Kremlin sociologists have referred to the pacifism of the Russian youth as a problem

Valery Fedorov, General Director of the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTSIOM), stated: “Today, in the 18-24 generation, a confrontation is taking place between a cosmopolitan-pacifist orientation and a patriotic-defense orientation. Individualism in young people is much more highly developed than in medium and older generations. This is the result of capitalist development over the past 30 years. And this is a problem which stands very sharply nowadays when values of individualism are in conflict with state policy. The state is now looking for ways to solve it through strengthening patriotic education in schools and universities”.

The VTSVOD is a state institution funded and serving the interests of the Russian government. From Fedorov’s statement, one can conclude that the unwillingness of young people to die for some abstract military-political goals of the Russian leadership is a problem that worries the Kremlin. And numerous efforts towards ideologizing school education - from introducing vertical “zampolitov” (assistants to school directors for educational work) to restoring the Soviet course of initial military training for children - are directed at solving this very problem.

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