Russian students will begin training with assault rifles and hand grenades under new guidelines from the country’s Education Ministry, an addition to the curriculum reminiscent of the Soviet Union, Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The “Fundamentals of Life Safety” course, which will be mandatory in secondary schools starting in September, includes military drills, salutes and weapons training.
A Russian military truck drives past an unexploded ordnance during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Russian-controlled village of Chornobaivka, Ukraine, on July 26, 2022.
(REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education also announced plans last month for a “military training bases” program at universities.
“The initiatives highlight the growing mila in wartime Russia, as well as being a (probably deliberate) evocation of the Soviet Union: similar training was compulsory in schools until 1993,” the UK Ministry of Defense said.
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Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov told the state news agency TASS that the curriculum would begin testing in January before full implementation next school year.
Russian self-propelled artillery vehicles roll during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9.
(AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September amid heavy losses from the invasion of Ukraine.
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Russian officials are also considering raising the age for routine military recruitment from 27 to 30 in an effort to bolster the country’s fighting force, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
