Russia Intensifies the Militarisation of Youth by Approving a Comprehensive Set of Measures on Patriotic Education
The Russian Federation is not only continuing but systematically intensifying the militarisation of children and young people. Since the full scale invasion of Ukraine, this process has become deliberate and comprehensive, with the construction of an all encompassing state system designed to prepare a new generation for war, service in security and law enforcement bodies, and unconditional loyalty to the regime. A further confirmation of this trend is the Comprehensive Set of Measures on Patriotic Education and Spiritual and Moral Upbringing of Young People in the Russian Federation through 2028, hereinafter the Comprehensive Set of Measures. This federal regulatory act not only significantly expands and strengthens mechanisms of influence on the younger generation in schools, extracurricular and educational activities, military patriotic youth organisations, and higher education institutions, but also effectively establishes a long-term course for the continuation of this policy at least until 2028.
Date of adoption and scope of application of the document
The Comprehensive Set of Measures was approved on 23 October 2025 by Order of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2970-r, and its application extends to all constituent entities of the Russian Federation. As Russia has illegally occupied parts of the territory of Ukraine and incorporated them into its administrative framework, this document will also be enforced on the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), namely the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, and parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kherson Regions.
As a result, the Comprehensive Set of Measures applies to Ukrainian children and young people in the TOT across formal and non-formal education institutions, out-of-school education settings, and children’s and youth organisations.
Who is responsible for the implementation of and reporting on the Comprehensive Set of Measures
Most measures under the Comprehensive Set of Measures are implemented by several bodies, including the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodyozh), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as the movements “Movement of the First” and “Young Army”. Security and law-enforcement bodies are also involved, including the Federal Security Service of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and the National Guard of Russia.
By 25 February, all implementing bodies submit reports to Rosmolodyozh, which by 25 March forwards a consolidated report to the Government of the RF.
Regional authorities are also required to develop their own regional sets of measures in line with this regulatory act.
—Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the RF.
In the photo: Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the RF, during the presentation of the new textbook “Military History of Russia”. Source: https://tatngpi.ru/about_the_university/news/8128/, archive https://archive.ph/wip/L7Myg
As can be seen, the implementation of the Comprehensive Set of Measures, that is the militarisation of children and young people, is driven from the top down, from the government to regional structures. The process involves both youth organisations that promote Russian ideology and federal level ministries and security and law enforcement bodies, which have effectively been assigned “patriotic education” of young people as a mandatory function. This is not a collection of isolated programmes. It constitutes a centralised, all-encompassing state system that shapes a generation oriented towards loyalty to the regime, readiness to serve in the armed forces and security and law-enforcement bodies of the RF, and the acceptance of war as a societal norm.
Key directions of the Comprehensive Set of Measures: what the RF plans to implement by 2028
The Comprehensive Set of Measures defines how to systematically “bring up” children and young people into “spiritual and moral” patriots of Russia or, in other words, how to shape obedient and controllable citizens who are convenient for the Russian authorities. The document sets out who is responsible for this process, when it is to be carried out, by what instruments, and how propaganda influence on children is to be intensified. One of its stated aims is to unify the rules of militarised upbringing through the development of various instructions, guidelines, and methodological resources in this area.
Overall, the document consists of six sections: regulatory and legal framework; personnel development; improvement of the material and technical base; methodological support; monitoring and analysis of effectiveness; and all Russian programmes and projects.
Below are the key directions envisaged by this regulatory act.
One of the key components is the integration of participants and veterans of the so called “special military operation” (“SMO”) into the ideological and patriotic upbringing of children:
- granting access to teaching the subject “Fundamentals of Security and Defence of the Fatherland”;
- involvement in military patriotic clubs and associations, including those based in schools;
- development of specialised programmes to build pedagogical competences among veterans of the so called “SMO” for teaching the above subject, as well as separate professional competences for establishing and organising the activities of military patriotic clubs;
- development and implementation of methodological guidelines on involving participants of the so called “SMO” in “educational and patriotic” activities.
An active campaign to integrate military personnel who took part in the war against Ukraine into the political and educational sphere began earlier on the initiative of Putin. In particular, Anton Starostin, a participant in the war against Ukraine who was awarded the title of Hero of Russia in 2022 and is a graduate of the presidential programme “Time of Heroes”, now oversees the patriotic education of young people in occupied Crimea as the so-called “Deputy Head of the State Committee for Youth Policy”.
From now on, this practice has also been formalised within the Comprehensive Set of Measures, which further strengthens the integration of participants and veterans of the so called “SMO” into the system of “patriotic” education of children and young people.
In addition, the document provides for the formal definition of the job functions of specialists engaged in so-called “spiritual and moral” and military-patriotic work. It envisages the development and implementation of training and professional development programmes for these specialists, aimed at enhancing their knowledge and skills in this area.
Strengthening the role of military patriotic clubs in the upbringing of children. In addition to involving RF military personnel who fought against Ukraine in their activities, the document also provides for the following measures:
- creation of a standard operational model for military patriotic clubs;
- development of proposals to improve their material and technical resources;
- development and implementation of additional professional development programmes for instructors and teachers working in such clubs;
- preparation of analytical materials and proposals concerning their registration and record keeping.
Military patriotic clubs are already operating in the TOT, and the measures introduced will further strengthen their role and, with a high degree of probability, lead to an increase in their number. In particular, in the TOT of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the competition titled “Best Military Patriotic Club” was held for the second time in 2025. In the previous year, the competition brought together 531 participants. The event is organised by the so called “State Committee for Youth Policy of the Republic of Crimea”.
The activities of certain clubs are already attracting the attention of Ukrainian law enforcement authorities. In particular, an indictment has been submitted to court against the head of the military patriotic club “Varyag” on charges of propagandising service in the armed forces of the aggressor state among children and young people in Crimea under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
To make the militarisation of children and young people systematic and uniform across the entire territory of the RF, the Comprehensive Set of Measures provides for the creation of a methodological framework consisting of materials intended to standardise approaches to so called “patriotic” upbringing, which in practice involves militarised and ideologised forms of socialisation. It is to include:
- an electronic collection of practices related to “patriotic” and spiritual and moral upbringing, as well as a reference guide to interregional, nationwide, and international events in this field;
- methodological guidelines on the use of “patriotic” upbringing tools in youth activities;
- standard supplementary general education programmes of a “patriotic” orientation, together with recommendations for their implementation as instruments of patriotic upbringing.
Annual large scale military patriotic events are to be held as part of nationwide projects and programmes. It is to include:
- the game “Zarnitsa 2.0”, organised by the “Movement of the First” and the “Young Army”.
- an international patriotic forum held in connection with Heroes of the Fatherland Day (Russia);
- competitions “Heirs of Victory 2025” and “To Be, Not to Give Up”;
- projects “Guardians of History” and “Victory Train”;
- activities at sites of military history;
- the course “Foundations of Russian Statehood” in higher education institutions;
- the patriotic performance festival “Classics of Victory. Memory of Generations”, as well as other events.
These activities build a mass culture of war, making it an integral part of school and youth life. An initiative such as the game “Zarnitsa 2.0” in effect serves as preparation of a mobilisation reserve for the Russian army.
In addition, the Comprehensive Set of Measures provides for the development of proposals to regulate patriotic and spiritual and moral upbringing of young people in the RF and the activities of patriotic youth and children’s organisations, including those of a military patriotic orientation, as well as the introduction of statistical reporting tools for monitoring “patriotic” upbringing and related measures.
Why This Issue Requires Attention
The Comprehensive Set of Measures is not merely another policy document of the RF. It is an element of a long-term strategy aimed at creating a generation loyal to war, to the Russian authorities, and to Russian security and law enforcement bodies. The document is also applied in the TOT of Ukraine, which means that it directly affects Ukrainian children whom Russia forcibly incorporates into its system of military patriotic education. For this reason, the issue is of critical importance for Ukraine and requires public attention for the following reasons:
First, the approval of the Comprehensive Set of Measures indicates the continuation of a course towards the total militarisation of young people. Russia is preparing children for war rather than for peace. In the case of Ukrainian children in the TOT, this means preparation for war against their own state. Militarisation is used as a tool to alter their identity and integrate them into the Russian ideological space. Through engagement with veterans of the so called “special military operation”, participation in youth movements, and involvement in military related activities, Russia normalises war in the minds of Ukrainian children and legitimises its aggression against Ukraine.
Second, the involvement of children in any armed formations, military training, or the promotion of war in the interests of an occupying power constitutes a violation of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The 2025 report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights explicitly states that the “patriotic and military education” introduced by Russia in the TOT is aimed to prepare children for military or so called “civil service” in Russian state institutions.
Third, the militarisation of children in the TOT will have long-term consequences for Ukraine in the post-occupation period. Prolonged exposure to the Russian system of military and political indoctrination is likely to leave children with deeply distorted perceptions of war, statehood, and personal identity. This will complicate their reintegration into the Ukrainian environment and will require specialised educational and psychological programmes, as well as significant efforts by the state and civil society. Preparation for these challenges must begin now.
Article prepared by the Almenda Center for Civic Education as part of the project “Defending childhood: justice & reintegration for children from TOT”. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic within the framework of the Transition Promotion Program. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
