Russian Children asked to Make Amulets Ostensibly to Protect Russian Soldiers in Ukraine But in Fact to Unite Population Behind Putin’s War There

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 3 – Schools across the Russian Federation are now asking children to come up with home-made amulets ostensibly to be sent to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and protect their lives, Aleksandra Arkhipova says; but in fact, this campaign is a way to force children and their parents to identify with Putin’s war.

            According to the independent Russian anthropologist, this reflects “a new Russian reality” in which children are being asked to do even more than their parents to show their loyalty to Putin’s policies (t.me/anthro_fun/3712 reposted at echofm.online/opinions/novaya-normalnost).

            The word “amulet” itself is significant, Arkhipova continues. “It became widespread after 2022” for some as something magical but for most “’a handmade item for the front,’” that in many cases likely hasn’t even been sent to its supposed addressees but that reinforces “the one-sided emotional connection between children and soldiers.”

            This is not the first time the Russian anthropologist has discussed this issue. In 2023, she commented on reports that Tuvan leaders were sending amulets based on Baron Ungern, the anti-Soviet leader in Mongolia during the Russian civil war (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/09/amulets-which-saved-baron-ungern-from.html).

            At that time, she suggested that amulets were being used as part of an effort “to show that this war is not for territory, not for a land corridor to Crimea, but rather a holy and even divine war,” one in which the Kremlin wants people to become convinced that “God is on the side of Russia.”