The paper draws on an expert discussion held on 31 July 2026 with participants from the Belarusian and Russian expert communities under the Chatham House Rule. It was prepared by a collective of IDSMBEE authors with the support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V., Belarus Country Office.
The analysis goes beyond the most visible forms of military-patriotic education. It considers how different parts of the education system are being incorporated into a wider mobilisation framework: schools help normalise official narratives about the state, security and war; vocational education is increasingly aligned with labour-market priorities set by the authorities; and universities and research institutions face tighter political supervision and fewer international links.
The brief stresses that Belarus and Russia should not be treated as a single case. Russia retains greater regional and institutional variation, including some space outside direct state control. Belarus has moved towards a more uniform and tightly managed system, with little room left for independent education and sharply reduced academic autonomy.
What the brief examines
- Belarus’s growing dependence on the Russian education system and the implications of Russification;
- the loss of academic and research capacity through repression, emigration and professional displacement;
- the relationship between vocational education, labour shortages and the priorities of a militarising economy;
- the weakening of links with European universities and research networks;
- the lack of reliable longitudinal evidence on how far indoctrination and militarisation are changing attitudes among students, parents and teachers.
Why it matters for European policy
The decline of independent education in Belarus is not simply an education-policy issue. It affects the country’s human capital, professional expertise and institutional capacity. These resources cannot be rebuilt quickly if an opportunity for political change emerges.
The brief argues that European policy should avoid measures that deepen Belarus’s academic isolation. Belarusian citizenship should not be treated as evidence of loyalty to the Lukashenka regime, and restrictions on academic mobility should be based on individual circumstances rather than nationality alone.
It also questions whether repeated short funding cycles are suitable for Belarusian organisations operating under repression, forced relocation and banking restrictions. In such conditions, financial instability may reflect the operating environment rather than weak management.
Policy priorities
- make education and research a distinct long-term priority of European support;
- maintain academic mobility for independent Belarusian students and researchers, with proportionate security screening;
- create a permanent expert mechanism on Belarusian education, research and human capital within EU policymaking structures;
- support secure cooperation between academics in exile and colleagues who remain inside Belarus;
- fund further research into the effects of indoctrination, militarisation and Russification;
- prepare in advance for the reform and reintegration of Belarusian education into the European academic area.
A central recommendation is to combine institutional support for Belarusian academic structures in exile with carefully designed individual support for members of the academic community who remain inside Belarus.
The full policy brief, “Indoctrination and Militarisation of Education in Belarus and Russia: Recommendations for European Partners and Belarusian Democratic Forces”, is available for download.
A detailed Russian-language synopsis of the discussion, including the main arguments, country comparisons and conclusions that informed the policy brief, is available on Nashe Mnenie / Наше мнение:
Read the full synopsis in Russian