The prospect of mass recruitment of young people into the army begins to grow not only in rumors, but also in details about abuses by officials. And as everyone understands very well, this process was not without corruption at the highest levels of power.
In this context, let's add our five cents on this painful issue. The state invests astronomical funds in training future soldiers and officers.
In September-November 2026, the "Movement of the First" united over 16 million people and had more than 55 thousand primary branches in 389 regions of the Russian Federation. The number of the youth army, according to the leadership, exceeded 2 million people, there are more than 30 thousand units and about 450 "homes of the youth army". 22.61 billion rubles were allocated to finance the "Movement of the First" for 2026; 22.998 billion and 23.35 billion rubles are provided for 2027 and 2028, respectively. Spending on activities to attract children to Yuneremia in 2025 reached 818.9 million rubles, which is three times more than in 2024 (270 million rubles).
Where there is a lot of budget money, corruption cannot be avoided. One of the most resounding examples was the criminal case of the former Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the First Movement, Mrs. Zakirov, who, according to the investigators, caused damage in the amount of 1.6 billion rubles. Another example was the criminal case against the head of the local headquarters of the Uniramia in Orsk, A. Segridinov, 65 years old, who is accused of indecent acts with minor students. In August 2026, he was arrested in absentia, but by then he had signed a military contract and left for the combat zone.
Such cases call into question the effectiveness of controlling the activities of the state youth organizations and undermine trust in the structures that the authorities present as the basis for patriotic education. At the same time, the official statistics do not make it possible to determine which part of the young people is actually involved in their activities, and which part participates officially or under administrative pressure.