that Russian society and the court understood very well that he was innocent. After that, the deputy chairman of Yabloko made a long speech, demanding an immediate end to the war and the start of political negotiations with Ukraine.

Speaking about the war in Ukraine, Schlossberg noted, among other things, that the country, which lives in the 21st century, is once again falling into the sharp course of the 20th century, moving towards the past instead of the future.

"On February 24, 2022, war returned to our country for the first time since World War II. This war changed the lives of all Russian citizens without exception. During this time, thousands of lives were lost prematurely. Sooner or later, the exact and complete number of those killed, along with their names, will be announced, and the whole country will be horrified by this list of mourners," he said.

The politician also mentioned the right to life of every citizen guaranteed by the Russian Constitution. According to it, not only the right to life is guaranteed, but also the conduct of state policy aimed at creating conditions for a decent life and free development of every person.

"A decent life means living without fear for oneself, one's parents, children and grandchildren. A decent life is a person's awareness of his own future and the future of future generations, both his own family and the whole society. A decent life for a person is a life without war, without the threat of sudden death at any moment. A decent life is civil dialogue and civil peace in the country. A decent life is possible only in conditions of peace. Peace is the condition of every person's life," said Lev Shlosberg.

Despite the fact that the prosecution of the politician began in 2023, the charges against him are also based on his famous speech of 2017. On June 6, 2017, Lev Shlosberg's speech at a meeting of deputies of the Pskov region about "patriotic lessons" caused widespread discussion.

This speech was made in response to the initiative to "develop and introduce an additional educational program for the upbringing of young people in the spirit of patriotism in educational institutions, and then implement the program in Russian schools and universities." The newspaper provides a translation of this speech.

**Frame from the video.**

If state patriotism lessons have begun to be introduced in schools, then something is not as in the brochure in this country. If children are supposed to be taught to love the Motherland, then the Motherland does not love its children.

Patriotism is love for the Motherland, a personal feeling, a personal experience of a person.

The Motherland is neither the state nor the government.

The Motherland is a "piece of land" that connects a person from the very beginning of his life.

If people are taught to love the state and the authorities from childhood, this is not patriotism, but rather the upbringing of loyalty and obedience in them. A person who has received such an upbringing can be torn between love for the Motherland and loyalty to the state at crucial moments when the fate of the Motherland is being decided, and betray the Motherland. Because love for the Motherland sometimes requires opposing the state and authorities.

Patriotism is often confused with military history, the history of blood and victims. And living rulers hide behind the dead, who cannot say anything.

When we tell children about the Civil War, do we tell them that it was not a victory of the reds over the whites and greens, but a national tragedy?

When we tell children about patriotism using the example of the Great Patriotic War, do we also tell them at what cost this victory was achieved? What about the commanders and military specialists who were exterminated before the war began, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Stalin's terrible mistakes, millions of soldiers who have not yet been found and buried, the victors who were exiled to concentration camps after the Victory, the disabled who were locked up in remote areas, the children of war, the apartment buildings built over mass graves in concentration camps?

Should they be told about the millions of stings, the "black crows" (the popular name for the NKVD machine that came to arrest at night, ed.), the "troika" (the NKVD bodies that sentenced people without trial during the Great Terror of 1937-1938: the head of the local NKVD, the party secretary and the prosecutor, ed.), the GULAG (the main administration of the camps, ed.), the "three-cornered law", the introduction of the death penalty for children from the age of 12? This is also part of patriotism, is it something to be proud of? Or should it simply be kept in memory so that it never comes back?

"We can repeat it" ("Mozhem povtorit") - is this patriotism?

Do they tell children about how Korolev miraculously survived his sentence in order for Gagarin to fly into space?

Do they tell children about the exile and return of Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn? What about Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov's "Kolyma Stories"?

Do they tell children about Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, his exile, rise and death?

When they tell children about the destruction of the 6th Company, do they also tell them the reasons for the tragedy? What about the humiliation and betrayal, cowardice and lies? What about those who were not held accountable?

Do they tell children about Kursk, Nord-Ost, Beslan? What about the fact that all those who died - adults and children - suffered and were afraid, but the state could not save them? Is it patriotic to talk about heroes and not mention their victims?

When telling children about the history of the Republic of Crimea in the 21st century, do they also tell them about the seizure of parliament by gunfire, the Crimean Tatars, Donbass, the lists of those killed in the undeclared fratricidal war that are still kept secret to this day, the saying "ix tam net" ("our troops are not there"), the unfortunate passengers of the Boeing?

Will the bitter truth about the suffering of the people be included in state patriotism textbooks?

Why is patriotic education in our country primarily in the spirit of military-patrioticism? Why not peaceful patriotism? Who should be educated by a patriotism that welcomes violence and bloodshed? What should children who have been taught such a lesson be prepared for? Should they be prepared to commit murder themselves?

Do we want to prepare children for war or for peace? Do we want to teach them hatred and enmity or compassion and love?

Does our country need a patriotism built on hatred or a patriotism based on love?

Do we want to teach children to value human life?

"I have won the love and respect of the people forever -

I have aroused good feelings in hearts with my words.

I have glorified Freedom in this evil time,

I have awakened compassion for the oppressed..." (translated from Russian by Mirpolat Mirzo)

Which of the leaders of Russia today is ready to repeat these words after Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin? Which of the pillars of state patriotism is ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of stopping wars, establishing freedom and peace?

Is glorifying a ruler while he is alive patriotism or careerism and laziness?

Love for the homeland is not about applauding the state's hoaxes and legends. If patriotism is taught based on the history of the ruling party of any era, then the personal history of a person and the official history of the state will no longer coincide. From this point on, a person distances himself from the falsity and pompous hypocrisy of the state, from this point on, the state becomes alien to him.

The forced instillation of patriotism is a sign that the state is on the verge of political collapse in any era and in any country.

If the people have no reason to love the state, should we think about forcing them to love the state, or about changing the state's policy towards people? Can love achieved through violence create kindness and humanity in a person?

Love for the homeland is a very personal feeling, it is not propagated by textbooks, resolutions of presidents, parliaments and governments, or party congresses.

Patriotism is built on freedom, human rights and freedoms, prosperity and well-being, love for people near and far. Patriotism does not grow out of poverty and need, from humiliation and insults, from indifference to a person, from lies and hypocrisy.

The state can teach people patriotism: by stopping lying and starting to serve the people. Then no one would even think of teaching state patriotism lessons in schools, because children already know that the Motherland loves them.