War games: Russia's push to militarize youth through summer camps

RU

“DefenderZ” and other “heroes”

“Do you have a call sign?” children ask Andrey Kuzovlev, a veteran of the “Special Military Operation” (SMO) who lost an arm during the conflict in Ukraine, as he meets with the children attending the “Country of Heroes” camp in the Chelyabinsk region. “Akela,” he responds. “I see myself as the leader and mentor of my five children, raising them like wolf cubs. This is reflected in the special military operation.”

At the Country of Heroes camp, which has branches across several Russian regions, children write letters to soldiers at the front, learn to operate drones, and create patriotic posts for social media. The “Immortal Regiment” procession is held multiple times a year, even in August.

Throughout Russia this summer, military-patriotic camps operated widely. When not engaged in learning how to disassemble Kalashnikov rifles, participants were involved in weaving camouflage netting for the Russian army. Veterans shared their own patriotic poems and taught children “the importance of loving and defending the Motherland,” while also providing insights on which school subjects “will help them become a sniper.”

For those who find this level of militaristic fervor insufficient, there are camps with the letter “Z” in their names, such as DefenderZ in the Yegoryev District of the Moscow region, where the “patriotic” program occupies nearly all of the time. The organizers promote such children's activities as “meetings with SMO participants, sports, paintball, survival training, young soldier courses, and introductions to monastic life.”

“We will train together, communicate, learn new things, and lead a healthy lifestyle by developing endurance, strength, and spirit,” promise the project organizers. They also emphasize that camp participation will promote “censorship of behavior and speech.” The project team includes war veterans, volunteers who purchase equipment for the front, military bloggers, and the abbot of the Transfiguration Church in the Lenin State Farm village.

There's another DefenderZ camp in the Leningrad region. In the summer of 2022, it came under scrutiny after reports of counselors abusing children. Staff were accused of beating the children, using profanity, and punishing campers by shooting them in the legs with airsoft guns. The camp was closed after the inspection but has since reopened. Meanwhile, a DefenderZ camp in the Lipetsk region operates as a tent camp where children weave camouflage nets under the guidance of local pro-war volunteers. The limited choice of words that incorporate the letter “Z” has led to some confusion with the names of these camps.

However, private camps are still less numerous than the larger state-run variety. In regional news, it is common to see the leaders of municipal and federal entities opening and visiting centers for children's military-patriotic activities, welcoming evacuees from the Kursk and Belgorod regions to the facilities, and allocating grants for these programs.

Fashion for “avant-garde”

The new state system of military-patriotic camps began to take shape in 2020, when the Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with the educational departments of Moscow and the surrounding region, opened the Avangard center in Patriot Park outside Moscow.

Patriot Park is not a children's camp in the traditional sense — it's more of a hybrid between a recreational facility and a pre-conscription training center, explains Marina (name changed at her request), a former employee of Avangard. “Some people paid for vouchers out of pocket, but they were in the minority. Before the war, Avangard was a place where tenth-graders were brought for military training. Initially, it was only boys, but as girls began to express interest, they started bringing them as well.”

According to the former employee, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there was hardly any propaganda at Avangard. Portraits of Putin were on display, but that was and is common in all Russian schools — and even kindergartens. Children were taken to the nearby Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces only once a year — for a memorial service on June 22, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Most of the time, the camp’s attendees simply played laser tag, practiced on a parachute jump simulator, and used simulators that imitated driving a KAMAZ truck or an armored military vehicle. But everything changed when the war began. According to Marina:

“The propaganda became aggressive right away. They started showing films about the glory of fighting and how there are fascists in Ukraine. We had 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds coming to us. At that age, their minds are well-developed, and many didn’t like what they saw. They knew they were being fed nonsense and complained to me. Not all the center's employees were staunch patriots, either. On February 24, 2022, we were all in shock. Some instructors quit and left, while others, on the contrary, started wearing patches with the letter 'Z' on their clothes. Interestingly, this was their personal choice. The letter wasn’t displayed anywhere on the complex, which surprised me.”

In the early months of the war, the letter “Z” started appearing on medical clinics, security vehicles, and city buses, but it was absent from the Ministry of Defense's military-patriotic center. Even today, the “Z” is not featured on the Avangard website. The camp’s promotional materials highlight meetings with Olympic champions but make no mention of encounters with veterans of the current war.

However, children's activities at Avangard were soon interrupted. When “partial mobilization” was announced in September 2022, a regular camp session was underway. According to Marina, the children were suddenly sent home — mid-week — and in a matter of days the camp was reconfigured to receive mobilized recruits. In the standard blocks designed for eight children, regular beds were replaced with bunk beds to accommodate 16 freshly mobilized men. Cots were set up in the gym, and some instructors who had been teaching children tactics and leading them through drills began doing the same with the mobilized soldiers.

By late November 2022, Avangard had reopened for school children, and it continued to operate until the end of April 2023. After that, it fully transitioned to training conscripts and contract soldiers.

Meanwhile, camps under the Avangard branding have opened in the Vladimir, Volgograd, and Omsk regions. “The construction of new 'Avangards' began even before the war. Our staff was not involved, but they used our guidelines and materials,” Marina explains.

Each regional Avangard camp has its own logo, program, and blend of military-sports and patriotic activities. The Volgograd camp has particularly stood out for promoting patriotism, regularly organizing meetings for children with war veterans and propagandists. In August, the camp hosted a concert by pro-Putin singer Yulia Chicherina, and earlier, there were events featuring Jeff Monson, an American MMA fighter who obtained Russian citizenship, as well as pranksters Lexus and Vovan, who are well-known for tricking Western leaders into long conversations that are later featured on Kremlin-controlled propaganda outlets targeted at the domestic Russian audience.

However, not all parents are pleased with how the camps are run. “My child fell ill and developed a fever. No treatment was provided; they just excused her from classes. Parents aren’t allowed to pick up their children, even with a power of attorney, and the camp won’t release them to an acquaintance. The methods seem more focused on breaking the will than fostering patriotism,” complained the father of a teenage girl in his review of Volgograd's Avangard.

Starting in 2025, children at Volgograd's Avangard camp will be trained to assemble parts for military drones. At the end of this year, a major construction project is planned that includes a new educational building and four residential buildings, which will increase the camp's capacity by 200 people.

Near Perm, a new Avangard camp is set to be constructed by 2027 on the site of the former children's camp Orlyonok. The project is expected to cost over 2 billion rubles ($22,112,764).

In Bashkortostan, there are also plans to build an Avangard center for military-patriotic education on the site of the regional Orlyonok. Local residents are unhappy with the development but are concerned about being labeled as “disloyal opposition” if they voice their objections.

Cheap and patriotic

Marina, who keeps in touch with former colleagues from Avangard and employees at other camps, says that the popularity of military-patriotic children's recreation has surged during the war. However, she is convinced that this rise in popularity is not due to a surge in patriotism:

“This field receives substantial legislative, methodological, and financial support. Grants are allocated, and vouchers are issued to beneficiaries and children from at-risk groups for these camps. I think people are drawn to the opportunity to save money — both in terms of arranging activities for their children during the holidays and benefiting from state support.”

Natalia (name changed), a specialist in children's recreation, agrees. She notes that when parents are paying out of their own pockets, they primarily consider living conditions and often opt for developmental, dance, sports, robotics, or language camps. In 2023, the most sought-after commercial camps were those focusing on foreign language study. “I can’t identify a military-patriotic camp that is highly popular among clients paying for their children's recreation out of their own funds,” Natalia told The Insider.

A third of the total number of children attending Russian summer camps are from relatively privileged categories. For the 2023 season, the Ministry of Education reported that 5.2 million Russian children went to camps, including 1.6 million living under “difficult life situations,” a category that includes orphans, children from low-income families, and those with disabilities. In addition to these groups, both federal and regional authorities have introduced additional privileged categories, such as children of war participants and those from Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia.

However, not only those entitled to state benefits enjoy free camp stays. Children who excel in academics, sports, or extracurricular activities can earn vouchers to prestigious camps like Artek in occupied Crimea. The Country of Heroes camp, where the “Immortal Regiment” procession is held year-round, also offers free trips. Interested families can apply, but selection is based on availability.

All this is happening amid a significant increase in the cost of ordinary children's recreation, notes Natalia. Some camps have raised their prices by 15-20%, while others have shortened their sessions by two or three days. According to Natalia, Crimea and the Sea of Azov region now predominantly serve “state” recreation:

“We have strong ties with Crimea, but it has become a risky destination. Parents are hesitant to send their children there, and many tour operators are unwilling to take the risk. As a result, camps there are primarily filled with privileged categories. The entire Sea of Azov area is occupied by children from the 'new' territories [of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions]. One of my colleagues, who used to organize trips to camps on this coast for years, has now been told there are no available spots.”

This situation affects both the Russian-controlled part of the Azov coast and the illegally annexed Ukrainian territories. For instance, in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian administration has repurposed the Red Carnation camp for propaganda activities, rebranding it as a branch of Artek. During sessions, children from the annexed Ukrainian territories listen to speeches by Russian war participants.

For families looking to send their children to the seaside in 2024, the Krasnodar region is the best remaining option. However, local businessmen, capitalizing on their virtual monopoly, have sharply raised prices. According to Natalia, “In some Black Sea camps, prices have increased by 30%. As a result, seaside recreation has become unaffordable for many families. Now, children mostly spend their summers in their home regions.”

Love for the hometown

This summer in Russia, the trend is towards local camps. Choosing camps close to home allows families to save on transportation, which has also seen a significant price increase. And many patriotic-themed centers offer discounted or free vouchers, making them an attractive option.

An increasingly common format, according to Natalia, is daycare centers based at schools. Since these camps do not involve overnight stays, the costs are minimal, even if their programs are typically less comprehensive.

Across Russia, these camps are also participating in a flash mob movement to support residents of the Kursk region, parts of which came under Ukrainian military control in early August. For example, children at the Romashka camp at the Olkhinsky social and health center in the Irkutsk region created drawings advocating for peace and an end to military aggression against civilians. Campers also folded paper boats “symbolizing hope and support for those in difficult situations.”

At the Berezka children's camp in the Omsk region, the “Kursk, We Are With You!” flash mob featured a laser tag tournament and a collection drive for residents of the affected region.

At the Krepysh camp at the school in the village of Shorshely in Chuvashia, “the kids played their favorite outdoor games, worked out on simulators and horizontal bars, and practiced jumping rope,” the school reported. Photos from the camp show the children holding posters that read “We Are for Peace.” No one has been penalized for using the forbidden word, as the event is considered patriotic.