Russia systematically engages young people – both Ukrainian youth in the temporarily occupied territories and foreign youth – in advancing its political and ideological objectives, viewing them as instruments for expanding its influence and promoting narratives loyal to the Kremlin. Despite Moscow’s rhetoric about the “hostile West,” a significant share of these programs is specifically targeted at international youth audiences.
Historical propaganda occupies a central place in this strategy. Through educational, cultural, and youth-oriented programs, Russia promotes a distorted interpretation of history to foreign young people by romanticizing the Soviet past and advancing myths about the Soviet Union’s “greatness,” the “unity of brotherly peoples,” and Russia’s so-called “liberating mission.” These narratives are designed to foster positive perceptions of Russian state policy while gradually normalizing militarism and portraying war as a legitimate and justified instrument of state policy.
This activity is carried out, among other means, through the official networks of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2008, the Russian president established the Rossotrudnichestvo, an agency subordinate to the President of Russia and accountable to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the mission of expanding Russia’s global influence. To this end, the agency has developed a network of so-called “Russian Houses,” which serve as venues for cultural, educational, and historical programs.
These centers operate across the European Union, Asia, the United States, and Africa. Since 2014, they have increasingly served as channels for disseminating Russian propaganda to foreign audiences. Under the guise of promoting the “unity of nations” through cultural and educational events, they expose foreign visitors to distorted narratives about Ukraine’s history and seek to legitimize the occupation of Crimea.
A separate area of activity of the “Russian Houses” is the recruitment of foreign young people to participate in programs at the International Children’s Center Artek. The camp, which before Ukraine’s independence was a symbol of Soviet childhood, has now become an instrument of ideological influence. In 2025, according to the occupation authorities, participants in Artek’s programs from more than 67 countries adopted the so-called “Children’s Peace Declaration” – an appeal addressed to heads of state and children around the world – which was subsequently submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
However, the situation changed in June 2026, when the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched a campaign to weaken the enemy, including a series of strikes on bridges and crossings, fuel infrastructure, military equipment, and military facilities that Russia has been using to wage its war of aggression against Ukraine since 2014.
As a result, the occupation authorities were forced to suspend the regular sessions at Artek and other children’s camps on the peninsula until 1 September. At the same time, this prompted them to seek new formats for engaging young people. In late June, the “Russian Houses” network announced the launch of an international competition entitled “Shared Memory. The Genocide of the Soviet People by the Nazis and Their Accomplices during the Great Patriotic War.”
The competition is open to Russian citizens and foreign nationals between the ages of 14 and 35, with applications accepted until 25 September. Participants selected for the in-person stage will visit memorial sites and take part in workshops led by “leading experts,” whose identities have not been disclosed. In practice, however, these experts are most often representatives from Russia.
Winners aged 14-17 are promised diplomas and personalized certificates granting priority participation in the “Without a Statute of Limitations” thematic sessions at the so-called International Children’s Center Artek and the Okean All-Russian Children’s Center. Meanwhile, winners aged 18–35 are promised certificates entitling them to free participation in the “Places of Memory” memorial route.
All of this demonstrates that Russia has not abandoned its ideological work with young people; rather, it is adapting it to new circumstances. By expanding such initiatives to international audiences, Russia seeks to cultivate a network of individuals sympathetic to the Kremlin beyond its borders and to promote its own historical and political narratives.
These actions are part of a deliberate and systematic state policy aimed at reshaping young people’s views and involving them in the dissemination of Russian narratives, thereby attempting to legitimize the occupation of Crimea. The recruitment of young people, including foreign nationals, is intended to foster a positive perception of the occupation in the international information space while concealing the reality on the peninsula, where the civilian population – including the Indigenous peoples of Ukraine – continues to face systematic persecution and repression.
Furthermore, the presence of foreign nationals in the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula violates not only the requirements of Ukrainian national legislation but also the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Accordingly, a key priority for the international community should be to prevent children from being recruited into the Russia-announced competition and other initiatives that are used to justify Russia’s war against Ukraine.