Gullible Russian teachers were tricked into wearing tinfoil hats by a political prankster in order to demonstrate how deeply they had been brainwashed by Kremlin propaganda.
Images show teachers from multiple schools in Voronezh making and then wearing the tinfoil hats, which they were told would protect them and their students from radiation by NATO satellites.
The prank was masterminded by activist trickster Vladislav ‘Vladik’ Bokhan, who said Russians were so deeply conditioned to obey Putin that they would follow any official instruction, no matter how absurd.
Teachers were told they were taking part in a ‘large-scale patriotic event’, which required them to make the tinfoil hats, which are associated with paranoid delusions and conspiracy theories.
But the teachers accepted the task with ‘delight and zeal’, and happily constructed the hats to protect their minds from ‘the transmission of Western ideas’.
After constructing the hats, the teachers boasted that upon wearing the helmets they felt a ‘purification of thoughts,’ a ‘boost in spirits,’ a ‘surge of patriotism’ and a ‘need to help the [war]’.
One teacher is seen on video saying: ‘Making tinfoil hats is not only an interesting and creative activity, but also an important patriotic act, symbolising the readiness to defend our homeland from external [Western] threats.
‘Let our hats become a symbol of unity and resilience in the face of [foreign] challenges.’
Another said: ‘Let the helmet, which you will make with your own hands, become a means of defence against external enemies of our beautiful country.’
Explaining the prank, Bokhan – a former history teacher now living in exile – said: ‘During my career, I conducted a series of powerful actions in Russian schools.
‘I thought I had reached the peak of absurdity – until the day I made a reality a meme about tinfoil hats.’
Bokhan told teachers that ‘malicious NATO members plan to irradiate the Russian people physically and biologically’.
He urged them to ‘learn to resist this with primitive protective means, like a foil hat’.
‘I still can’t believe it happened. I am both delighted and shocked,’ he said.
‘Schools have turned into institutions of brainwashing and suppression, [and] I made the system work against itself.
‘On behalf of officials, I compelled these educators to perform absurd tasks, elevating state propaganda to the level of the absurd.’
He added: ‘Russia has positioned itself as a “denazifying country”.
‘To me, however, Russia is an empire suppressing its neighbouring peoples.
‘When it disputes the right of nations to self-determination and countries to exist, it resembles Nazi ideology more than anything else.’
An education ministry official said: ‘The teachers once again demonstrated their patriotic spirit, high efficiency and creative approach to any task- the ‘helmets’ made of foil look very convincing.
‘On the other hand, of course, it was disappointing that they could not distinguish a genuine [political] party initiative from an inappropriate joke.’
The gullible teachers were reminded about the need for internet ‘security’ in falling for the hoax.
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