Kremlin Revives Soviet-Style Youth Indoctrination as It Eyes ‘Forever War’ With Ukraine and the West

The Kremlin is working to systematically instill “patriotic” values in children and teenagers through a Soviet-style propaganda campaign as it looks toward preparing the next generation for a life shaped by conflict with Ukraine and the West.

“We need warriors, gunmen, stormtroopers — those who, at the president’s first call, will rush to the military enlistment offices, not Verkhny Lars,” a Russian government official said, referring to the Russian-Georgian border crossing where tens of thousands of Russians fled the country during the fall 2022 “partial” mobilization for the war.

“And there's nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said.

The official, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity due to concerns for personal safety.

“Our Fatherland is in danger, threatened by the West and the United States. We no longer need hipsters, rappers, or lovers of Western culture — only Navalny supporters come from them,” he said.

Winning the hearts and minds of young people has been one of the Kremlin’s main domestic policy priorities since 2000, when Putin first became president. Putin’s early presidency saw the creation of state-funded youth movements championed by Kremlin ideologists such as admitted Western culture lover Vladislav Surkov and Vyacheslav Volodin.

Despite these efforts, the mass opposition protests of 2011-2012, followed by the widespread youth support for Putin’s foe Alexei Navalny up until his death this February, proved that the regime had failed to win over the younger generation.

But the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two and a half years ago renewed the government’s focus on youth indoctrination.