In Crimea, the church militarized children under the guise of scouts

In the occupied Crimea, the Russian Orthodox Church has strengthened its ideological influence on children and youth. The Artek camp presented a scouting organization that combines religious education with military training.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

In the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula, the Russian Orthodox Church has intensified its work on ideological influence on children and youth. According to the center, the youth forum "Istoky" was recently held at the Artek International Children's Center, which was sanctioned by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine for propaganda activities. It brought together 160 students of theological seminaries and academies from different regions of Russia. During the event, they presented the activities of the Brotherhood of Orthodox Pathfinders, a scouting organization of the Russian Orthodox Church that has been operating in Crimea since 2022.

This "brotherhood" has become one of the tools of a large-scale system of ideological processing of children aimed at their militarization. Along with basic scouting skills, such as orienteering, teamwork, and survival in the wild, participants are taught to use weapons. The form of the organization has distinct military features.

The rhetoric of such classes is openly aggressive: children are taught that so-called heroism, defense of the weak, and service to the homeland are impossible without participation in armed aggression. The Center for Countering Disinformation emphasized that in this way, under the guise of spiritual education, the Kremlin is preparing a new generation to serve its military machine through the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Kremlin planned to send 56 thousand Ukrainian children to theArtek camp, which Russia has turned into a center of propaganda and militarization. This is not about rehabilitation, but an attempt to destroy Ukrainian identity under the guise of recreation. The sanctioned camp has long been a tool of Russian propaganda, where children are taught militarism, the cult of power, and hatred of Ukraine.

In June, the Artek camp and 48 individuals associated with the Russian occupation of Crimea were added to the sanctions lists. The terrorist country also uses the camp to rehabilitate military personnel who participated in the war against Ukraine. The expansion of the sanctions lists was approved by a presidential decree following a decision of the National Security and Defense Council.

Анна Бальчінос