War Camp Prepares Russia’s Next Generation of Soldiers for Conflict

What Happened?

Russian school children, especially males, are encouraged to attend ‘War Camps’ where they are prepared and readied for future military service and eventual armed conflict. Similar to summer camps in the United States, the war camps instead focus on teaching kids a hyper-nationalist and ultra-patriotic version of not only history, but of the current war in Ukraine. 

In addition, the camps emphasize modern technology, with students completing training programs to enable them to operate commercial drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. The exact number of the camps is difficult to quantify because they often use different names, but according to the Russian government, since 2022 over 55,000 students have attended.

Why it Matters

In Russia the camps are referred to as military youth camps, and the students who go there wear military style uniforms while attending. The camps started over a decade ago as a program pushed by Russian President Putin, but since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the number of camps and students attending them has increased substantially.

The war camps are where young people are sent to be indoctrinated by the state, much as they were under the Soviet Union from 1945 through 1991. With so many camps as part of a national effort, it is clear the current regime in Russia expects the conflict in Ukraine to continue for a long time. Or they are planning for future conflicts after the war in Ukraine has concluded.

Russia’s use of North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine is an indication that Russia doesn’t have enough soldiers to do the job itself. The war camps appear to be Mr. Putin’s solution to ensure that future conflicts do not face such manpower shortages. 

As under the Soviets, the version of history taught to students bears little resemblance to reality and is designed to serve the interests of the state by constantly bombarding students with official propaganda. For example, Ukraine is referred to as a ‘terrorist state’ and references to ‘de-Nazification’ are often used to describe the current Russian military operation in Ukraine. 

The emphasis on teaching students how to operate drones and unmanned aerial vehicles is likely a product of lessons learned from the war in Ukraine over the past three years. Drones have been used in greater numbers in the Ukrainian War than in any other conflict in military history. The type of drones used, and the tactics employed offer a glimpse of what warfare will probably look like for the next decade.

How it Affects You

Such long term and widespread efforts to militarize Russian society strongly suggests that the Putin regime has little interest in peace, either in Ukraine or elsewhere in Asia. Instead, war camps provide further evidence that Mr. Putin seeks to rebuild the Russian Empire by force in the years ahead.