Russian Summer Military Camp For Kids

Old enough to hold a gun: Military sports club, 'Berkut', (meaning golden eagle), trains up young Russian, who dream of joining the elite units of the Russian army and fighting under the command of President Vladimir Putin

Putin's Tiny Army: Russian Child Soldiers Trained In Battle Tactics, Weapons And Hand-To-Hand Combat To 'Repel Any Enemy Of The Motherland' -- Daily Mail

* Military sports club 'Berkut', or 'Golden Eagle', is in Zhukovsky, Russia
* Children as young a five sent on marches, trained in hand-to-hand combat
* They are even trained to fire Kalashnikovs, small arms and throw grenades
* The course offers preparation 'to young fighters, to repel any enemy'
* Parents urged to send kids before they become 'gamblers or drug addicts'

Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms.

Military sports club, 'Berkut', (meaning golden eagle), trains up young Russian, who dream of joining the elite units of the Russian army and fighting under the command of President Vladimir Putin.

A young boy is pictured on their website brandishing a hand gun and dressed in military fatigues with his finger over the trigger.

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My Comment: I knew about these schools while growing up in the old country (Soviet Union) .... and what was worse was that my father (ex-Soviet soldier) always wanted to send me to one of these schools .... but that never happened. I preferred reading books, playing chess, and studying .... and what saved me was that I was ranked as a chess expert at 12. The powers that be figured out that my future would be best served by studying at a chess school during the summer months rather than slugging it out in the cold (or heat) in one of these military camps. No complaints here .... playing chess was infinitely more fun than crawling on my stomach clutching a fake AK-47 in some stupid training exercise for young teenagers.