Russia is more than doubling the amount of basic military training in a compulsory national defense class for 6th- to 11th-graders, its education minister said on Friday.
Sergei Kravtsov said that 50% of the course, “Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense,” would be dedicated to military training by September 1.
That’s up from a previous 20% of the curriculum reserved for such training, which will now also include lessons on uncrewed aerial vehicles, otherwise known as flying drones, and field exercises, Kravstov said.
The entire course contains 34 hours of material each school year, so Kravstov’s announcement would mean that the course will now include at least 17 hours of basic military training.
While the course contains lessons on Russian military history, civic service, and wartime survival, it also teaches older students combat-relevant skills such as first aid, basic firearm handling, and how to use a hand grenade.
The lessons echo the Soviet-era Initial Military Training, a compulsory subject for older high schoolers that included drill, first aid, rifle handling, and field-exercise camps. The course was abolished in 1993, but Moscow reintroduced elements of the training after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Independent Russian media outlet Vertska reported that, amid the recent educational push, prosecutors filed over 200 lawsuits against schools in 2024 for failing to install military training facilities, such as shooting ranges.
Russia has plans to expand school-based military training even further. In April, authorities discussed reviving Initial Military Training through a separate 64-hour course focused on discipline, combat, and survival skills.
A final decision hasn’t been made. Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported that month that officials were discussing a pilot program for the new format, starting in September for 9th- to 11th-graders in 10 regions, including occupied Crimea.
The revised courses come as tensions between Russia and NATO continue to worsen. Multiple Western leaders, including the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, warned earlier this month that Russia may be ready to launch a large-scale attack on Europe by 2030.
Their warning has been used by some in Moscow as a further call to surge military readiness among schoolchildren.
Viktor Vodolatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, suggested to local media on June 22 that, in light of the NATO statements, students should begin war-relevant classes after the 5th grade.
“Russian children should be prepared for war with NATO and the European Union immediately after primary school,” said Vodolatsky.
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