ALBAWABA - Kids in school in Russia between the 6th and 11th grades are now required by the government to learn basic military training though a compulsory ‘national defense’ class.
Sergei Kravtsov, the Russian Minister of Education, said that 50% of the “Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense” course will consist of military training starting September 1.
That’s up 20% from last year, with the training focused on unmanned aerial vehicles i.e. drones - as well as regular field training. With the course containing 34 hours of material each school year; now including 17 hours of military training.
Alongside military history, civic service, and wartime survival, older students will learn combat skills such as first aid, basic firearm handling, and using grenades.
Teenagers put on chemical protection suits at an Avangard military-patriotic educational camp in the southern Rostov region on June 9, 2023. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
Such classes were implemented during the Soviet Union, with Russia seemingly pulling from its past to bring them back after they were banned in 1993 after the fall of the wall. With the first of these classes being taught in 2022 at the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
Officials are discussing expanding the program even further, with a proposed separate 64 hour course focused on discipline, combat, and survival skills.
