Russia Approves Military Training For Schoolchildren; Will Teach Students How To Handle Rifle

Russian high school students will undergo a basic military program beginning next year as Russia looks to bring back a Soviet-era policy to bolster its troops' capabilities amid the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Education has published a decree approving the introduction of a military training program for students in grades 10 and 11, Russian news outlet The Insider reported.

The decree, signed by Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov and published on the country's official portal of legal information, would make military training part of "life safety" lessons in schools.

The Russian students would be trained to provide first aid, handle a Kalashnikov automatic rifle and use the F-1 and RGD-5 grenades.

The training program would also tackle Russia's military operation in Ukraine, "the significance of Russia in the world's political and socio-economic processes," and "the achievements of the country and its people," the document stated.

The controversial "Important Conversations" initiative, a new extracurricular class where students learn about "patriotic values," would also be included in the updated school program.

According to the decree, schools across Russia would have to adopt the new curriculum that includes the military training program by Sept. 1, 2023.

Last month, Kravtsov said the program would be tested after Jan. 1 next year, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

The return of military training in schools is seen as a move to address the disappointing combat performance of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

"Even many volunteers do not have the necessary experience to participate in hostilities," Sergei Mironov, the leader of a pro-Kremlin political party, told Russian state media Izvestia. "With the beginning of the special military operation, this issue became especially acute."

Mironov also proposed that combat veterans and law enforcers should be part of the program as teachers.

The proposal to teach students basic combat skills is also supported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

But Marina Goncharova, a teacher recognized as Russia's "Teacher of the Year," worries that the program would increase the burden on teachers and students, noting that the current curriculum is already overloaded.

During the Soviet era, military training was introduced for students in the upper grades of secondary and vocational schools.

But in 1993, a few years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia scrapped the program.