The citizens of the provincial Russian town of Yelnya cling to their heroic Soviet past. It was here where the Red Army pushed back Hitler’s troops for the first time in 1941. This documentary from 2019 shows the continued pride in the military that is encouraged from early childhood.

Before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, parts of the Russian army were concentrated in Yelnya. But even before that, the place was closely linked with the military. For years, annual rituals commemorating the "Great Patriotic War" have been held.

Yelnya has remained economically marginalized ever since the Soviet Union collapsed and young people here have few prospects. Children in Yelnya are raised to become good patriots. Starting at kindergarten age, they march to songs whose meaning they can hardly grasp.

In his documentary, Dmitry Bogolyubov explores how in recent years, the memory of the war victims has been increasingly overshadowed by all-encompassing militarization of society and anti-Western slogans.

[This documentary was originally released in 2019.]

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