Shooting at Sparrows with a Cannon: Russia's Counterproductive Law on Education. Kennan Cable No. 72

Russian youth are under threat. At least, that is the perspective of some Russian lawmakers. The explanatory note accompanying a draft amendment to the Russian Federal Law on Education declared: "The absence of appropriate legal regulation creates the preconditions for the uncontrolled realization by anti-Russian forces of a wide range of propaganda activities--including those supported from abroad and aimed at discrediting the state policies of the Russian Federation, revision of history, and undermining of the constitutional order--among school children and students." The legislation's sponsor, Yelena Afanasyeva, introduced the measure in December 2020 with the claim that the bill was in response to a "long game" being carried out by "foreign grants, foreign foundations, and foreign embassies." Regulating enrichment programs has proved controversial and complicated. In practice, the amendment as signed into law by President Putin in April 2021 places roadblocks in the way of inviting any speaker into a Russian school or allowing any volunteer to run afterschool activities. Analysis of the legislative history of the law on educational activities ["prosvetitel'skaia deiatel'nost'"] demonstrates both the priorities of the Putin regime and the flaws of its rubber stamp legislature. This article demonstrates how the amendment reflects the regime's current obsession with fighting foreign influence and how the results show the price of its incompetence as a "patriotic" law threatens to choke off educational opportunities across the board. [This document was published by Wilson Center's Kennan Institute.]