Chastity, Large Families, and Abortion Bans: How Russian Schools Became Platforms for Reproductive Propaganda
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian schools have dramatically increased publications about "traditional family values." Priests conduct sex education classes, teenagers are shown anti-abortion films, and young women are told they should give birth while still students. Researchers analyzed over 50 million posts in school social media groups and documented a massive campaign.
Scope of the Research
The "Ne Norma" (Not Normal) project, together with the outlet Vyorstka, studied the official social media communities of more than 30,000 Russian schools on VKontakte. In total, over 50 million publications were analyzed.
Researchers selected posts containing the words "pregnancy," "childbirth," "large families," "abortion," "chastity," and "reproductivity." More than 234,000 such publications were found.
Explosive Growth After 2022
Before 2022, demographic topics rarely appeared in school social media groups — about 4,000 posts throughout the entire existence of these communities, and 9,400 in the 2021–2022 academic year.
The situation changed after a law requiring educational institutions to maintain social media presence came into effect:
Priests Instead of Doctors
Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have become frequent guests in Russian schools. According to the research, between 2021 and 2025, priests were mentioned in 99 school publications about abortion and in 174 posts about chastity.
"The priest spoke with the students about relationships between men and women, chastity, and Christian family traditions. Such conversations are extremely necessary nowadays, when family values are blurred and free love is promoted," a school in Stavropol Krai wrote describing a meeting with a priest.
In less than the first three months of 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church conducted 60 lectures on chastity in educational institutions. Schoolgirls were told that "chaste maidens and virtuous wives harbor within themselves a subtle mystical power, the energy of which brings might to the state."
Anti-Abortion "Shows" and Films
At the end of 2023, a massive anti-abortion campaign began in Russia. Mentions of the word "abortion" in school social media groups grew from 33 posts in the 2021–2022 academic year to 464 in 2024–2025.
Teenagers are being taken en masse to screenings of the film "Mama's Letter," produced by order of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the plot, doctors advise a mother to terminate her pregnancy, while her daughter is asked to write a letter to "the unborn child" explaining why she decided to "kill" it. In just the first half of December 2024 alone, at least 130 screenings were organized in 22 regions.
In Oryol Oblast, a talk show called "Give Birth or Kill" was held for tenth-graders, featuring questions about "the unborn child" and "reasons for abortions."
"Having an abortion, a woman inflicts a wound on herself and will never be happy again," a priest said at an anti-abortion "conference" for high schoolers in Ryazan Oblast.
"Family Studies" Taught by Priests
Alongside the anti-abortion campaign, a new subject appeared in schools — "Family Studies."
"The goal of the course is to introduce young people to the traditional system of family values of our Fatherland and to form pro-family attitudes: marriage, large families, chastity," reported a school in Chuvashia.
In Chuvashia and Tver Oblast, the subject is taught using textbooks written by Orthodox priests. According to these books, a wife is a "helper" and "guardian angel" of her husband, only married couples may have sex, and abortion cannot be performed even in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape.
During one lesson in Tver Oblast, eleventh-graders were shown plastic embryo models: "The students read that organs and systems are already forming at 7 weeks. We need to instill responsibility for one's actions now."
"Give Birth During Your Student Years"
School social media groups promote the idea of early childbearing. In Kemerovo Oblast, 10 schools published identical posts with the thesis: "Study time is the time of the 'window of reproductive opportunity.'" Young women were told they should give birth during their student years so as not to lose their "reproductive abilities."
One teacher admitted to Vyorstka that he jokes about this with his students: "I say: 'You need to give birth at 16, you need to fulfill the president's mission.' But we just laugh about it."
Push from the state
A representative of the administration of one Voronezh school told Vyorstka that some content is posted without the schools' involvement: "We post some things ourselves. But there's also someone else who can post on our page."
A teacher from Vladimir Oblast confirmed: "Every state-run social media page has an admin account added. In Vladimir Oblast, he's called Vladimir Gosudarev. And he sends out these posts. Try deleting them!"
According to Vyorstka's source in the government of one Siberian region, schools are interested in such events because they count toward their KPIs.
Regional Variations
The research revealed regional specifics:
Part of a Broader Ideological Campaign
Demographic propaganda in schools is part of a massive campaign promoting "traditional values," which includes banning "LGBT propaganda," restricting abortion, and strengthening the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in education.
"The signal has been given and received: it's easier for the principal to show initiative. And many simply sincerely share these views — teachers are patriotic people," explains a source in a regional government.
At the same time, according to a source in the Kremlin's domestic policy bloc, despite the massive propaganda, the overall birth rate in the country remains low: "The key problem is the unpredictability of tomorrow."
Based on reporting from Верстка and the Не норма project
Scope of the Research
The "Ne Norma" (Not Normal) project, together with the outlet Vyorstka, studied the official social media communities of more than 30,000 Russian schools on VKontakte. In total, over 50 million publications were analyzed.
Researchers selected posts containing the words "pregnancy," "childbirth," "large families," "abortion," "chastity," and "reproductivity." More than 234,000 such publications were found.
Explosive Growth After 2022
Before 2022, demographic topics rarely appeared in school social media groups — about 4,000 posts throughout the entire existence of these communities, and 9,400 in the 2021–2022 academic year.
The situation changed after a law requiring educational institutions to maintain social media presence came into effect:
- 2022–2023 academic year: 21,000 posts
- 2023–2024 academic year: over 106,000 posts (a record, coinciding with the "Year of the Family")
- 2024–2025 academic year: over 68,000 posts
Priests Instead of Doctors
Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have become frequent guests in Russian schools. According to the research, between 2021 and 2025, priests were mentioned in 99 school publications about abortion and in 174 posts about chastity.
"The priest spoke with the students about relationships between men and women, chastity, and Christian family traditions. Such conversations are extremely necessary nowadays, when family values are blurred and free love is promoted," a school in Stavropol Krai wrote describing a meeting with a priest.
In less than the first three months of 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church conducted 60 lectures on chastity in educational institutions. Schoolgirls were told that "chaste maidens and virtuous wives harbor within themselves a subtle mystical power, the energy of which brings might to the state."
Anti-Abortion "Shows" and Films
At the end of 2023, a massive anti-abortion campaign began in Russia. Mentions of the word "abortion" in school social media groups grew from 33 posts in the 2021–2022 academic year to 464 in 2024–2025.
Teenagers are being taken en masse to screenings of the film "Mama's Letter," produced by order of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the plot, doctors advise a mother to terminate her pregnancy, while her daughter is asked to write a letter to "the unborn child" explaining why she decided to "kill" it. In just the first half of December 2024 alone, at least 130 screenings were organized in 22 regions.
In Oryol Oblast, a talk show called "Give Birth or Kill" was held for tenth-graders, featuring questions about "the unborn child" and "reasons for abortions."
"Having an abortion, a woman inflicts a wound on herself and will never be happy again," a priest said at an anti-abortion "conference" for high schoolers in Ryazan Oblast.
"Family Studies" Taught by Priests
Alongside the anti-abortion campaign, a new subject appeared in schools — "Family Studies."
"The goal of the course is to introduce young people to the traditional system of family values of our Fatherland and to form pro-family attitudes: marriage, large families, chastity," reported a school in Chuvashia.
In Chuvashia and Tver Oblast, the subject is taught using textbooks written by Orthodox priests. According to these books, a wife is a "helper" and "guardian angel" of her husband, only married couples may have sex, and abortion cannot be performed even in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape.
During one lesson in Tver Oblast, eleventh-graders were shown plastic embryo models: "The students read that organs and systems are already forming at 7 weeks. We need to instill responsibility for one's actions now."
"Give Birth During Your Student Years"
School social media groups promote the idea of early childbearing. In Kemerovo Oblast, 10 schools published identical posts with the thesis: "Study time is the time of the 'window of reproductive opportunity.'" Young women were told they should give birth during their student years so as not to lose their "reproductive abilities."
One teacher admitted to Vyorstka that he jokes about this with his students: "I say: 'You need to give birth at 16, you need to fulfill the president's mission.' But we just laugh about it."
Push from the state
A representative of the administration of one Voronezh school told Vyorstka that some content is posted without the schools' involvement: "We post some things ourselves. But there's also someone else who can post on our page."
A teacher from Vladimir Oblast confirmed: "Every state-run social media page has an admin account added. In Vladimir Oblast, he's called Vladimir Gosudarev. And he sends out these posts. Try deleting them!"
According to Vyorstka's source in the government of one Siberian region, schools are interested in such events because they count toward their KPIs.
Regional Variations
The research revealed regional specifics:
- Dagestan — leads in publications about large families and pregnancy
- Tver Oblast — most frequently writes about chastity (276 publications)
- Voronezh Oblast — leads in mentions of abortion (178 publications, with 173 schools posting identical text about a regional law against "inducing abortion")
- Samara Oblast — most posts about "reproductivity"
Part of a Broader Ideological Campaign
Demographic propaganda in schools is part of a massive campaign promoting "traditional values," which includes banning "LGBT propaganda," restricting abortion, and strengthening the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in education.
"The signal has been given and received: it's easier for the principal to show initiative. And many simply sincerely share these views — teachers are patriotic people," explains a source in a regional government.
At the same time, according to a source in the Kremlin's domestic policy bloc, despite the massive propaganda, the overall birth rate in the country remains low: "The key problem is the unpredictability of tomorrow."
Based on reporting from Верстка and the Не норма project