The Young Army (Yunarmia in Russian, also known as the Youth Army), Russia’s militarized national youth movement headed by Olympic champion Nikita Nagorny has been added to the European Union’s sanction list this week.
Per the official decision, “the Yunarmia and its member supported Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and spread the Russian propaganda concerning the war. Yunarmia used the “Z” military symbol, which has been employed by Russian propaganda to promote Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With the support of the Ministries of Defence and Education of the Russian Federation, the Yunarmiya organised a campaign during which the schoolchildren were asked to write letters to the Russian soldiers who took part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, it collected gifts for the troops who fought in the war. It also organised summer camps for children on the territory of the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula. Therefore, it is responsible for, supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, or stability or security in Ukraine.”
Nagorny became the head of the Young Army’s General Staff in 2020. He was likely offered this position both because of his friendship with the daughter and son-in-law of the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and through Svetlana Khorkina. Khorkina, a colonel in the Russian army, is the first deputy manager of the CSKA club – a sports organization within the army. Khorkina was one of the founders of the Young Army, while Shoigu headed the initiative. The Young Army is directly funded by the Ministry of Defense.
Nagorny has become especially active in the Young Army after the Olympics when he took a break from national camps and became even more active in it since the start of the war. After the Russian gymnasts were banned from international competitions, Nagorny has been attending the national team training camps only sporadically with most of his time spent on trips to various Young Army events around the country.
The organization’s main focus is the patriotic and military education of the Russian youth. For example, they hold military camps in which children are taught skills useful for the war time – shooting fire arms, giving medical assistance in combat conditions, or interrogating prisoners. Yes, you read the last part correctly. One of the aims of the organization even before the full-scale invasion this year was re-educating Ukrainian children in occupied territories of Crimea and Donbass and teaching them to love the new homeland.
This year, the Young Army greatly expanded its activities aimed at Ukrainian children – they have been organizing pro-war events for Ukrainian refugees who were relocated to Russia by force, held various events in the newly-occupied territories and even participated in a military parade in Mariupol. The initiatives mentioned in the EU sanctions decision – sending gifts and letters to Russian soldiers on the frontlines – were expanded to the majority of schools in Russia. There were reports that students were forced to participate in these activities by their schools.
The European Union’s sanctions on the Young Army are symbolic rather than having any real effect on the organization or the course of the war. The sanctions freeze foreign assets of organizations and prohibit European entities and persons from working with the sanctioned entities, but the Young Army is not active in Europe anyway and does not have assets there. For now, individuals from the organization are not sanctioned, meaning that Nikita Nagorny is not technically under any sanctions. Nevertheless, his association with a sanctioned organization can potentially affect his ability to receive visas to European countries or have work/sponsorship opportunities in Europe. Nagorny’s contract with TG Saar, a Bundesliga club, was ended this year due to his work in the Young Army even before the organization was sanctioned.
FIG needs to ban Nagorny from competing as well. It wouldn’t really matter much but would be a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine. Never did I ever figure that in my 50s I would witness the 2nd Cold War and Soviet dictatorship again. Here we are though. Sad.