Russia has significantly expanded compulsory military training in schools, with students now receiving instruction in areas including drones, firearms and military discipline as authorities place greater emphasis on national defense and preparedness.
Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said military training will account for 50 percent of the subject “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Fatherland” beginning with the new school year. Over four academic years, this amounts to 68 hours of training, compared with 20 percent previously, according to Russian media reports.
Russian authorities say the program is intended to prepare students for military service and provide them with knowledge and skills related to national defense.
Students from the eighth through 11th grades will study national security, military discipline and regulations, formation drills, civil defense, the use of protective equipment and evacuation procedures.
The curriculum also includes lessons on combating extremism and terrorism, as well as practical first-aid training.
Training expands to drones and practical exercises
The program goes beyond basic safety and civil-defense skills. Kravtsov has said students will also be introduced to unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones, and will participate in practical exercises.
Russian authorities began preparations in April to establish initial military training as a distinct component of school education. Moscow Duma deputy Ekaterina Razakova described the move as a return of pre-military training to schools, with a greater emphasis on survival skills and drone operation.
The course will also include what officials describe as a “historical and patriotic component.”
Larisa Sulima, first deputy education minister of the Moscow Region, linked that component to claims that Western intelligence services are working against Russia.
Calls to make military training compulsory from fifth grade
Some Russian lawmakers are calling for the program to be expanded further.
Viktor Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee dealing with the Commonwealth of Independent States, has called for initial military training to become compulsory for all students beginning in the fifth grade.
Vodolatsky has linked the renewed emphasis on military education to the period following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has argued that Russian children should be prepared for the possibility of a future conflict with NATO immediately after completing primary school.
As justification, he cited predictions by Western politicians about a possible escalation in the coming years.
The expansion reflects a broader effort by Russian authorities to integrate military preparedness, patriotic education and national-security themes into the school curriculum amid the continuing war in Ukraine and worsening relations between Moscow and NATO.
