moscow and minsk Are Turning Children into Cannon Fodder

russia and belarus are spending billions to turn children into an obedient mobilization resource – while schools fall into disrepair and swimming pools are never built.

“rossmolodezh” will spend 95.6 million rubles on a chatbot platform for the “spiritual and moral development” of youth. The technical specifications don’t even try to hide it: monitoring “trending topics”, collecting data on “behavioral patterns”, engagement  in politics. Simply put, digital surveillance of their own children.

In parallel, the kremlin has rolled out a “historical enlightenment” concept to the regions – from kindergartens to universities. Children are required to attend events dedicated to World War II and “defenders of russia”, a category that now officially includes participants in the war against Ukraine. Student “cyber squads” will monitor their peers for “destructive ideology” – apparently, any opinion that goes beyond what is permitted.

This ideology is reinforced by military-style training. Since September 2023, military training camps have become a mandatory part of the school curriculum: tenth formers spend five days there, eighth formers – three. Shooting, drones, drill training. Those who have already gone through this speak of attempts to recruit them right during the camps – into the army or military higher schools.  Over five years, russia has invested more than 50 billion rubles in this system. With that money, they could have built 50 schools, 166 swimming pools, 370 sports complexes, and over 3,800 playgrounds. They chose otherwise.

Analysts and scholars are no longer mincing words: they are openly calling what is happening in russia a fascist-like society.

belarus is following the same path, albeit slightly behind. This year, the training camp for tenth-formers  has been doubled – from five to ten days. Officials want students to stay there around the clock, without the right to go home after classes. It is impossible to refuse: without participating in the camp, a student will not receive a certificate in the subject “pre-conscription and medical training”.  The cost per day is 20–30 rubles (approximately EUR 90 for the entire duration of the camp), and this money will be collected from parents.

These practices are borrowed from russia, where militarization of children has been gaining momentum for some time. The goal is the same: to resolve the issue of disloyal youth and form a mobilization reserve that is as submissive as possible. Children are being trained to unquestioningly follow orders and are being convinced that belarus is a fortress under siege. No one is hiding the risk that they will later be used in russia’s interests.