RUSSIAN POLICY OF EDUCATIONAL INDOCTRINATION IN THE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE (INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECT)

Abstract

Introduction. After the occupation of part of the Ukrainian territories, one of the components of the policy of their incorporation into the Russian Federation is the complete Russification of the population of the occupied regions. Since the main instrument of assimilation is education, it is important to examine the measures of the Russian authorities in the field of school education in the temporarily occupied territories (hereinafter TOT) as an instrument of the policy of forced accession and absorption into the Russian Federation and a gross violation of the norms of international law. Purpose. To consider the problem of violation of the norms of international law regarding the protection of children’s rights to education and criminal actions of the Russian regime in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine during the period of the full- scale war of 2022-2025. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty consists in studying Russian practices of indoctrination of education, violation of the norms of international law regarding the protection of children’s rights to education in the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories. The importance of the policy of countering the attempts of the Russian Federation to implement political and ideological indoctrination, to make school education a tool for the Russification and militarization of Ukrainian children is noted. Recommendations are given, the consideration of which will help reduce the destructive influence of the Russian Federation on the consciousness of Ukrainian children through the education system. Conclusions. The imposition of Russian ideological attitudes in order to destroy Ukrainian national identity and instill Russian identity is the main goal of the Kremlin’s indoctrination policy on TOT. After the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the Russian authorities replaced the Ukrainian education system on TOT with the Russian education system and resort to indoctrination of Ukrainian children, which is a violation of international law regarding the obligations of the occupying state. This gives grounds to raise the issue of the qualification of criminal activity and responsibility for it under international law.