Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Fiona Grosu, and I am a third-year senior studying International Affairs. I am originally from New York City, where I fostered a great interest in different cultures, and by extension, global occurrences and politics. I was inspired by my position as FSU's President of the Slavic Student Association to study the nuances of the Russo-Ukrainian War as they pertain to children for my Honors in the Major project. After my undergraduate graduation this semester, I will commence my Master's in International Affairs. I intend to pursue an International Law degree after!

Children of the Post-Soviet Union: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Child Indoctrination, Militarization, and Relocation in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus

Abstract

"Children of the Post-Soviet Union: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Child Indoctrination, Militarization, and Relocation in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus" attempts to explain how children in my post-Soviet triad of interest—Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus—are subjected to indoctrination, militarization, and relocation in light of the Russo-Ukrainian War. My thesis looks to explain why child indoctrination, militarization, and abduction still exist today in the post-Eastern Bloc, even though strict laws exist to protect children against these things in countries like Germany, a place once infamous for its Hitler Youth past.

To analyze this contemporary issue, I will utilize a Western European and Eastern European historical context to help bring my research full circle and connect the past with the immediate present. What this context will entail is a detailed overview of two youth organizations, one in the former Soviet Union and one in Nazi Germany, which existed from 1922 to 1991 and 1926 to 1945, respectively. I will focus on the WWII and interwar periods, as well as look at the child laws that exist today in the countries in question (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus). My research touches upon Western influence to explain European child laws and their origins.

Keywords: childhistory, youngpioneers, hitler youth, soviet union, ukraine war