There was once a military training camp for the young in Europe, known as the Crimea Sich, that took place every year in August for two weeks. It was located in Crimea, a peninsula right below Ukraine and Russia.
The Cossacks— an ethnic minority of East Slavic people who in 2014 helped Russia annex Crimea from Ukraine— would send kids as young as 7 to military training camps to learn how to become "defenders of the homeland."
Ukrainian photographer Maxim Dondyuk spent parts of the last five years attending a military training camp in Crimea to see how the pro-Russian, militaristic Cossacks train their young soldiers.
"The camp itself was very interesting for me," photographer Maxim Dondyuk told Business Insider. He added that he was amazed at "the fact that children were taught military skills with real weapons," especially at such a young age.
The camp was active for over 10 years, but when Russia annexed and overtook Crimea in early 2014,the camp fell apart. The once united community was broken up as soldiers sided with their home countries. Russia then used Crimea as a forward operating base, and the camp ceased to exist.
Dondyuk shared some photos from the project with us here, and you can check out more of his work on his website.
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The training camp was called a "sich," which is also the administrative and military center for Cossacks. It comes from the Ukrainian word siktý which means "to chop," or clear a forest for an encampment.
This camp was located in and around Eski-Kermen, a medieval cave fortress located in a mountainous, forest region. Crimea was chosen for the meeting ground because of its location, beautiful surrounding landscape, and the local town’s religious significance.
For two weeks, boys age 7-16 learned military techniques from Cossack officers who have fought in many conflicts. The boys trained with real weapons and live ammunition.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider