The Documentary Podcast · BBC World Service

Inside Russia’s ‘Youth Armies’

·26 min·2 clips

Zhanna Bespiatchuk exposes how Russia teaches Ukrainian children that Ukraine is their enemy and prepares them for the Russian army.

Zhanna Bespiatchuk from BBC Ukrainian appears on the BBC World Service Documentary Podcast to discuss her investigation into the Yunarmiya, which translates to Youth Army. The movement was founded by the Russian government in January 2016, and as of the time of reporting has enrolled over 1.8 million Russian children and produced more than 120,000 graduates who have gone on to serve in the Russian army and other security forces. The core purpose of the Yunarmiya as described in its own materials is to educate children as patriots of Russia and to prepare them for potential military service, with the stated goal of having them conscription-ready by the age of 18. What Bespiatchuk specifically investigates is the parallel deployment of the Youth Army structure in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, which she reports has been underway in Crimea and Donbass even before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and has expanded significantly since. In occupied Ukraine, the Youth Army serves additional functions beyond standard patriotic education: it teaches children that Ukraine, the country where they were born and whose citizenship they hold, is their enemy, that Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis and fascists, and that Russia is their only possible future. The activities include military drills framed as patriotic games, marching with Russian flags, digging simulated trenches, and handling weapons. Bespiatchuk reports that Russia does not attempt to hide these activities but openly shows video of children in military exercises. She distinguishes between the goals set for all Youth Army members across Russia and the specific indoctrination goals pursued in occupied Ukrainian territories, where the aim includes permanently severing children's psychological connection to Ukraine. The episode raises questions about the long-term implications of this program for the occupied territories and for any future attempts to reintegrate these regions into Ukraine.

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