Nursery children lured to ultra-right Russian party

When the Vladimir State Technical University in Russia organised a special competition to mark the 55th anniversary of the end of the second world war, the books awarded as prizes to the winners were curious: Hitler's Table Talk, and Goebbels' Last Records.

Ultra-rightwing and pro-fascist sentiments are not unknown in Russia but the emergence of such views in educational circles is causing some concern.

A. G. Sergeyev, rector of the university, is a rightwinger who recently published an extract from his book in which he reiterated the old allegation of a world Jewish "government" aimed at destroying and enslaving Russia.

Izvestiya reports that while the ultra-right Russian National Unity movement has been unable to register as a public organisation in most regions of Russia, in Vladimir it is flourishing and even recruiting kindergarten children.

The paper suggests such extremist ideas could well become a focus of centrifugal tendencies in regions that want to break away from Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin has appointed seven supremos, whose powers will override those of the existing provincial governors.