Basic Military Training To Be Introduce In Russian High Schools

The revival of a military training program from the Soviet period is being backed by the Russian Education Ministry and Defense Ministry and is anticipated to be finished by January 1st, 2023.

According to Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov, military training would be made mandatory in Russian school curricula starting in the following academic year.

According to Kravtsov, the curriculum is now being developed by the Russian Ministry of Education and will be incorporated into the already required Fundamentals of Life Safety (FLS) course.

He stated that instructors will receive training, and that the program should be finished by January 1, 2023. Before receiving final clearance, a pilot program will first be implemented.

A day earlier, local media claimed, citing lawmakers and army personnel, that Russia’s Defense Ministry supported resurrecting a basic military training course in Soviet-era schools.

According to The Moscow Times, the curriculum, known as the “basic military training” program during the Soviet era, taught high school students how to handle guns, react to a nuclear or chemical assault, and give first aid.

However, the course was put on hold in 1993, and attempts to bring it back have continued ever since.

The newest push for the initiative has come from A Just Russia party leader Sergei Mironov, who was successful in winning the backing of Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov.

According to Gerasimov, schools should allot at least 140 hours of instruction for students in grades 10 and 11, and his ministry would support legislative efforts to reestablish the program, according to the local Izvestia daily.

“Adding this subject would systematically prepare citizens for a possible confrontation with the enemy,” Mironov told Izvestia daily. He and Gerasimov have also said they believe the courses should be taught by combat veterans.

In addition, Russian schools have added what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine to their history curriculum this academic year as well as weekly patriotic classes called “Important Conversations.”