"Dying for the fatherland": Putin's propaganda prepares Russia's youth for death in the Ukraine war
Created: 11/25/2022, 10:32 p.m
By: Christoph Gschossmann
Russia invests many resources in the "youth army" to indoctrinate its children.
© IMAGO/Artyom Geodakyan
Russia is preparing the next generation for war: In the "youth army" children live the Kremlin propaganda.
One million are already members.
Munich/Moscow - Education through propaganda: Russia is preparing its new generation for war.
There are growing reports of a lack of support for the Ukraine conflict among the younger generation in Russia, and many young conscripts are leaving the country.
In order to win over even younger Russians, the Putin regime is accelerating its indoctrination efforts - also for the Ukraine war, which is likely to enter phase IV.
Ukraine news: Famous athlete spearheads Putin's propaganda
The British
Guardian
reports .
These include proven tactics like banning social media and online dissidents, as well as introducing propaganda classes into schools.
But the most effective tool, it says, are countless new youth groups introducing children to the world of the Russian state's perpetual warfare with a "dazzling barrage of social media infotainment."
The largest of these organizations is the Youth Army, founded in 2016 under Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
This has the express intention of preparing children for a career in the state or military apparatus.
At the top is not a politician, but the popular 25-year-old Olympic and world champion gymnast Nikita Nagornyy.
The charismatic influencer uses videos and posts to spread the gospel of the state.
“Go to Ukraine!
We don't need fascists here!"
One day he might be appearing in a training video or meeting Vladimir Putin, the next he's posing with a military veteran.
"Let's talk about something important," he commented alongside a selfie in uniform on the eve of this year's Victory Day celebrations in May, before discussing the importance of commemorating Russia's military martyrs.
Anyone who steps out of line in their comment threads will get retaliation from their followers like: “Go to the Ukraine!
We don't need fascists here!"
Across Russia, groups of “young soldiers” in flashy red berets and khaki uniforms are practicing military maneuvers and firing guns, attending patriotic history classes and raising aid for the “ethnic Russians” the state is said to be saving in Ukraine.
Putin's propaganda: One million children are already members
The 21-year-old ski world champion Veronika Stepanova also posts about her life as an athlete today, as a young member of the youth army in the past, about politics and the war in Ukraine.
The state provided massive political and financial support for the youth army project.
A subsidy of 185 million was announced last year, and the group is growing rapidly.
One million children are already members, and by 2030, 20 percent of the school-age population is expected to become members.
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Membership is presented as a convenient way to make friends and achieve an influencer-like lifestyle.
The Youth Army's official website is packed with uniformed cartoon characters, warlike video game clips and soft-focus images of smiling "soldiers".
Through the group's social media feeds and official app, kids can play games and take pictures of themselves during "patriotic" activities - like visiting war memorials - to win prizes.
The concept works: the young people join in droves – “dying for the fatherland”
The concept works: young people join in droves.
A regional leader told the
Guardian
that his group has been struggling to cope with the applications that have been received since February 24.
The members of the youth army are taught to "die for the fatherland".
You learn serious military skills in classrooms and summer training camps.
Russian media are raising expectations of their military capabilities: "The only reason the youth army is on the EU sanctions list is the West's fear of Russian children!"
From the age of six, children are already learning to speak the language of war: “I want to defend my country and my loved ones,” a new elementary-school-age recruit confidently told a local TV journalist.
And older children have to live his reality.
Some of the program's graduates are already at the top.
There are online tributes to the former "youth soldiers" who "met heroic deaths" in Ukraine.
One thing seems certain: when the state's military recruiters call for reinforcements in the years to come, far more young Russians will respond than flee abroad.
(cgsc)
Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022.
According to a secret service whistleblower, there were also concrete considerations to start a war with Japan.
