In the Soviet Union, they were called the Young Pioneers — an organization established by Vladimir Lenin in 1922 for the political indoctrination of children ages 9 to 14. And for the most vulnerable — the littlest Russians aged 9 and under — there was the Little Octobrist group.

Today, Vladimir Putin has once more politicized the school curriculum throughout Russia as he turns his country back to the authoritarian form of government he has so sorely missed since the breakup of the Soviet Union, which he called the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.

But he has also realized, since his invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago and his occupation of approximately 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, that he has an enormous new source of young minds to mold to his liking: the thousands of children living in the occupied areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

In nursery schools, the children are taught to salute the Russian flag; to honor the black-and-orange military banner signifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and to jump up and down while singing the contemporary song, “I am Russian.” [Vitaly Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring, July 20, 2025.]

And the powerful, Kremlin-backed Yunarmia (Youth Army) organization, which operates across Russia and now has branches in occupied areas of Ukraine, accepts members as young as eight years old. The head of Yunarmia’s branch in the Zaporizhzhia region, Fidail Bikbulatov, explains:

“We’re providing children with some basic skills which they’ll find useful should they decide to join military service.” [Id.]

Right . . . as though they’ll have a choice.

And there are the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been taken on “tours” of Russia, and never returned. They have been kidnapped, placed with foster families or in “reeducation camps.” Despite demands from Ukraine and from international human rights organizations, the children remain in Russian custody. (An estimated 19,500 children have been deported to Russia since the 2022 invasion, of whom only around 1,400 have been returned to Ukraine.) [Una Cilic, Maryana Sych and Kateryna Farbar, RFE/RL, July 21, 2025.]

Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Russia guilty of human rights violations including the forced deportation of children.

And a report by the global think tank Globsec talks of Moscow’s intention to “steal” Ukraine’s future:

“Russia’s weaponization of population displacement and the deportation of children represents one of the most deliberate and devastating assaults on a civilian population in modern European history. Far from being unintended consequences of war, these are core components of the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare strategy, designed to weaken Ukraine’s demographic resilience in what has become a protracted conflict.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets represents his government in its efforts to bring back civilians and military personnel from Russia, and says that Russia has held back information regarding Ukrainian children:

“From our perspective, we clearly see the main goal of deporting Ukrainian children: to use them as the next generation of Russian soldiers. Their documents are changed, all of them, including birth certificates and education records. They are forced to speak only Russian and to identify themselves as Russian.” [Id.]

Lubinets added that Russian officials are reluctant to return the children “because they fully understand that every returned child is a potential witness. We must acknowledge that Russian propaganda works on them every single day.” [Id.]

Yet Vladimir Putin would have us believe that he wants to end the war in Ukraine; that Ukraine is the aggressor; and that he has no further designs on the rest of Ukraine . . . or any other Eastern European territory.

And if you buy that story, then let me tell you about the Tooth Fairy.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/23/25