Russian Kids Spend Summer Goose-stepping

In a Soviet Era throwback, a new Russian youth group is said to be providing more than fun and games in its summer camp, the Weekly Standard reports. Nashi, Russian for “Ours,” is said to be an elite indoctrination program; while Russian officials liken it to the Boy Scouts, Nashi also inspires comparisons to Hitler’s Jugend youth movement.

The group, which denies it receives government funding, is intended partly to thwart the development of a pro-Western youth movement like the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, the Standard claims. During recent visits from dignitaries, Putin spoke out on Western aggression and presidential candidates encouraged members to have large families, to ease demands on the Russian pension system. (More Russia stories.)