Russian schools replace bells with music from September 1
Starting September 1, 2026, all Russian schools will replace traditional school bells with musical compositions by Soviet and modern authors, including 'Pesenka Pervykh' by Denis Mайдanov and 'Dvazhdy dva — chetyre' by Mikhail Plyatskovsky and Vladimir Shainsky. The initiative, launched in November 2024, aims to foster musical culture and national values.
Consensus
- The project 'Melodies Instead of Bells' will be implemented in all Russian schools starting September 1, 2026.
- Traditional school bells will be replaced with musical compositions by Soviet and modern Russian authors.
- Each month's musical selection will be dedicated to a specific commemorative date.
- The project was launched in November 2024 by the Ministry of Education of Russia.
- The goal of the project is to promote musical culture, national values, and a warmer school atmosphere.
- The September playlist includes 'Pesenka Pervykh', 'Dvazhdy dva — cheytre', and 'Uchatsya v shkole'.
- For first graders, 'Pervoklasska' will be played upon their first day at school.
Points of divergence
- Starting September 2026, fifth graders will have a new subject called 'Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia', taught for 17 hours in the second semester. — vm
- Social studies will be removed from the 8th grade curriculum and integrated into history, with additional hours allocated to history. — vm
- New unified textbooks for 'Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia' will be introduced gradually, with 9th–10th graders receiving them in 2025 and 11th graders in September 2027. — vm
- Foreign language instruction hours will be reduced to decrease student fatigue and allow more time for profile subjects. — vm
- Students will be offered the opportunity to study Arabic starting September 2026. — vm
- A new course on artificial intelligence and information security will be introduced in Russian schools. — fontanka
- In September and October, first graders will have no more than three lessons per day, increasing to four in November and December, with lesson durations of 35 minutes; from January to May, lessons may last up to 40 minutes. — vedomosti
- In grades 2–4, no more than five lessons per day are allowed, with a sixth possible once a week via physical education. In grades 5–6, maximum six lessons; in grades 7–11, seven lessons. — vedomosti
- Rosпотребнадзор recommends increasing the main break to 30 minutes, with a minimum of 10 minutes between lessons, and allowing two 20-minute breaks instead of one. — vedomosti
Coverage (11 sources)
- School bells in Russia will be replaced with popular melodies starting September 1 — РИАМО
- What will change in Russian schools starting September 1, 2026 — Вечерняя Москва
- Maidanov and the Choir of the Firsts instead of school bells will sound in schools in September — Бумага
- Calls in Russian schools will be replaced with Soviet and patriotic songs — The Moscow Times
- In schools, songs by modern and Soviet authors will replace bells — Дождь
- In Russian schools, instead of bells, Maidanov songs will play — Фонтанка
- In Russian schools, starting September 1, bells will be replaced with well-known melodies — Ведомости
- In schools instead of bells will sound songs of modern and Soviet authors - including Denis Maidanov — Дождь (Telegram)
- In schools starting September 1, instead of bells, Shain and Maidanov will play — Коммерсантъ
- In Russian schools, modern melodies will replace bells — Вести
- Ministry of Education: Popular melodies will sound instead of school bells — Вечерняя Москва