Not your average school: Weapons handling and parachuting lessons prepare Russian children for war
Subjects at the General Yermolov Cadet School in southern Russia include handling firearms, disarming landmines, forest survival training and learning Morse code.
The General Yermolov Cadet School in southern Russia is not your average school; the curriculum includes weapons handling, marksmanship and parachuting. The instructors are not your average teachers; many having spent years with the Russian military in "hot spots" or conflict zones.
And the students are not your average pre-teens; most come from military families and go on to join the army or law enforcement agencies themselves. Having gown up in this environment, the handling of training rifles and rocket launchers is like second nature.
Students from the General Yermolov Cadet School are given military training outside the southern Russian city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School attend a military tactical exerciseEduard Korniyenko/Reuters
The state-run institution, located in Stavropol, teaches military and patriotic classes in addition to academic subjects like maths and science. Their studies concentrate on modern military science – from handling firearms and disarming landmines to forest survival training and learning Morse code.
These children take part in field exercises, running through forests and crossing streams while balancing weapons – some of which are almost as large as them. Despite chilly and wet conditions, the drills are considered a privilege; only students with good grades are permitted to participate.
Reuters photographer Eduard Korniyenko captured children being put through their paces at the school and in the surrounding countryside.
Students of the General Yermolov Cadet School attend a ceremony to mark the beginning of the school year in the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents attend a ceremony to mark the beginning of the school year at the General Yermolov Cadet School in the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents at the General Yermolov Cadet School sit next to a portrait of Alexei Yermolov, the famous Russian imperial general, after a ceremony marking the beginning of the school year in the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School march with a flag during a ceremony to mark the beginning of the school year in the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School wait to board an airplane for a parachute jump at an aerodrome in the village of Novomaryevskaya outside the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School board a plane for a parachute jump at an aerodrome in the village of Novomaryevskaya outside the southern Russian city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersA student from the General Yermolov Cadet School gathers his parachute after landing in the village of Novomaryevskaya outside the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersA student from the General Yermolov Cadet School prepares for the day's training outside the southern city of Stavropol, RussiaEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School attend a military tactical exercise outside the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School clear an area during a military training exerciseEduard Korniyenko/ReutersA student from the General Yermolov Cadet School fans a flame during a military tactical exerciseEduard Korniyenko/ReutersStudents from the General Yermolov Cadet School peel potatoes during a military exercise outside the southern city of StavropolEduard Korniyenko/Reuters
The annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 led to an upsurge in what is called "military and patriotic education" of Russian youths.
A group of teenagers from the Patriot club in Crimea visited the General Yermolov Cadet School's field camp, named Russian Knights, over the summer. This camp trains more than 1,500 teenagers a year. Assembling their rifles and displaying a comfortable ease while unloading bullets from a magazine, they may not be your average school kids, but these pre-teens are the future of Russia's military.
Members of the Patriot military club from the Crimean city of Evpatoria train during a visit to the Russian Knights base in the village of Sengileyevskoye, in the Stavropol regionEduard Korniyenko/ReutersAn instructor from the Russian Knights military club gives youngsters from the Crimean Patriot military club weapons handling trainingEduard Korniyenko/ReutersAn instructor teaches youngsters from the Crimean military club, Patriot, how to use a compass during a visit to the Russian Knights base in the village of Sengileyevskoye, in Stavropol region, RussiaEduard Korniyenko/ReutersCadets from the Patriot military club from the Crimean city of Evpatoria exercise in the morning at the Russian Knights base near the village of Sengileyevskoye, in the Stavropol regionEduard Korniyenko/ReutersYoung members of the Patriot military club from the Crimean city of Evpatoria get ready to swim in a lake near the village of Sengileyevskoye, in the Stavropol regionEduard Korniyenko/ReutersChildren from the Crimean city of Evpatoria use a pool during a visit to the Russian Knights base in the Stavropol region, RussiaEduard Korniyenko/ReutersChildren from the Crimean Patriot club pray in a chapel before going to bed at the Russian Knights baseEduard Korniyenko/ReutersA young member of the Crimean Patriot military club sleeps on a bed of straw in the early morning at the Russian Knights base in the village of Sengileyevskoye, in the Stavropol region of southern RussiaEduard Korniyenko/Reuters
