Militarizing the Young: Russian Youth Learn Combat Skills

Russia continues to militarize its youth: even children are sent to military-patriotic camps, where they are prepared for future military service.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.

In southern Russia, on the banks of the Don River, an unusual camp for children took place, which resembled mini-military training rather than recreation. 

Under the guidance of soldiers who participated in the war in Ukraine, 83 schoolchildren aged 8 to 17 performed physical exercises on the sand and in shallow water, wore camouflage, and worked with real and toy weapons.

One of the youngest attendees, 8-year-old Ivan Glushchenko, immediately answered when asked what he remembered most.

"How we threw hand grenades and fired dummy shots," he said.

The children noted that the classes allowed them to test their strength and willpower, while older participants openly expressed their desire to pursue a career in the military. 

Instructors emphasized the importance of patriotic education, but such “training” actually introduces children to weapons and combat techniques while they are still in school.

Critics, including the organization Ne Norma, call such activities a form of indoctrination and propaganda. They fear that children are being taught war and violence from an early age and that the Russian authorities are training future soldiers under the guise of patriotic education.

Instructors, including combat veterans, claim that the training develops discipline and team spirit. However, for many children and observers, this camp looks like dangerous early militarization, where instead of games and development, there are survival exercises and combat skills.

As The Gaze informed earlier, Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine’s Kherson region are intensifying pressure on local families, threatening to strip Ukrainian parents of custody if they refuse to accept Russian passports.