Children aged 11 are now taking part in military training at school in Russia

Russia has increased the amount of required military training for children between the ages of 11 and 17. 
Courses now include lessons on drones, field exercises and firearm training, education minister Sergei Kravtsov said. 
The course, known as “Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defence”, will now include at least 17 hours of basic military training, adding to the 34 hours of material in total. 
Schools require young students to study Russian military history, civil service, wartime survival, combat skills, firearm handling, and even learn how to use grenades. 
 

The classes in their new format could begin as soon as September in occupied Crimea, according to Kommersant. 

In 2024, it was revealed that children in Russia were being trained on how to protect themselves in a nuclear attack.
Students learn about “the combat properties and damaging effects of mass destruction weapons, as well as methods of protection against them”. 
The new training also comes amid heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. 
Russia recently began construction on a new military base eerily close to Finland’s eastern border for the first time since the USSR collapsed. 
Aerial photos show a dozen new barracks under construction after work began in late 2025 to clear forest nearby. 
The base could accommodate between 4,000 and 6,000 personnel, military expert and former Finnish intelligence officer Marko Eklund found. 
The new base and the installation of troops there could pose a security issue for Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia. 
Russia has been beefing up its military presence after Sweden and Finland joined NATO years ago in response to Russian threats made following its invasion of Ukraine.