Schools to Begin Preparing “Cannon Fodder”

The Kremlin is so concerned with creating a mobilization resource for waging war that schools will be used to prepare future “cannon fodder.”

Starting from September 1, 2024, schools will begin preparing future soldiers. From the beginning of the new school year, a new subject will be introduced in schools – “Fundamentals of Security and Homeland Defense.” The main focus of this subject will be initial military training.

Military training in schools is not new. This subject existed in Soviet schools and was mainly taught by retired officers. As society became less militarized, the subject was removed from the school curriculum.

Now it is being reintroduced under a new name, but the essence remains the same.

Children will be taught by former military personnel, participants of the Special Military Operation (SMO). Many of these SMO heroes have killed and maimed others. They will share their combat experience, turning schools into training grounds for future soldiers. Children will be groomed to become future soldiers, ready to kill and maim for the glory of the “empire” and ready to die on foreign soil for the same glory.

Besides technical skills, children will be taught psychological preparation – how to make balanced decisions in combat situations. This means that students will need to be mentally prepared for extreme conditions far removed from peaceful life.

Children will be forced to think about war and death from a young age. Considering the experience shared by SMO participants, this looks very frightening. It is clear that the military personnel conducting these lessons will embellish everything and will not speak about the horrors of war, blood, and war crimes. If they do speak, it will be very romanticized. The “romance of war” will be implanted in the children’s minds, which is very scary.

The Kremlin claims that the introduction of the new subject will promote patriotism and civic responsibility. But in reality, it will be pure propaganda and militarism in its refined form. This will appear very grim, resulting in “cannon fodder” with certain psychological attitudes in the still-forming minds of adolescents.