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Hundreds of Thousands Russian Kids Mobilized into Drone Hackathons, Fueling Russia’s Military UAV Program
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
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A state-sponsored network channels hundreds of thousands of Russian schoolchildren into drone development programs that ultimately feed the military’s unmanned aerial vehicle forces, as revealed on July 22 investigation by The Insider.
In July 2022, occupied Sevastopol hosted the launch of the “Berloga” (Bear’s Den) cyber-physical gaming platform, developed under the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI).
Although officially apolitical, Berloga immerses students in scenarios where “intelligent bears” defend “energy honey” from cyber-insects using drones, and teaches them to pilot quadcopters with precise payload delivery tasks.
Beyond virtual gaming, The Insider describes intense hackathons where up to 400 students solder drone components and program flight controllers, blurring lines between extracurricular competition and direct military-industry work.
Sixteen-year-old Vladislav, one of the program’s alumni, explained the covert recruitment aspect: “If we’re talking about interacting outside of the competition, then obviously everyone keeps [each other’s] contacts,” underscoring how ASI’s ecosystem cultivates direct pipelines into defense labs.
Legal experts warn the model violates both international and domestic law. Dr. Sergei Golubok, admitted to the International Criminal Court, notes that involving minors in weapons production breaches Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 3 of the ILO’s Convention 182 on worst forms of child labor.
International lawyer Ekaterina Deikalo adds: “This is the deliberate involvement of children… in assisting with the production of weapons for a war that the state itself has unleashed. All of this… is directly contrary to their preparation for life in a free society ‘in a spirit of peace, dignity, and tolerance’”.
Russian leader personally approved Berloga’s creation, and participants gain a critical incentive: 10 extra points on Russia’s unified state exam (EGE), which ASI admits drives enrollment despite the platform’s rigorous technical challenges.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia and Belarus integrated drone operation modules into school curricula, tasking students with piloting exercises and precision payload missions to cultivate a future workforce for unmanned systems.
