Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Bring a little optimism into your life with The Bright Side, a new daily podcast from Hello Sunshine, hosted by me, Danielle Robé. And me, Simone Bois. Every weekday, we're bringing you conversations about culture, the latest trends, inspiration, and so much more.

I am so excited about this podcast, The Bright Side.

You guys are giving people a chance to shine a light on their lives, shine a light on a little advice that they want to share.

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All eight episodes of To Die For are available now to bench absolutely free. But for ad-free listening and exclusive bonuses, subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus at tenderfootplus. Com or on Apple Podcasts.

Warning. The following contains graphic descriptions of violence and sexual assault that may be too intense or triggering to some listeners. Discretion is advised.

He was the son of a high-ranking Soviet Army officer, and he had an outstanding career with Novasty, which was also a front for the KGB.

Ideological subversion is the slow process which we call either ideological subversion or active measures, in the language of the the AGB or psychological warfare. What it basically means is to change the perception of reality. Exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Ademir Putin's former chief economic advisor, who had extensive access to the Russian President over the years, goes one-on-one with our Joe Khalil.

How much of the population actually is exposed to what's really happening in Ukraine?

I would say up to 70% of the Russian population have been brainwashed. Brainwashed It's not changed completely.

You think 70% you think it's that high?

It would be, I would say, a conservative estimate. Jeana Agalakeva was one of the stars of Russia's channel One. Even now, when you're watching news in Russia. It's like two different planet. In one planet, there is ruins and total disaster, death and tragedy. In another world, it's Russian militaries that was cheered by local population with flowers, and this is only victory. In these two worlds, don't mix up. And it's blow my mind how they do it, how they brainwashed their population. I have to kill you. I'm really sorry. I have to do it. Got to go on my own. You didn't care stuff behind. I was holding my gun. I got you, I tell you, I'm I had to kill you. Was it so much fun?

Episode 3, Chapter 6, The Selection.

There are not so many schools in Russia. It's maybe only three. One where Putin studied in Saint Petersburg, another one in Moscow. They would call it former KGB School. Fsb was basically... They renamed it. But my school, my academy, would be called the Academy of Military Investigation.

How do you say that in Russian?

It's Academia When I saw that huge gray-colored building looking like all the Soviet Union buildings where you cannot say a word and you understand there is no chance you could live a free life and have a free word. I just wanted to run away. But I couldn't say no, and I couldn't run away, and I had to go there. I just kept myself together, and I stayed silent, and just walked into that walls.

Elia Rosa is describing her first day of formal military training after her tragic internship. She was just 18 at the time.

When I saw this thick, gray, cold walls with portraits of that former officers or KGB agents, and I saw that cold faces of all my teachers and my classmates. They were no fun or there were no desire or like ambitions or dreams. They were really cold-blooded machines or like zombie people That first day at the academy would change the course of Elia's life.

But before we get to that, here's a little bit about the training of new recruits at a Russian military academy.

First of all, my whole lifestyle has been changed. I would wake up at 4 AM because at 6:00 AM, you had to have a morning report that would give you agenda schedule, and you have to do marching. From 6 AM in the morning, we would listen this big words lecture about our country, that we have to protect the country We have to be real patriots. We fought Nazi. We are the strongest country in the world. We are the strongest nationality. We are the purest. Nothing can be more powerful than us. You have to do exercises, you have to do jogging, you have to do shooting. You also had to do cleaning and cooking for hundreds of people. Then 6:00 PM, it's again the report time. Then again, you have to do marching. Then sometimes homework would be so much. It would take till 2:00 AM or 1:00 AM. It was really tough, and it was always cold. I was so tired and exhausted because I slept only four hours.

I asked Alia if she thinks that all the marching, the work, the lack of sleep, were not just about training, but also about brainwashing.

Well, yes, of course. The whole system is like that, right? It's one of the important technique of manipulation where if you want to train someone, You have to exhaust this person with the physical activities so the brain becomes weak. When the brain becomes weak, there you can plant seeds built on patriotic, romantic feeling like Together, we can fight the whole world.

In case patriotism wasn't enough to inspire someone to die for their country, there were also financial incentives.

For example, if they would say, Okay, so there is a war in Chechen, second campaign. Who wants to go there? Because if you go to the war, first of all, you have salary much higher than usual. You have better insurance, better benefits. If If you will die, then your family will get so and so much money, which was higher than usual salary. People would risk their life because it was beneficial for their families, and they would go to the war. It's still the same.

As for leaving the military, once you were there, you had to fulfill your duties.

Once you're there, you cannot go back. You cannot just become civilian and say, Okay, I don't I don't to work in military anymore. I want just to be a human resource recruiter. You cannot do that. You know that once you are there, you have to be there till the rest of your life.

In this In this environment, Elia's classmates competed with each other for favor, sometimes cruelly and savagely.

I tried to make friends, but after a few months, I understood that whatever I would say to my girlfriends, they would tell to our teachers. So you couldn't even tell anyone's secrets or the way you think or the way you feel. I had even my male classmates, they would call me bad names. Some of them tried to put me down. You understand that you're there by yourself. You cannot have friends. You cannot rely on anyone. You know that every single one is your enemy. We say, if you live with wolves, you have to become one of wolves.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the 1980s and '90s, New York City needed a tough cop like Detective Louis Scarsella. Putting bad guys away. There's no feeling like it in the world.

He was the guy who made sure the worst killers were brought to justice.

That's one version.

This guy is a piece of Derrick Hamilton was put away for murder by Detective Scarsella. In prison, Derrick turned himself into the best jailhouse lawyer of his generation. My lawyer was my girlfriend.

This is my only way to freedom.

Derrick and other convicted murderers. Started a law firm behind bars. We never knew we had the same cop in the case. Scarsella.

We got to show that he's a corrupt cop.

They could go themselves.

I'm Steve Fishman.

And I'm Dax Devlin Ross.

And this is The Burden.

Listen to new episodes of The Burden on the My Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive bonus content, subscribe to True Crime Clubhouse on Apple Podcasts.

With this context, we now return to Elia's first day at the academy. She was lined up for inspection with the rest of the new students, and that's when it all began.

All of us, we had to be outside. I remember there was one of the most powerful teacher that time the highest rank, and he particularly looked at every single girl there. And I was the only one who was 18 years old. Other girls, they were starting from 22, 23, 25, 30 even.

This high-ranking commander, a Russian colonel, began whispering to a female officer and motioning to Elia.

But I understood the talk about me because they looked at me and they discussed something. I didn't know, is it bad or good. I didn't know anything. And then they also looked at some other girls.

Soon after, Elia was pulled aside and told that she'd been selected to participate in a special program. This, of course, was not an optional program.

I will be studying additional subjects together with other four girls every day after our main program.

This This additional coursework, as I'm sure you figured out, would train Alia in the art of seduction, the exchange of sexuality for secrets or lives. But what does it take for a woman raised conservatively with no dating experience to be willing to let the state use her body like this? It would take a lot more fear and a lot more brainwashing. Chapter 7, The Sacrifice.

There are lots of things that are involved in persuasion every day. But when things become very stressful and when the stimuli are controlled, and there are very few other stimuli other than what the perpetrator is trying to impose on you, and when you are sleep-deprived, these are settings that make people very malleable. You can see this in many of the brainwashing events in the 20th century.

This is Dr. Joel Dimmesdale, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of the book Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov, to social media. I tell Dr. Dimmesdale what you just heard about Aalia's training regimen at the military academy. Meant to do this and getting the party line fed to her every waking moment. Is that a form of what you're talking about?

When she has been isolated from her family and friends and only exposed to people who are constantly harking on this one view of what the world is like and what her task is, this begins to be a set up for coercive persuasion, even if it's against her best interest. Everything goes back to Pavlov and the Dr.

Dimmesdale traces the modern history of brainwashing back to Russia, specifically the fact that the work of Dr. Ivan Pavlov was taking place at the same time as the Russian Revolution.

The odd thing in history is that by virtue of his prominence, Lenin visited Pavlov and spent hours talking with Pavlov, asking him, Could Pavlov help Lenin remake the people of the Soviet Union so that they would be better communists? So the Soviets were always interested in behavior change, in trying to be as scientific as possible about it. And Pavlov was a perfect vehicle for I'm exploring that.

I asked Dr. Dimmesdale about the science of this behavioral change. What are the conditions that make this possible? Not just for Alia, but for anyone who's being reprogrammed to lay down their lives and their ethics for their country.

If you had a checklist of how do you persuade people so that you can guarantee behaviors that there would be resistance to otherwise, that checklist would include, number one, isolate them away from contrary influences. Number two, put them under a lot of stress. Number three, deprive them of sleep so they're not thinking clearly. Number four, involve them in a group that hammers told in certain messages repeatedly.

We now know the steps that lead to brainwashing or coercive persuasion, as Dr. Gimsdale prefers to put it. But brainwashing for what? Let's move forward to Russia in the 21st century.

War was central to the Putin regime.

This is Ian Garner, a Russian historian and author of the book Z-Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fashist Youth.

We see that from the very first actions that Putin takes when he's in power. Where we start to see a real change is in what children are taught in school. Children learn war poems, children start to dress up in military uniforms. They start to be taught that war is a good thing. War is something we need to grow our society and become better people. Joining the army, becoming a part of this military machine in Russia is just a hugely respectable path.

The propaganda that helps make this possible, Garner says, is history lessons, revised history lessons, just like the ones Alia received during her training.

This is not going to be lessons about real history. This is going to be Russian version of history in which Russia is surrounded by enemies who are looking to destroy it, and Russia has saved the world, and you're going to be a hero if you sacrifice yourself, just like those folks Stalingrad 80 years ago.

Stalingrad, as you may recall, is the deadly World War II battle that Aliya's grandfather served in, and the monument there with his name on it is practically a shrine for Aliya's family.

There is this phrase,. And Russian. Thank you, grandad, for bringing us victory. And what they're talking about is World War II. And all of this comes down the myth of the Second World War, as the moment when a generation of grandfathers sacrificed themselves to save the world and to save Russia, to save humanity from the Nazi threat. Thus, we respect them. It's ancestor worship. The sacrifice is coded that the sacrifice Christmites, the death has to happen. It's a bit like the Christian myth, right? It's Jesus. Jesus has to die to save humanity. Russian soldiers have to die. The country has to suffer so that it can be birthed and new.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is in Volgarad, formerly known as Stalingrad, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over German forces at the Battle of Stalingrad. He later spoke at an event where he criticized Germany for helping to arm Ukraine. He said Russia is once again threatened by Germany. This is his latest attempt to compare Russia's war against Ukraine to the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Russian news, Russian education, and especially Russian social media, Garner explains, have turned into an actual indoctrination program, teaching not just a warlike way of thinking, but actual military skills to the youth.

Because they're in so desperately rushed to get them to the front. It is giving that training to children today, and they will be ready tomorrow to fight.

At what age does that training start?

Six years old.

Wow. It's interesting, again, because her training started from her dad at, I think, age six or seven.

Yeah. Her experience then was exceptional and unusual. But now that experience is being not just institutional rationalized and formalized by the state, it's also being held up as the ideal of what a young child can be.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the 1980s and '90s, New York City needed a tough cop like Detective Louis Scarsella. Putting bad guys away. There's no feeling like it in the world.

He was the guy who made sure the worst killers were brought to justice.

That's one version.

This guy is a piece of Derrick Hamilton was put away for murder by Detective Scarsella. In prison, Derrick turned himself into the best jailhouse lawyer of his generation. My lawyer was my girlfriend.

This is my only way to freedom.

Derek and other convicted murderers. Started a law firm behind bars. We never knew we had the same cop in the case. Scarsella.

We got to show that he's a corrupt cop.

They could go themselves.

I'm Steve Fishman.

And I'm Dax Devlin Ross.

And this is The Burden.

Listen to new episodes of The Burden on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive bonus content, subscribe to True Crime Clubhouse on Apple Podcasts.

Chapter 8: Death of a Patriot. We return now to Elia's first day at the military academy. Selected out of the lineup along with four other women, she was told she'd been chosen to participate in a special top secret program to serve her country. A few hours later, the top commander of the academy, the colonel who'd chosen her from the lineup, called her into his office.

After a few hours, I was called to my teacher office I came there and he closed the door. I did respect him a lot because he was much older than me. That time, he was 48, and I was 18. I was very innocent. As I said, I never kissed any man.

As Elia tells the story, you may hear some laughter here and there. But note that there's nothing funny about this. There are topics that bring up so much trauma and are so uncomfortable to discuss that sometimes we laugh in order to avoid the deep pain that these events bring up. In an often cited research paper, If I didn't laugh, I'd cry, Dr. Kathleen Monahan further explains that, Lafter creates a sense of relief, usually from stress, both mentally and physically, thus giving way to a sense of hope. Listener discretion is advised.

I looked at him and I asked him, Hello. Yes, sir. You were calling for me, so I'm here. He was wearing his uniform With medals and everything looking so sophisticated and so powerful. My dad, when he was wearing uniform, I always respected that. He asked me, What do you really expect from this education? I said, Well, you know my story? You know whose daughter am I? And I am here to follow my dad path, and I'm ready to and learn anything. And he asked me, Are you ready to do everything for your country? I said, Yes, sir. Are you a real patriot? I said, Yes, sir. I was raised by my dad to protect my country, my people, and I'm ready to give, to do everything for my country. He asked me, Are you ready to do everything? Are you ready to give your life for your country? I said, Yes, sir, certainly. Of course, I was trained by my dad, and I love my country, and I love my people. Then he came closer to me and he said, Then Suck my cock. I was like, Sorry, what? I just couldn't even understand what did he ask me.

I was sitting at the chair and he came closer to me, and I was My hat was right in front of that part, so I didn't know what to do. He came so close that I couldn't really just stand up and leave. I just had one thing in my head that, Wait a minute, he knows who is my dad, and yet he just asked me to suck his cock. How is that possible? I thought that the name of my dad will protect me from this stuff. He almost like he read my mind and he said, Yes, I know who is your father, and you know that I have much higher rank than your dad. So everything depends from my word. If you want to study here and graduate with no problem and have a good job, Then you have to do what I say. If you want, I'll make sure your life will become hell here, and you cannot just drop off because of your dad. I'll make sure you will have a lot of demerits with a lot of duty and hard work outside, cleaning toilets and cleaning garden, and just be a bully here.

What do you prefer? And he opened his zip, and he took his penis off just in front of my mouth. And he said, Suck it. What are you waiting for? At the moment, I was thinking, All right, so I cannot do anything bad to him right now. I cannot bite it, even though I'm angry inside from this man for doing this to me right now. To disrespect my father, who disrespect my my principles, my beliefs in my country, in my people, who came here to basically sacrifice my life, not for sucking his cock, but for protecting people and doing really good for this country. But I told myself, You know what? I'll make sure that one day he will pay for it. When he did come, I had that I made this decision. I stand up from the chair, and he asked me, I want you to swallow it. And I pretended that I did. He's like, Go to your lesson. So I took my bag and I left. But then when I left, I went to the toilet and I washed my mouth. And I looked at the and I started to cry because it was just so...

I was disgusted, but I was... You know that feeling when your dreams and everything is just gone in one second. Then I said to myself, Okay, so now what? I obviously couldn't tell anyone about this act because... I mean, come on, who am I supposed to tell it? To my dad? Oh, you know dad? I know my dad. He would go crazy, and then it would be all... I don't know. He might kill him and then go to jail. It would be such a drama. I know my dad, and I was like, No, this is definitely I cannot tell him. So who do I say? So this colonel teacher, he is the highest level. So whom do I go? There is no one to go to. There is no one to complain to. Whom do I go? To police? I mean, he's like, This is the power. I mean, whom do I go? Whom do I say? And This already was the second time when I was sexually abused in the military by the people who are supposed to stand for justice. All my romantic feelings, all my dreams, all my... These words by my dad telling me from early age that I should be the one who protects people and loves Love my country, love government, love police, and love military.

My dad, who was wearing this military uniform every single day, and I would look at him, and then exactly the same military person just abused me. How is that possible? I mean, how?

In the days that followed, Elia learned that her special training was about learning the art of sex binage. She also learned that the exploitation of the academy would continue indefinitely, and that the male officers expected the female seduction students to have sex with them for what they claimed was training and desensitization purposes. So Elia thought, if these techniques work on enemies of the state, then perhaps they will also work on the state as well.

And that moment, I created a plan. I thought, What if I will seduce this colonel? What if I will seduce him the way that he would fall in love, and then he can do what I want him to do, and he will protect me from things which I don't want to do, for example, sleeping with all of those teachers And I understood that if I would manipulate him the way he would feel that I'm his girl and nobody's allowed to touch me, then it will help me to go through that education. You know what I'm saying? I thought it's better I would have sex only with one teacher rather than with all of them. And he had the strongest position among all of them. So for me, it was easier to become his lover rather than just being a whore for everyone.

And that's when, with nowhere else to turn, Alia took justice into her own hands.

And I'll be fucking so good. I'll learn so much. I'll make sure that I'll become the best. It's funny how these seduction techniques work because Eventually, he told me that he wants to divorce his wife in order to marry me.

Elia's story continues in episode 4, where she takes us inside the classroom to experience Russian seduction spy training. The episode is available now. Keep listening for free on Apple Podcasts. For full credits, check out our show notes. If you or a loved one are a survivor of sexual assault, you can visit Raine. Org, that's R-A-I-N-N. Org, or call 1-800-656-4673 for free, confidential 24/7 support.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories, Black Truths on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Bring a little optimism into your life with The Bright Side, a new daily podcast from Hello Sunshine, hosted by me, Danielle Robay.

And me, Simone Voce. Every weekday, we're bringing you conversations about culture, the latest trends, inspiration, and so much more. I am so excited about this podcast, The Bright Side. You guys are giving people a chance to shine a light on their lives, shine a light on a little advice that they want to share.

Listen to The Bright Side on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search The Bright Side.