Moscow/Violence on the streets and in schools in Russia has skyrocketed in recent years, in an escalation that psychologists and experts relate to the militarization of society and the cult of force promoted by Kremlin propaganda since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has admitted his “particular concern” about the increase in crimes committed by minors and “the aggressive behavior of adolescents in schools, institutes and public places.” Even so, the authorities avoid linking this phenomenon with the war and, in many cases, attribute kyiv to the instigation of crimes committed by children and young people.
The most recent episode of school violence occurred this week in the Perm region of the Urals, where a teacher was stabbed to death by a 17-year-old student. The bloodiest attack in recent years took place in 2022, when a 34-year-old armed man burst into a school in Izhevsk, the birthplace of the Kalashnikov rifle, murdered 18 people and then committed suicide.
According to figures cited by Putin, the number of crimes committed by teenagers grew by 18% in 2025 and almost 40% were serious crimes. In response, the authorities lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years.
Specialists point out, in particular, the glorification of war on television and in classrooms
Data published by The Moscow Times They also show that half of the cases of school violence recorded since 2000 have been concentrated in the last five years, four of them already in times of war. In the first two months of 2026 alone, seven attacks on educational centers were recorded, while another 21 were aborted, according to the Ministry of the Interior. In all of 2025, 15 were counted. In that same five-year period, 39 people died and 156 were injured in attacks perpetrated against thirty schools. Only four of the attackers were women.
Specialists emphasize that minors are not alien to the environment in which they grow up. They point out, in particular, the glorification of war on television and in classrooms, where the State has reinforced a nationalist, chauvinist and xenophobic ideology.
In the last four years, in numerous schools, students have participated in military marches, have been forced to memorize the names of Russian “heroes” of the war in Ukraine, receive instruction from soldiers and, in some cases, even learn to assemble drones.
Violence carried out by men returning from the front and whom Putin has defined as the “new Russian elite” has also skyrocketed.
The defender of children’s rights in Saint Petersburg, Anna Mitianitsa, has recognized that the age at which minors begin to commit crimes is decreasing. Russian psychologists, who speak to the press under anonymity, point out that many children have family members or acquaintances involved in the war, either on the front lines or in jobs linked to the war effort.
In his opinion, the problem will not be solved with metal detectors in schools, but with more psychologists and specialized support, capable of conveying to minors that conflicts are not solved with violence.
Brutalization is not limited to classrooms. Violence carried out by men returning from the front and whom Putin has defined as the “new Russian elite” has also skyrocketed, although official propaganda tries to silence their crimes.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, veterans have committed 549 sexual crimes, almost half of them against minors under 14 years of age.
According to Novaya Gazeta Evropa6% of the 137,000 combatants who returned to their homes have been criminally prosecuted. For their part, military courts processed 352 murder cases in 2025, compared to 21 in 2021, an increase of 17 times, according to the portal Vot Tak. In most cases, the victims were family members, friends or simple passersby; Only in 17% of the incidents were other soldiers involved.
The 7×7 portal also estimates at least 294 people killed by war veterans. In parallel, the Russian Justice Department received 116 complaints of rape last year, almost nine times more than five years ago. Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, veterans have committed 549 sexual crimes, almost half of them against minors under 14 years of age.
Among the most shocking cases is that of a wounded soldier in Ukraine who, after returning home last January, kidnapped a woman, demanded beer and cigarettes as ransom and ended up strangling her. In September 2025, another man who had deserted his unit raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl.
The authorities fear that Ukraine’s ex-combatants will repeat the path of the so-called afgantsiveterans of the Afghanistan war (1979-1989), many of whom ended up integrated into mafias and criminal networks during the decomposition of the Soviet Union.
