Under Putin, a militarized new Russia rises to challenge U.S. and the West
According to the author, in order to carry out this transformation, the Kremlin pursues the following goals:
the formation of an ultra-conservative, puritanical society, mobilized against liberal freedoms and especially hostile to gays and transgender people, in which family policies and welfare spending support traditional Orthodox values;
reformatting education at all levels to instill a new generation of caring and patriotic youth, with textbooks rewritten to suit Kremlin propaganda, patriotic curricula set by the state, and, as of September, mandatory military lessons taught by soldiers called "Fundamentals of Security and Defense" homeland", which will include training in handling Kalashnikov assault rifles, grenades and drones;
the sterilization of cultural life by blacklists of liberal or anti-war performers, directors, writers and artists, as well as new nationalist mandates for museums and filmmakers;
the mobilization of zealous pro-war activism under the brutal Z symbol, which was first painted on the side of Russian tanks invading Ukraine but subsequently spread to government buildings, posters, schools and organized demonstrations;
rollback of women's rights through a stream of propaganda about the need to have children - young and often - and by limiting access to abortion, as well as accusing feminist activists and liberal journalists of terrorism, extremism, discrediting the military and other offenses;
rewriting history to honor Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator who sent millions to the Gulag, through at least 95 of the 110 monuments in Russia built during Putin's time as leader;
accusing scientists of treason, equating criticism of war or Putin with terrorism or extremism and creating a new militarized elite of “warriors and workers” ready to take up arms, redrawing international borders and violating global norms on the orders of Russia’s strong ruler.