Russia Bringing Nuclear War Survival Training to Schools

Russian high-school students will be trained how to protect themselves in a possible nuclear war as part of the national curriculum, a local publication has reported.

Students will learn about "the combat properties and damaging effects of weapons of mass destruction, as well as methods of protection against them." It will be part of a subject being rolled out in high schools in Russia called "Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland," newspaper Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing a document from the Ministry of Education.

Russian officials, including former President Dmitry Medvedev, have warned on multiple occasions that a nuclear war could break out amid the conflict in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September 2022 that Moscow was prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend its "territorial integrity" and the topic is regularly discussed on Russian state TV.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Putin signed a law in August 2023 introducing the mandatory security and defense course in schools as part of an overhaul of the national curriculum. Other elements of the subject include basic military training, how to use a Kalashnikov assault rifle and hand grenades, how to administer first aid in combat, and lessons on self-defense.

High-school students will be taught the basics of constructive communication, to learn how to identify "dangerous phenomena in social interaction" and learn how to counter "extremist and terrorist activities."

The course outline mentions that students will be "developing intolerance towards manifestations of violence in social interaction" and the ability to counteract danger in the digital environment, Kommersant reported.

The full version of the course will be taught in schools from September 1.

It is reminiscent of a Soviet-era basic military training course that was taught in schools and was abolished in 1993.

Sergey Mironov, the head of A Just Russia party, told Russian media in November 2022 that rolling out such a course "would systematically prepare citizens for a possible confrontation with the enemy."

Nuclear rhetoric has been prominent throughout the war in Ukraine. Kremlin propagandists have routinely warned of a looming world war and strikes by Russia on NATO territory over aid and weapons provided by President Joe Biden's administration and members of the military alliance to Kyiv.

Last week, Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most-prominent figures in Kremlin-backed media, suggested moving to a nuclear war on his radio show Full Contact and floated the idea of striking the headquarters of the NATO military alliance in Brussels, Belgium.

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