Russian schools will double the share of class time devoted to basic military training starting September 1, Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov announced.

According to him, basic military training currently accounts for about 20% of instruction time within the subject “Fundamentals of Safety and Defense of the Homeland” for students in grades 6 through 11. That share will rise to 50% with the new school year.

The basic military training curriculum includes the study of drones, and students take part in training exercises, the Education Ministry’s press service said.

Russian schools will also introduce a new subject on September 1 called “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia.” To support “its implementation,” Kravtsov said, documentary films will be produced about 83 Russian military personnel who have participated in the war in Ukraine.

A basic military training course was added to school safety classes (“Fundamentals of Life Safety”) in 2023. Tenth- and eleventh-grade students were taught how to fire a Kalashnikov rifle, use hand grenades, and provide first aid in combat.

Starting in 2024, the subject was replaced in Russian schools with a new course, “Fundamentals of Safety and Defense of the Homeland.”

Over the past five years, Russian authorities have spent more than 50 billion rubles on creating and operating military-patriotic centers, where schoolchildren are sent for mandatory training camps, according to the outlet Vot Tak.