Almost all leading Russian universities are recruiting students for war – media

At least 47 out of 50 leading Russian universities are agitating students to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. The most active recruitment of young people is to join the unmanned systems forces, but some universities are even offering students contracts as an alternative to expulsion.

This is reported by The Moscow Times, citing a study by Novaya Gazeta Europa.

At least 46 of the top 50 universities are recruiting students to join the drone force, and 32 of them have also launched drone-related education programs.

Students are also being recruited to other Russian military formations. In particular, the Higher School of Economics, the RANEPA, and the Moscow Aviation Institute offer to join the BARS “Moscow” unit. Medical universities are looking for doctors and residents for service.

At Kazan Federal University, students are being agitated to join the African Corps of the Russian Defense Ministry. At the same time, human rights activists warn that there are no separate contracts for service in specific countries, so after signing the document, the military may be sent to war against Ukraine.

At 44 universities, information about military contracts is publicly available, and at 43 universities, recruitment is carried out directly on campus.

Students are promised only a year of service, high pay, and career prospects. However, human rights activists emphasize that this is a standard contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, which does not guarantee release after a year or service specifically as a drone operator.

Some universities offer contracts to students who are at risk of expulsion. According to journalists, this practice is used at the Higher School of Economics, Moscow Institute of Technology, and Samara University.

St. Petersburg State University promises contract workers academic leave and a scholarship of 50 thousand rubles, and Novosibirsk State Technical University – a budget place after returning from service.

Journalists have identified mandatory recruitment quotas at four universities. In particular, the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics is required to send two students on a contract basis every month. Novosibirsk State Technical University plans to recruit 140 people, and the Russian State University for the Humanities – 200.

In parallel, Russian universities are training specialists to work with drones. At Bauman Moscow State Technical University, students are required to attend the Center for Competence in Unmanned Aviation Systems, and at MIFI, a summer internship in drone assembly has been introduced.

At the Russian State University of Oil and Gas, some of the core classes have been replaced with training in UAV control. In total, specialized programs related to drones are already operating at at least 32 leading Russian universities.

Universities are also using less direct methods of agitation. HSE holds drone festivals, Ufa Oil University encourages students to involve relatives in contract service, and St. Petersburg State University has included questions about military contracts in questionnaires on the quality of education.

As a reminder, there is a growing number of cases in Russia where men are detained and forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense to be sent to the war against Ukraine. Human rights activists are receiving such complaints from various regions of the Russian Federation.