CNN — Grasping a bouquet of roses, black headscarf tied tight and wearing a polka-dot dress, a middle-aged woman arrives in a nondescript, pink-walled hall in the Russian region of Chuvashia.

In shaky video complete with somber balalaika music, teenagers in white trainers, dignitaries in dark suits and men in military uniform assemble along the walls, their hands clasped in front of them.

This scene looks like a gathering for a funeral – but it’s not. This is how Komsomolskaya School Number 1 is marking the opening of a new school desk, a so-called “hero desk” emblazoned with the face and biography of one of Russia’s war dead, once a pupil at this very school.

Ceremonies like this – dozens documented on schools’ social media pages and in local news reports across Russia - provide a glimpse into how a country at war tries to indoctrinate its youngest. It’s also part of a broader push in Russia to prioritize pro-war and patriotic teaching in educational institutions, a kind of insurance policy against any early seeds of dissent.

The desks are part of a pan-Russian initiative called the “New School Project” and are funded by “United Russia,” a staunchly pro-Putin party. As of early May, United Russia said there were more than 14,000 desks in 9,000 schools across the country.

CNN has seen images or videos from at least 26 regions across Russia where at least one desk has been opened at a local school. Local news reports suggest some schools use the desks to reward good behavior or good grades.

You can read the full text of the news at https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/17/europe/russia-hero-desks-classrooms-propaganda-intl-cmd/index.html