70 billion rubles for propaganda: Russia expands military education for schoolchildren
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, spending on patriotic education in Russia has increased 20-fold: while in 2021 the Russian authorities spent 3.4 billion rubles on these purposes, in 2026 they allocated 70 billion rubles.
Censor.NET reports this with reference to Radio Liberty. The calculations were published by the Russian independent outlet Novaya Gazeta.
The outlet says it studied about 1,500 contracts signed in 2025 and 2026.
What projects are being funded?
According to the report, out of the 70 billion rubles allocated to finance the federal project We Are Together (which is part of the Youth and Children national project), more than a third will go to the Internet Development Institute, about 10 billion rubles to the Movement of the First, and another 7.4 billion rubles will be directed to programs designed to draw people into the system of patriotic education.
These funds are being used to finance:
- militarized festivals,
- the purchase of equipment for shooting ranges,
- the organization of children’s military camps,
- the production of TV series and videos,
- as well as concerts by performers "of very different levels."
In particular, Novaya Gazeta writes that in Novosibirsk, the Vityaz center bought mock-ups of Kalashnikov rifles worth 1.5 million rubles; in Leningrad Oblast, mock-up assault rifles, three laser shooting ranges, three mine detectors, 15 drones and a training mannequin for tactical medicine were purchased for just over 2 million rubles; in Ishim, a mock-up of an armored train was installed for 12 million rubles; and in Lipetsk Oblast, an inflatable Katyusha was purchased for 1 million rubles.
Changes after the start of the war against Ukraine
After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Russian authorities have paid particular attention to military propaganda among children and teenagers.
Among other things, military training has been added to schools across the country as part of the Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Fatherland course (formerly known as Fundamentals of Life Safety). Schoolchildren are also being sent to military training camps. Parents who oppose the militarization of schools face threats and fines.
