{"id":5810,"date":"2023-12-29T11:51:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T09:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/?p=5810"},"modified":"2024-01-12T13:46:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T11:46:35","slug":"molodizhni-ruxi-yak-instrument-indoktrinacii-i-militarizacii-na-okupovanix-teritoriyax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/molodizhni-ruxi-yak-instrument-indoktrinacii-i-militarizacii-na-okupovanix-teritoriyax\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth movements as the instrument of indoctrination and militarization in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2023, 67 billion Rubles were allocated in the Russian Federation for patriotic education, which is 4 times more than the amount allocated in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of these expenses were allocated to movements of children and youth, in particular \u2013 to the most massive of the movements called \u201cMovement of the first\u201d (Rus. \u2013 \u201cDvizheniye Pervykh\u201d), which was created at the end of 2022. In 2023, the \u201cMovement of the First\u201d received 19 billion Rubles from the federal budget, in 2024, about 20.49 billion Rubles will be allocated to the organization. For the comparison 10 billion Rubles were allocated for children\u2019s health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Therefore, the development of movements of children and youth in Russia is one of the priority areas, for which considerable funds are allocated, and the new movement, \u201cMovement of the First\u201d, is called \u201cthe basis of strong Russia\u201d, which should bring up children in the spirit of collectivism and focus on achieving common goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dynamics of the development of propaganda and militarization youth movements in the TOT of Ukraine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the disbanding of the Pioneer organization that united children and youth during the communist regime, the Russian authorities repeatedly tried to revive such organizations in modern Russia because of their powerful ideological influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2014 – after the occupation of Crimea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Such efforts intensified after the Russian occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter referred to as Crimea) in 2014. Having established control over Crimea, Russia began to work on bringing patriotic education on the occupied peninsula into compliance with the Russian federal legislation. Thus, in 2014, the first youth movements appeared in the TOT (temporarily occupied territory) of Crimea: for example, the prototype of the current \u201cmovement of the First\u201d \u2013 the \u201cNashi\u201d (\u201cOurs\u201d) movement, \u201cGreat change\u201d and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2016 – the first branch of the “Yunarmiya” in the TOT of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, the first branch of the \u201cYoung Army\u201d movement was opened, and, notably, the first ceremony of the initiation of children in the ranks of the \u201cYoung Army\u201d took place in Sevastopol as \u201cthe city of Russian military glory\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international community’s reaction to the expansion of Russian organizations in the TOT of Ukraine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since 2016, the number of Crimean children involved in Russian children\u2019s and youth movements has been increasing, however, the first resolution of the UN General Assembly, which drew attention to the problem of the militarization of children, was adopted only in 2019. The role of the Young Army and other movements in the militarization and indoctrination of children was not directly mentioned, but in 2020 and 2021, UN member states urged Russia to refrain from including educational institutions of the occupied Crimea in the Russian system of \u201cmilitary-patriotic education\u201d, which includes movements of children and youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of a proper response to these violations, which was limited to condemnation in resolutions, led to the fact that in 2022, with the expansion of the geography of the territories occupied by Russia, the influence of these movements on other Ukrainian territories also expanded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian occupation authorities use movements of children and youth as another instrument for re-educating Ukrainian children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this report, we provide data on three biggest organizations that function in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and the South of Ukraine (separate parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions): \u201cMovement of the First\u201d, \u201cYoung Army\u201d and \u201cYugMolodoi\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n