In 2016 Vladimir Putin’s government set up a new movement for young people called the Youth Army. The aim was to create a new generation of patriotic young Russians, trained and ready to stand up for their country and for ‘traditional’ Russian values.
The Youth Army now has branches in schools across Russia. Around 1.75 million children have joined up - some as young as eight years old. Youth Army members in their beige uniforms and red berets have become a familiar site at military parades and official events.
Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine the Youth Army has been subject to international sanctions over its role in supporting the war and the deportation and attempted indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
BBC Eye Investigations, in collaboration with BBC News Russian and Wilton Films, has gained rare access to the Youth Army, in the small city of Vologda in northern Russia. The film is told entirely by the children and adults involved, and offers a sobering glimpse into the realities of life in Russia three years into Putin’s brutal and illegal war on Ukraine.
In August 2025 ‘Young Patriots’ won a prestigious Redkollegia Russian independent journalism award.
You can watch more investigative journalism from the award-winning BBC Eye team on the BBC World Service YouTube.
