Report: Russia has spent billions building military-patriotic centers to train schoolchildren

Russian authorities have spent more than 50 billion rubles over the past five years building and running military-patriotic centers where schoolchildren undergo mandatory military training, according to an investigation by Vot Tak, a Russian-language outlet run by Polish public broadcaster TVP.

The investigation examines how these centers operate and how teenagers from both Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories are being militarized. Vot Tak focuses on two networks of military-patriotic centers: Avangard and Voin.

Avangard centers began appearing across the country in 2020. By September 2025, there were 147 centers nationwide. The regions are responsible for creating and funding them, with money allocated in part directly from regional budgets.

The total budget spent on the Avangard network across all levels of government is unknown. Vot Tak estimates that since 2020, thirty-nine of the 70 Russian regions where Avangard operates have allocated at least 36.5 billion rubles for the centers’ creation and operation. Nearly 23 billion rubles of that went toward infrastructure and equipment; the rest covered operating costs.

Voin comprises 21 branches, four of them in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. Since September 2022, the network has consumed nearly 15 billion rubles from the federal budget, the investigation says. Voin centers plan to expand across all of Russia by 2030.

At these centers, teenagers learn to handle weapons, administer battlefield first aid, and operate in conditions of chemical, biological, or radiological contamination. Children wear uniforms, meet with participants in the war in Ukraine, and interact with propagandists. Former attendees say punishment is also practiced at Avangard centers.

For context, Vot Tak notes that the 50 billion rubles spent on military-patriotic centers could have built 50 schools, 166 swimming pools, 370 sports complexes, or more than 3,800 sports courts across Russia.

Since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war, Russian authorities have paid particular attention to military propaganda targeting children and teenagers. Schools across the country have incorporated military training into the course “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland” — formerly known as Life Safety — and schoolchildren are sent to military training camps. Parents who speak out against the militarization of schools face threats and fines.