Children in the crosshairs of the regime: How Lukashenko is turning schoolchildren into a tool of power
- Mar 17
- 3 min read
On the regime's attempts to militarize Belarusian children
For Lukashenko, children are not the future of the nation, but a tool for survival, expendable resources, no matter how frightening that may sound. He doesn't care that militarization robs them of the chance for a normal life. The main thing is to stay in power, even if it means turning an entire generation into hostages of the regime.
The usurper is ready to send our children anywhere and at any time to maintain his personal power. Lukashenko openly admitted this, for example, in a recent interview with blogger Naufal. In particular, he said that he was ready to send Belarusian soldiers to defend Putin from Prigozhin. He was willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands of young Belarusians in a potential conflict inside Russia, just to continue ruling peacefully.
Why is the regime actively militarizing schoolchildren and engaging in military propaganda?
The dictator needs loyal personnel — and the sooner they are prepared, the better. Children who are today holding guns at the "Open Doors Day" could tomorrow become soldiers or policemen, ready to defend the regime from their own people.
Propaganda instead of a future: What are children losing?
While schoolchildren listen to OMON officers talk about their "glorious service," their peers in other countries are learning programming, artificial intelligence, or ecology. In Belarus, however, education is increasingly becoming a tool of propaganda. Instead of developing critical thinking, children are instilled with blind loyalty to the regime. Textbooks are rewritten to reflect Lukashenko's ideology, and teachers who dare to disagree are put under pressure or thrown in jail.
Militarization is not just handing out weapons. It's a signal: your future is not in freedom and creativity, but in serving the system. The regime is not interested in raising independent, thoughtful citizens who could one day challenge the government. It needs executors — those who will shoot on command, as the security forces did in 2020 when they dispersed peaceful protests. The children being taught to hold guns today are not just objects of upbringing; they are a resource that Lukashenko plans to use to preserve his throne.
History provides examples of dictators using children to strengthen their power. In the Soviet Union, pioneers were part of the ideological machine, and in North Korea, children are taught from a young age to worship the Kims. Lukashenko is following the same path, adapting it to Belarusian realities.
By handing out weapons to schoolchildren, the regime is not simply popularizing the police; it is preparing them for the role of future punishers who will protect Lukashenko from the people, including their own friends and neighbors.
What will happen if this policy continues?
Already, the country is losing its future. Thousands of families left Belarus after 2020, saving their children from repression and hopelessness. Those who stayed face a system where, instead of education, there is propaganda, and instead of opportunities, there is a uniform.
Children with guns in their hands, enthusiastic stories from OMON officers, police vans as symbols of "Open Doors" — all of this screams about the horror that has become the norm.
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