Russian Schools To Teach Children How To Survive Nuclear Attack: Report

High schools in Russia are soon set to include nuclear war survival training as part of the national curriculum, Newsweek reported. The survival training will be part of a subject called "Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland,'' which will be rolled out in schools across the country in September, the newspaper Kommersant reported, citing a document from the Ministry of Education.

As part of the curriculum, children will be trained on how to protect themselves in case a nuclear war breaks out amid the conflict in Ukraine. Students will learn about "the combat properties and damaging effects of weapons of mass destruction, as well as methods of protection against them."

They will also be taught to protect themselves in emergencies such as natural, man-made, and biological-social nature disasters and a military threat. Basic military training, how to use a Kalashnikov assault rifle and hand grenades, how to administer first aid in combat and lessons on self-defense will also be included in the curriculum.

The subject will inculcate a sense of "intolerance towards manifestations of violence in social interaction" among students and teach them how to identify "dangerous phenomena in social interaction" and counter "extremist and terrorist activities."

This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in August 2023 to introduce mandatory security and defense courses in schools across the nation as part of an overhaul of the national curriculum.

The revised curriculum will be taught in schools from September 1, 2024. 

On several occasions, Putin and Russian officials have given mixed signals about the possible use of nuclear weapons, prompting alarm in the West. Many Kremlin propagandists have warned of a looming world war and strikes by Russia on NATO territory over aid and weapons provided by the US to Ukraine. 

A prominent Kremlin propagandist recently said that Russia is capable of destroying the US. in "one hour.''

Russia and the US collectively possess around 90 percent of the world's warheads.