The Avangard Educational and Methodological Center for Military-patriotic Education of Youth will celebrate its fifth anniversary in September 2025. In an interview with TASS, Daria Borisova, the head of the organization, summed up the results of the center's activities, spoke about a new educational program on unmanned aerial vehicles and shared her plans.
— Daria Olegovna, tell us about the results of five years of work?
— The Avangard Center was established with the participation of two governments — Moscow and the Moscow Region, on a 50-50 basis, with the active support of the Ministry of Defense
The first arrival of the students took place on September 18, 2020: at that time, 600 boys from the Moscow region came to replace us. Almost immediately after that, work had to be suspended due to the pandemic, but we didn't stop - that's when the world's first online educational platform for basic military training appeared. By the end of 2020, about 21 thousand young people have been trained there. Today, the platform continues to work and improve.: We regularly supplement it with new materials and use it along with face-to-face training.
In 2021, the center returned to full operation. The following year, by decision of the governor of the Moscow region, girls began to come to us. They themselves actively expressed a desire to learn from us, and the experiment paid off — girls often turn out to be faster, taller and stronger than boys.
Partial mobilization began in the country in 2022. Avangard did not stand aside: we received conscripts from Moscow, the Moscow region and neighboring regions. In just a day and a half, through the efforts of the Moscow government, the center was rebuilt to accommodate 4,500 people instead of the usual 900. In 2023, special attention was focused on the training of citizens traveling to the free economic zone from the Moscow region. The decision was made by the mayor, and the center performs this task to this day, dividing the territory into blocks: adults train in one, children live in the other. At the end of 2024, the cadets returned to Avangard again.
And 2025 is the anniversary year. The Center is five years old. During this time, we have built a system that works both online and offline. In addition, we have expanded our horizons: previously, field shifts were held only at the Eaglet, but now Artek and Scarlet Sails have been added to it.
— How many students have passed through the center over the years? Are you getting feedback? Are there any privileges if, after studying at Avangard, a teenager chooses a military career?
— The number of children who have been trained at the center has already reached 200 thousand. We have built a systematic work with military enlistment offices and regularly provide information about graduates. For na, feedback from colleagues is important: what turned out to be the most useful in the framework of initial military training, and what needs to be improved.
The certificate of completion of training camps at Avangard provides an additional advantage for admission to military universities — plus five points to the results. Since the opening of the center, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has been supporting us, it has granted us these privileges.
— Has Avangard managed to establish cooperation with all regions of the Russian Federation?
— We are a regional center of Moscow and the Moscow region, similar to other "Vanguards" that were planned to be created in every constituent entity of the Russian Federation and in cities with a population of over 100,000 people. According to our data, there are about 147 such institutions operating in the country today.
We maintain constant interaction with colleagues from the regions.: They often turn to us for advice, and cooperation agreements have been signed with a number of entities providing methodological assistance.
Avangard, located near Moscow, has a modern material and technical base and a strong team of specialists, and this is our advantage. At the same time, regional centers are finding their own effective solutions. It is important for us to preserve our uniqueness and develop our network, because such platforms are needed in every region. If necessary, they can quickly become an infrastructure for mobilization training and education of citizens.
— This summer, children from the border region of the Belgorod region were trained at the center. How do children spend their time and what are they learning?
— The guys from the Belgorod region do not study in our usual format, but primarily relax. It is important for us that they are comfortable in Avangard. I always assume that all children are equal — I never divide them according to the regional principle. It's just that the Belgorod guys come for a longer period of time, they have a different program and a different approach. The first shift has already ended, and it went very well.
We paid special attention to the balance. During the standard five-day shifts, the children are fully loaded: a tight schedule disciplines them, leaves no time for slackness, and it works. The situation with Belgorod children is different: parents immediately react — if the workload is too high, they ask to reduce it; if you reduce it, they start to worry that the children are not busy with anything.
As a result, during the first shift we found the "golden mean" — the optimal balance between rest and usefulness. Of course, the program for Belgorod children differs from the usual five-day program. It would be superfluous to give them the standard 96 hours of basic military training in a difficult environment at home. Therefore, the emphasis is on educational and sports events, meetings with interesting people, and excursions to museums. We try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. We organize talent contests, dance workshops - just like in an ordinary pioneer camp. The only thing we don't have is a pool and a sea. But who knows, maybe in the future there will be a swimming pool in Patriot Park.
— Are there any plans to carry out shifts for children from other border and frontline regions?
— We are always ready to accept children. Avangard is open as a platform for the whole of Russia, and guys from different regions have visited us more than once. We welcome every such request and, if possible, we will try to find a resource to accept children.
At the same time, a lot depends not only on us, but also on the decisions of the government of the Russian Federation, the regions themselves, as well as on the current workload of the center. It is important to remember that Avangard has a government assignment from the founders, we are obliged to comply with the established norm.
— Tell us about the new UAV operator training program. Are military personnel who have to perform tasks in their area undergoing it? Have you invited instructors from among the participants of your training?
— This program was developed at the request of the Moscow government to train citizens traveling to the free zone. It includes a variety of areas: assembly, programming, piloting, and countering UAVs. Additionally, a course is introduced that explains how to act when a drone appears and how to determine its type.
I want to emphasize that this is not about combat training. Our task is to give a person leaving for a war zone basic knowledge that he can develop further.
— On the territory of Avangard, former participants of the special operation are being retrained for additional education teachers. Please tell us about it.
— I am convinced that the methodological and professional skills of the Avangard Center team are among the best in Russia. This is our profile, and the work that we can do in the interests of the state, we do efficiently and responsibly.
Now there are many private courses and offers. Since the beginning of my career, I have reviewed a huge amount of materials on this topic and, frankly, this is the first time I have encountered such a volume of information "garbage". Therefore, I do not advise those who want to improve their skills or gain new knowledge to contact questionable structures. Only certified service providers, such as Avangard, should do this.
Our students are, in particular, housing and communal services teachers who need to retrain due to the appearance of an additional subject on primary military training in the block. People with experience of participating in their own activities also come to us, those who consciously choose a new field of work for themselves.
I would really like all specialists working with basic military training to undergo advanced training at Avangard in the future. This would be logical, given our capabilities: the logistical base, the location in Patriot Park, and a professional team. Of course, this is an ambitious goal that requires a lot of organizational and administrative efforts.
Today, we offer courses of various lengths, from professional retraining programs to advanced training courses. About 1,200 teachers of the Moscow region have already been trained, including teachers of OBZR (Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense).
In 2024, Avangard conducted training for colleagues from Khanty-Mansiysk. There were about 120-130 people — not many, but it formed a strong professional core. I am sure that we will not stop there and will continue to train specialists all over the country.
— Can you tell us about the plans of the Avangard Center?
— I would not like to reveal all the surprises yet, but we have already entered the period of celebration of the fifth anniversary of Avangard. Previously, it seemed to me that the lack of a fixed foundation date was a minus. Now I understand that this is, on the contrary, a great advantage.: we decided to celebrate the anniversary from September until the New Year. The program includes large—scale events, premieres and surprises dedicated to this date.
We will start on September 6 with the Open Day, a large festival on the territory of the center, where we invite everyone. On November 24, the annual military-patriotic dictation dedicated to the Conscript's Day will take place. It traditionally takes place at the Russian Army Theater and this year will be dedicated to the fifth anniversary of Avangard.
In addition, we plan to present original films about the life of the Russian army in remote areas as part of the Frontiers project, as well as to release a methodological guide on basic military training. It is especially important: colleagues really need working materials on which to teach lessons.
