Russian students inflate grades with fake Putin quotes in exams

Young Russians have found an absurd way to achieve high grades by inventing non-existent quotes from President Vladimir Putin and thus gaining favour with examiners. The opinion of a high-ranking politician is astonishing.

Compulsory education in Russia lasts a minimum of 11 years. At the end of their educational journey, high school students take the Unified State Exam, equivalent to the British A-Levels. Everyone takes it, regardless of whether they plan to continue their studies at a university.

Of course, as is often the case in school, not everyone has studied enough to achieve high scores on their final exams. What to do in such a situation? Simply use the method to gain the favour of examiners, which allegedly works and is so absurd that it could only have originated in Russia.

Students taking the final exam in the Russian language invent non-existent quotes from Russian President Vladimir Putin. By weaving a fictional statement from the dictator into their essay, they can achieve a higher grade. The matter was reported by Mikhail Gromov, the author of a Telegram channel dedicated to college admissions:

Gromov has testimonials from young people who confirmed that the tactic works. "I mentioned Putin in my essay and got 97 points," "Following your advice, I wrote a fake quote from Putin. They accepted it. I wrote three essays all year." One student invented a statement for Putin in which the president talks about the "sacred duty" of every Russian, which is to remember their teachers.

The author of the Telegram channel compares this bizarre situation to the times of the USSR, when students of the totalitarian regime always quoted Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx in their works.

Here is the template that allegedly works on final exams. Fill in the blanks with a fake quote from Putin:

"It is impossible not to mention 'Direct Line with Vladimir Putin' (a staged TV programme in which Putin answers questions from planted citizens). Vladimir Vladimirovich was asked about his attitude towards (...). He replied without hesitation that (...) is one of the most important things in our lives and added that (...) is in the blood, character, and genes of our nation. You cannot argue with such authorities."

Russian journalists reported the matter to Yaroslav Nilov, a member of the State Duma (the lower house of parliament), and a member of the pro-Kremlin LDPR party. The politician praised the youth for their creativity in solving problems.