Russia continues to invest significant resources in the ideological indoctrination of young people in order to eventually cultivate loyal elites in the occupied territories. This is evidenced, in particular, by the Kremlin’s large-scale personnel program, “Territory of New Opportunities.”
This is reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.
Occupation authorities report over 2,700 applications from residents of the temporarily occupied territories. Participants are promised training and the opportunity to work with Russian mentors and instructors. The program’s stated goals—“countering historical fakes” and “engaging youth in socially beneficial activities”—clearly indicate the Kremlin’s true objectives.
Under the guise of “training,” the occupiers are attempting to artificially create a network of local opinion leaders who will eventually be integrated into the power structure in the temporarily occupied territories and act exclusively in Moscow’s interests. And through lectures on “historical truth,” Russian imperial myths are being imposed on young people, completely supplanting the Ukrainian cultural and historical context.
The occupiers present such programs as a way of caring for young people in the temporarily occupied territories and providing them with “social mobility.” In reality, however, the Kremlin is simply using young people as a tool to consolidate its geopolitical positions.