Original Russian-language document. Federal Law No. 423-FZ of the Russian Federation, signed by President Putin on 4 August 2023. The law amends the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" to introduce mandatory basic military training (Osnovy Voennoi Sluzhby, later styled "Foundations of Security and Defence of the Motherland") as a compulsory subject in secondary education from the 2024 academic year. Because the four occupied Ukrainian oblasts are formally incorporated into the Russian Federation, this law applies in Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. Cross-reference: DPR Law on Education (DOC-104); ZO Ministry of Education Regulations (DOC-116); DPR Mobilisation Law (DOC-106).
Federal Law No. 423-FZ amends Russia's national education law to make military basic training a mandatory component of the school curriculum for pupils in years 10 and 11 (approximately ages 16–18) across all Russian federal subjects, effective from the academic year beginning September 2024. The subject, called "Foundations of Security and Defence of the Motherland" (Osnovy Bezopasnosti i Zashchity Rodiny, OBZR), replaced the previous subject "Fundamentals of Life Safety" (Osnovy Bezopasnosti Zhiznedeyatelnosti, OBZh) and significantly expands its military content: topics include weapons handling, tactical medicine, drone operation, civil defence, and the legal basis of Russia's armed conflict. The law was explicitly presented by its sponsors as a response to the war in Ukraine and to the need to prepare young people for military service. Because it is an amendment to the national education law and because the occupied Ukrainian oblasts are formally part of the Russian Federation in the Russian legal framework, the law applies to schools in Russian-controlled Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Its introduction follows and reinforces the curriculum transition already underway in the occupied territories (the replacement of Ukrainian state standards with Russian federal standards), and represents the most direct legislative expression of the militarisation of education documented across the TOT Insights collection. The DPR Law on Mobilisation Preparation (DOC-106) includes a cross-reference obligation to this law.
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Federal Law No. 423-FZ of 4 August 2023
On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation." Signed by the President of the Russian Federation on 4 August 2023.
Core amendment
Article 12 of Federal Law No. 273-FZ "On Education in the Russian Federation" is amended to include among the mandatory educational subjects for secondary general education the subject "Foundations of Security and Defence of the Motherland" (OBZR), to be taught in years 10 and 11 of the school curriculum. The subject replaces the previous compulsory subject "Fundamentals of Life Safety" (OBZh) with effect from 1 September 2024.
Subject content (key areas)
- Fundamentals of military service and military duty under Russian law.
- Basic military training: drill, weapons handling (including small arms familiarisation), tactical medicine (first aid in combat conditions).
- Unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) operation — basic theory and practical training.
- Civil defence and behaviour in emergency situations of military character.
- Legal and constitutional basis for Russia's defence obligations and the "special military operation."
- Physical fitness requirements for military service.
Application to occupied territories
As a federal law applicable across all subjects of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 423-FZ applies in the four occupied Ukrainian oblasts from the 2024 academic year. Schools in Russian-controlled Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson that are operating under Russian federal educational standards are required to introduce OBZR as a mandatory subject. The inclusion of drone operation and combat first aid in a school curriculum taught to 16–17 year olds, in territories where persons aged 18 are liable for conscription (see DOC-120), represents a direct pipeline from formal education to military deployment.
Context — LPR DPR mobilisation legal sequence
This law is the federal counterpart to the DPR Mobilisation Preparation Law (DOC-106), which includes a provision requiring educational institutions to contribute to pre-military preparation. The DPR and LPR laws set the occupying entities' legal obligation for military preparedness in education; Federal Law No. 423-FZ sets the Russian federal standard that now applies across those same territories following annexation, superseding or supplementing the DPR and LPR instruments.