From Toys to Training

Independent outlet Verstka reports that special “cadet groups” have been launched at kindergartens in more than 50 localities across 26 Russian regions. Children aged 4 to 7 practice shooting and hand-to-hand combat in a play-based environment, meet participants in Russia’s War on Ukraine, try on gas masks and body armor, weave camouflage nets, and attend city events in dress uniforms.

Cadet programs at preschools, which emphasize patriotism and basic military training, first began appearing in Russia in 2014. But since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the movement for “junior cadets” has expanded rapidly.

According to Verstka’s estimates, since 2022, about 100 such “cadet groups” have been created in at least 57 Russian towns and villages. In the summer of 2025, the Federation Council’s Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building announced plans for a unified law on cadet education, to be adopted next year, aimed at preparing “a personnel elite for military and public service.”

Teachers working with preschool cadets in various cities post reports and photos of patriotic activities on social media, emphasizing their importance.

In March 2025, for instance, a kindergarten in Syktyvkar called Teremok hosted an “educational meeting” for its “Rainbow” group. The father of one girl brought in an “arsenal” of mock rifles and pistols and laid them out in front of the children.

“The kids’ eyes lit up when the stately man in uniform took out the weapons. Everyone wanted to touch and try them, which is exactly what they did,” the Teremok teachers later wrote on VKontakte.

At the end of the visit, the children demonstrated what they had learned: navigating an obstacle course and responding to the command “flash on the right” by lying face-down on the floor and covering their heads with their hands.

In some cities, cadet groups have a specific service profile. In Kursk, graduates of Kindergarten No. 11 enrolled together in a “border guard” class at School No. 60, whose homeroom teacher is a participant in the war. In Kostomuksha, Karelia, preschool cadets are mentored by the MCHS (Ministry of Emergency Situations). In Saransk, children aged 5 and 6 were formally inducted as “Rosgvardiya cadets,” while in Syktyvkar, some preschool groups have been designated as “police cadets.”

According to Verstka, some kindergartens collaborate with state-backed patriotic organizations such as the Dvizheniye Pervikh (Movement of the First), Rosmolodezh (the Federal Youth Agency), the Yunarmiya (Young Army), as well as local cadet schools, universities with military departments, the Interior Ministry, the traffic police, or nearby military units. Other groups are formed at the initiative of teachers or principals who see patriotism as a key part of early childhood education.

Activities range from visits to local history museums to hand-to-hand combat workshops. For instance, in Khabarovsk, children practiced “proper marching and precise saluting.” In the Samara region village of Isakly, a special-needs cadet group learned how to make camouflage nets. In Kursk, children were taught the basics of martial arts. In Karaidel, Bashkortostan, members of Yunarmiya demonstrated how military equipment is built and staged a short play titled “How Kolobok Prepared for the Army.”

Some regions are opening several new cadet groups for preschoolers each year. In Bashkortostan and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, preschool cadets are already active in six localities; in the Belgorod Oblast, in 12. In the Komi Republic, the city of Ukhta alone opened eight new cadet groups on September 1 this year.