Tomorrow's Young Soldiers: The Patriotic Socialization of Children in Russia

After its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has launched its most ambitious patriotic re-education program for school children since the fall of the Soviet Union. The initiative is part of a broader effort to reshape public understanding of the war, Russia’s global role, and loyalty to the Putin regime.
The program includes new educational content, extracurricular activities, and youth movements such as the “Movement of the First,” all designed to instill patriotism and support for the war. These efforts draw heavily on Soviet-era methods of ideological socialization, repurposed for today’s political climate.
While the program is generously funded and backed by top political figures, its success however is far from guaranteed. Generational differences in values—especially between millennial parents and their children—pose structural challenges. Authorities may be attempting to shift patriotic education from the private to the public sphere, potentially creating a new kind of generation gap where children are more loyal to the regime than their parents.
The Kremlin’s urgency reflects concern that the social and economic costs of war may outpace public support. By targeting children, the regime hopes to secure long-term loyalty and sustain its wartime narrative. However, past failures in similar efforts suggest caution. The transformation of Russian society post-2022 is profound, and its trajectory remains uncertain.
Whether today’s schoolchildren will become tomorrow’s soldiers—or simply more compliant citizens—depends on the program’s ability to overcome deep-rooted societal divides and adapt to a rapidly changing Russia.