President Vladimir Putin has secretly assigned “political instructors” to Russian government ministries and state agencies to ensure loyalty among officials, the independent news outlets Meduza and IStories reported Thursday, citing leaked Kremlin files obtained by an international team of journalists.
The political instructors — called “deputy heads for social and political work” — are tasked with instructing officials and state employees how to perform their duties amid Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin first sought to introduce the post after coming up against loyalty problems among government officials in the months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion, the Kommersant business daily reported in April 2022.
Putin signed the unpublished decree introducing political instructors in February 2023, according to Meduza and IStories.
The work of political instructors is aimed at “filling in gaps or expanding knowledge in the areas of history, military and politics,” the outlets said, citing publically accessible guidelines on “social and political work” published by Russia's Federal Subsoil Resource Use Agency (Rosnedra).
That knowledge “will become a powerful antitode to the ideological distortions spread by mass media that is financed by countries unfriendly to Russia,” the guidelines read.
Several government agencies have in recent months published open statements about the sucess of their “social and political work,” according to Meduza and IStories.
But anonymous sources in Russia's Agriculture Ministry, Finance Ministry and Federal Courier Service told the outlets that they have yet to introduce political instructors despite Putin's decree.
In 2018, Putin formed a “military-patriotic” directorate to promote patriotism inside Russia’s military.
During the Soviet period, a similar directorate staffed by politruks, or political instructors, worked to ensure that the Red Army stayed loyal to the Communist Party.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.