In orphanages, schools, and camps, the military teaches children how to handle weapons. The Telegram channels of military brigades explain who the enemy is: Poland and the Baltic states.

In the photos taken by the Belarusian military, children are focused and attentive, and sometimes smile and even have happy faces. Here is a seven- or eight-year-old boy looking through the sight of a grenade launcher from the window of his school. Here is a younger girl in a red dress laughing happily as she looks at the heavy rifle in her hands.

In the video, teenagers and young children repeat after their peers: “I swear! I swear! I swear!”, taking an oath in a solemn Soviet style.

These children are covered by the Belarusian state program “Lessons of Courage”, which is aimed at the total militarization of the younger generation. They think that what adults in uniform are doing to them, preparing them for war is right.

We found these photos in the telegram channels of Belarusian military brigades. The Armed Forces of Belarus report on their work with children as part of the aforementioned state program.

The Belorusian 5th Special Purpose Brigade is exemplary in its work with children. It visits Russia to receive instructions and has managed to develop its activities in Belarus on a large scale. Having studied all the sources, we decided to use this particular brigade as an example to show how the militarization of young Belarusians is carried out.