Beginning on September 1, Russian schools will expand the amount of class time devoted to basic military training within the subject “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland”. The announcement was made by Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov.
According to the minister, this component currently accounts for about 20% of instruction time for students in grades 6 through 11. From the new academic year, that share will rise to 50% of class time.
The press service of Russia’s Education Ministry said the basic military training program includes the study of drones and the organization of training camps for students.
In addition, schools will introduce a new subject from September 1 titled “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia”. Kravtsov said that, to support the course, documentary films will be produced about 83 Russian servicemen who took part in the war against Ukraine.
The basic military training course was first added to life-safety classes in 2023. At that time, students in grades 10 and 11 were taught how to fire a Kalashnikov rifle, use hand grenades, and provide first aid in combat.
Since 2024, the former life-safety subject has been replaced by “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland”. Earlier, the publication Vot Tak calculated that over the past five years Russian authorities spent more than 50 billion rubles on creating and operating military-patriotic centers, where schoolchildren are sent for mandatory military training camps.