{"id":202434,"date":"2026-09-04T14:11:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/202434\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T14:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:11:06","slug":"belarusian-schools-regime-needs-loyal-personnel-not-freethinking-individuals","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/202434\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian schools: Regime needs loyal personnel, not freethinking individuals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has tasked officials with improving schoolchildren\u2019s physical fitness. He made it clear that youth fitness concerns him because he wants more physically fit men to join the army.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (MoD, Andrej Sazona\u016d\/sb.by, Pul Pervogo \/ Pozirk's collage)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchools are still falling short when it comes to physical fitness. The military tell me that personnel [those who enter the army] have improved, but not much. We need to somehow give our young people, especially school-age children, good physical training,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka said on September 3 at a meeting with Education Minister Andrej Ivaniec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A healthy body, but what about a healthy mind?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All parents want their children to grow up healthy and strong rather than frail and sick. But the Belarusian ruler is primarily concerned with producing physically fit recruits for the army, not with the harmonious development of individuals. To put it bluntly, he is worried about the quality of cannon fodder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a common saying: \u201cA healthy mind in a healthy body.\u201d But it is not quite accurate. The ancient Roman poet Juvenal actually put it this way: \u201cYou should pray for a sound mind in a sound body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Belarusian schools, however, alongside the pumping of muscles in physical education classes, young minds are being intensively infused with official ideology that projects an image of the enemy, is intolerant of dissent and promotes militarism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, the system\u2019s priority is not educating free and well-rounded individuals but building a \u201ccontingent\u201d \u2014 soldiers for the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New search rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Separately, many parents were dismayed by additional security measures introduced at schools in the new academic year. In particular, police and civilian security guards have been authorized to conduct random searches of the belongings of students, parents, other visitors and even teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move has sparked a wave of indignant and bitterly ironic reactions on social media. The country, commentators say, is copying North Korea\u2019s practices. One sarcastic commentator suggested that guards should also be allowed to make students squat naked, as in prisons. One TikTok user asked: \u201cMaybe they should surround schools with barbed wire and put guard towers around the perimeter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone might argue that security measures have also been tightened at educational institutions in the West following deadly shooting incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, that is true. But there, security is tightened with respect for individual rights. For example, British government guidance calls for finding \u201ca balance between maintaining an open and welcoming environment for students, parents and the whole community and protecting them from harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the country\u2019s overall oppressive environment, one can hardly expect Belarusian authorities and security agencies to be looking for \u201ca balance.\u201d Therefore, the concerns of parents who believe that schools are turning into something resembling barracks or prisons are understandable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversial role models<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Then again, there is a difference between having a police officer simply stand guard at the entrance and having people in uniform claim the role of educators and spiritual mentors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Belarusian schools, however, security officials of various ranks and from various agencies \u2014 including people involved in political repression \u2014 have been frequent guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, school-year opening ceremonies on September 1 featured Prosecutor General D\u017amitryj Hora, Supreme Court Chairman Andrej \u0160vied and Security Council State Secretary Alaksandar Valfovi\u010d. They teach children how they should love their homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valfovi\u010d, for instance, urged the children to follow the maxim of Russian military commander Alexander Suvorov: \u201cGive your life to the Motherland, give your honor to no one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suvorov\u2019s Motherland was the Russian Empire. In Belarusian lands, he drowned Tadevu\u0161 Ka\u015bciu\u0161ka\u2019s uprising against tsarism in blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the kind of role model this general, born in Russia\u2019s Kazan and a graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, offers Belarus\u2019 younger generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, many of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s security officials harbor pro-Russian views. Former political prisoners have said that interrogation rooms were \u201cdecorated\u201d with Russian tricolors, St. George ribbons, flags bearing the Z symbol and portraits of Vladimir Putin. In 2022, former police investigator Alaksandar Azara\u016d acknowledged that Putin was a hero to some of his former colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Militarization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pavie\u0142 Ciera\u0161kovi\u010d, \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s adviser on science and education, expressed concern last month that Belarusian education is becoming increasingly militarized and is deteriorating more generally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, men in military uniform visit even kindergartens to show pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles to small children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ciera\u0161kovi\u010d noted that militarized games are being held for schoolchildren of different ages. More than 600 \u201cso-called military-patriotic clubs\u201d for children operate across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent media have drawn attention to the fact that, since this spring, 10th-graders have been sent to 10-day field-training camps. Those who fail to show up for military training are not promoted to the 11th grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And starting with the new academic year, 10th-graders will learn how to operate drones as part of pre-conscription and medical training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official patriotism drilled into their heads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skilled marksmen and drone operators will be needed in a democratic Belarus, while first-aid training is useful to anyone in ordinary life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western countries also have elements of military training for schoolchildren. In British schools, for example, there are Combined Cadet Force units linked to the Ministry of Defence. Teenagers there receive drill training, take part in military-oriented sports and learn first-aid skills. But \u2014 and this is important \u2014 participation is strictly voluntary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Poland, the school curriculum includes mandatory defense and shooting training. However, the primary focus is on teaching children basic safety and preparedness for emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German Bundeswehr has Jugendoffiziere (\u201cyouth officers\u201d) who work with students in grades 9\u201313. Again, an important point: these officers are prohibited from engaging in political indoctrination and are instead instructed to present different points of view and develop students\u2019 critical thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therein lies the difference with Belarus, where teachers drum into young heads that \u0141uka\u0161enka is always right about everything, while anyone who doubts this is an enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is not that a 10th-grader will be taught how to disassemble and assemble an assault rifle. The problem is that free thinking and free choice are discouraged in Belarusian schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than helping young people become critical thinkers, schools are forging a contingent of loyalists. Official patriotism is being drilled into their heads, essentially boiling down to a willingness to die for the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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