Title: Deepening Authoritarianism: How Indoctrination Fosters Regime Support Among Russian Educators?

While many studies on non-democracies have explored democratic backsliding, there is limited research on how authoritarian regimes evolve into totalitarianism. Totalitarianism involves a shift from passive regime support to active engagement, achieved through propaganda and indoctrination. Currently, Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia is trying to indoctrinate the youth and legitimize its power through education, changing the historical narrative, and engaging students in pro-regime political activities.

These interventions aim to secure loyalty from educators but may also lead to internal conflicts, professional challenges, and ethical dilemmas, potentially reducing support for the authoritarian regime from educators. This complex puzzle has not been previously tackled by the literature.

Subsequently, the proposed research aims to answer the following research question: How does indoctrination in the Russian education sector influence the attitudes and support for the authoritarian regime among education sector employees? To achieve this goal, I will draw on the Self-Determination Theory and employ a mixed-method research design, including the automated content analysis of educational curricula and legislation, experimental survey research and semi-structured interviews.

Ultimately, this study will contribute to the literature on regime support by investigating the link between indoctrination and regime support in countries transitioning from authoritarian to totalitarian states.