June 07, 2026

Play as Propaganda


Play as Propaganda
Fun for your inner eight-year-old. Bereg

The Russian journalistic collective Bereg published a photo collection of modern children's playgrounds in Moscow.. That may sound innocuous enough, but since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2021, military and patriotic themes have come to dominate in kids' spaces.

The photos show that, in some of Russia's nicest neighborhoods, new playgrounds have elements resembling fighter jets, police vans, and 18th-century cannons. Also widespread are representations of the Kremlin and old Russian fortresses, although, according to experts cited in the article, these are nothing new, and are analogous to Western playgrounds mimicking castles.

Notably, and perhaps not surprisingly, many playgrounds feature imagery from World War II: I-153 fighter planes, T-34 tanks, and Katyusha rocket launchers. Some simply have panels with patriotic designs on them. Others are watched over by patriotic posters.

Architects quoted in the article said that children don't really care about the motifs on display; instead, they said that the patriotic designs showcase the developers' loyalty to the state and thus curry favor with authorities. While this may be true, the trend is also in line with increasing propaganda aimed at children.

View the whole collection here

 

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