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

Russian schools replace bells with music from September 1

Consensus

Points of divergence

Coverage (11 sources)

Key entities

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