Analytical Report: “The Russian Federation’s Policy on the Eradication of Children’s Identity in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine: 2024 Overview”
The aim of this study is to systematise the information collected by the CCE “Almenda” for 2024, identify the dynamics in comparison with the statistical data available for 2023 and 2022, and to identify the main trends in Russia’s actions regarding the russification, militarisation, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children and youth. The report also provides information on the reaction of the international community and offers recommendations for further action.
The areas of study include Russia’s policy in the occupied territories of Ukraine, aimed at russification, indoctrination, and militarisation of children and youth; their involvement in actions supporting Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine; the eradication of Ukrainian identity; and the assimilation of the population in the occupied territories. The information presented in the report is considered with the aim of documenting the crimes of the Russian Federation and countering the disinformation it spreads.
The report includes information from the following sections: an overview of statistical data for 2024 compared to the data for 2023 and 2022; a review of the main changes in Russian federal legislation in 2024 and key trends regarding Russia’s measures for russification, militarisation, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children in the TOT. The third section is dedicated to an overview of the coverage of the eradication of Ukrainian children’s identity in the TOT in reports from international organisations.
Since the beginning of its armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the Russian Federation has implemented a system aimed at eradicating the Ukrainian identity of children and youth in the territories it has occupied. This system, which can be conditionally referred to as the “Crimean Scenario” (for more details, see our reports “The Crimea Scenario” and “Crimean Scenario 2.0”), was developed and enforced in the occupied territories of the AR of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. It consists of three key components: russification, indoctrination, and militarisation. Russification is designed to systematically eliminate the Ukrainian studies component from education and to push the Ukrainian language out of public use. Indoctrination seeks to impose a Russian civic identity. Militarisation involves the promotion of a war-centric culture and the cultivation of motivation to serve in the armed forces of the RF.
Since 24 February 2022, Russia has controlled approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the AR of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Since 30 September 2022, following the unlawful “incorporation” of these territories into Russia, Russian federal legislation has been extended not only to occupied Crimea but also to all other territories under Russian occupation.
As of January 2025, at the time of writing this report, the “Crimean Scenario” is being systematically implemented in the territories occupied by Russia after 24 February 2022. The implementation of this plan is confirmed by high-ranking Russian officials. In early 2024, Russian Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov reported that “active work is underway to support educational institutions” in the socalled “new regions” and that the “full integration” of these territories into the Russian education system is planned within two years.
Russia implements the “Crimean Scenario” through formal education, non-formal education, youth and children’s movements, and an extensive network of camps. Those responsible for its implementation include federal authorities of the RF, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Sport, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, occupation authorities in the TOT of Ukraine, local self-government bodies, educational institutions, cultural, artistic, cinematographic, and sports institutions, recreation facilities (including camps), educational and scientific organisations, youth and children’s organisations, veterans’ organisations of the armed forces of the RF, public organisations, and traditional religious denominations.
This report was prepared with financial support from the Czech organisation People in Need (People in Need Ukraine) as part of the SOS Ukraine initiative. The NGO Centre for Civic Education «Almenda» bears sole responsibility for its content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of People in Need.
