Russia trims girls for front service

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Assembling and disassembling a Kalashnikov, recognizing terrorists and providing first aid for gunshot wounds are on the curriculum of many Russian schools. The Junarmiya, a children’s and youth organization founded in 2016 by the Ministry of Defense together with Russian President Vladimir Putin (70), is enjoying increasing popularity. According to its own website, it has 1.25 million members.

Especially children and young people from Siberia are part of the organization. War is omnipresent here. The poor region of Tuva is also the most heavily militarized. This is also reflected in the schools. First graders write letters to soldiers at the front, other students roll dumplings for the soldiers to cook in the operation in Ukraine. And in March there is a contest among schoolgirls: the Miss Junarmija contest.

Girls between the ages of 14 and 17 compete against each other in different categories. The students try to build and dismantle a Kalashnikov as quickly as possible. Sportsmanship is also put to the test. “The girls are preparing to defend their homeland,” says one of the mothers at the competition for the Radio Svoboda news channel. After all, no one knows how the situation in Ukraine will develop. “If you want peace, prepare for war,” she said.

Everyday life as a game

The scenes at Junarmiya’s beauty pageant are bizarre: schoolgirls act out scenes of lighting homemade candles in the trenches or practicing crawling on the ground with a machine gun.

“I hope none of them have to go to war,” says a Yunarmiya teacher. But a life without military training is not possible in Tuva, she explains. The teacher notes: “The army, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the border guards – these are all institutions where the students need basic military training,” she says. And whoever has it can also be called forward. “Or you have rich relatives, but that is rarely the case here,” the teacher admits.

Putin secures power

The Junarmija had a similar status in Russia to Scouts in Switzerland. Before February 24, 2022, she was considered innocent in the eyes of her parents. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine made the organization deadly serious.

“Since last year, this type of training has become much more intensive,” explains Danil Ken, president of the Russian union “Alliance of Teachers”. Putin’s plan is to secure society’s support through this kind of early military training. “It’s not enough to convince the pensioners who watch TV,” Ken is convinced. The propaganda must also reach the young people.

Children learn to die for their country

But not only competitions for girls are common in Russia. In the Siberian town of Borza, boys practiced giving first aid or recognizing terrorists using clues. The residents do not see this as a problem. “The kids just want to be paratroopers, but when didn’t they? It’s innocent,” someone told Radio Svoboda.

The Russian philosopher and pedagogue Sergei Tschernischev sees it differently. “Children are taught that it is normal to die for their country,” he criticizes. “The boundaries between good and evil are now being mixed up in school lessons,” says Tschernischew.

One thing is certain: former members of Junarmiya are also fighting in Ukraine. In Daurien alone, another impoverished region of Siberia, six young soldiers have died and two are missing. Until now, women did not have to go to the front as soldiers, only doctors.

Most of the mobilized people come from regions with poor infrastructure. These people have no perspective and do not have the means to flee the country like other Russians. Many who have gone to war never return.

Source: Blick