Main image: Some teenagers are reportedly helping to build real-life drones. (Photo: Reuters)
A massive militarization of education is underway in Russia: teenagers in grades 8–9 are learning to operate unmanned aerial vehicles that, according to official aims, are intended to “familiarize them with modern combat experience.” The programme, launched in 2023, is aimed at preparing children for participation in armed conflicts where drones are used for reconnaissance, strikes, and killings.
In 2024, Russia purchased 18,000 drones for 500 schools, spending RUB 8.38 billion on the effort.
By 2030, Moscow plans to equip 4,872 schools and 380 colleges with drones and to train one million so-called specialists in unmanned systems. Specialized centers are being created in regional colleges where, among other things, teachers are instructed in “combat aspects”; classrooms, flight zones, and 3D-printing sections are being set up.
In September 2024 the first official manual for studying unmanned aerial systems appeared, developed jointly with the Geoscan group, which is controlled by the fund of Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova.
This initiative reflects the Kremlin’s systematic course toward militarizing education amid its aggression against Ukraine. Instead of peaceful skills, Russian children are learning technologies of killing — a breach of conventions on children’s rights and a shaping of a generation prepared for escalation of conflicts.
