In Russian schools, the share of basic military training in the subject “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland” is set to increase from 20% to 50%. According to Interfax, this was announced by Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov.
The minister said the course curriculum will include the study of unmanned aerial vehicles. It will also add training camps as part of the subject.
Kravtsov also said that from the next academic year, schools will introduce a new subject titled “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia”. For these classes, officials have already selected 83 heroes, including participants in the war in Ukraine.
According to the minister, documentary films about these people will be made and then shown to students during lessons.
The OBZR subject began to be taught in Russian schools in September 2024, replacing the former OBZh course. The main difference in the new discipline is its stronger military component.
Under the curriculum, students from 8th through 11th grade are required to study the history of the emergence and development of the Russian army, major types of weapons and military equipment, and the provisions of drill regulations.
In early 2025, it became known that prosecutors had filed nearly 200 lawsuits against schools that had failed to purchase expensive equipment for OBZR. This included mock-ups of F-1, RGO, and RGN grenades, a Makarov pistol, Kalashnikov rifles and machine guns, fire extinguisher models, and training UAV kits.