“How did you feel when you committed your first murder?” the Economist quoted a Russian ninth-grader asking a soldier in a Sept. 10 report. The man was visiting the student’s classroom as part of the “Lesson of Courage” program in which uniformed soldiers give presentations about the glories of fighting for Mother Russia.

The soldier, unperturbed by the student’s choice of words, answered dryly: “It’s the destruction of enemy manpower, you shoot and you don’t know whether he is dead or wounded. Only with a grenade launcher can you be sure.”

This program is part of a broad campaign that Russian President Vladimir Putin has rolled out in classrooms across his nation in recent years. He has called the struggle for children’s minds a “new front,” and this campaign seeks to shape how young Russians see their country, its history and its wars—and ultimately secure victory for Putin on that ideological front.

The campaign intensified in 2022, shortly after Russia’s war on Ukraine went full-scale. At that time, Putin signed a law mandating a “federal program of upbringing,” so that Russian citizens “know and respect Russia’s … military exploits and labor achievements.”

But the program goes beyond instilling knowledge and respect for Russia’s military. It also takes practical steps to prepare Russian youth for war. A course for grades six through 11 called “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland” previously devoted about 20 percent of its instructional time to initial military training and the rest to related topics, such as Russian military history. At the start of this month, the time spent on military training increased to 50 percent. These hours include practical field training exercises and instruction in specific weapons, including attack drone operation.

So Russian children are regularly brought face-to-face with soldiers, taught to revere their nation’s military exploits, and even given hands-on practice in military skills. And it’s all to make these young people loyal to Putin’s Russia and capable of fighting for him—so they will be effective soldiers in his future wars.

In 2005, Putin famously called the Soviet Union’s collapse the 20th century’s “greatest geopolitical catastrophe,” and he has made clear in the years since that he aims to reverse the “catastrophe” by retaking not just Ukraine but also other former Soviet nations. He knows that to gain and maintain control over all those territories and peoples, the current generation of Russian children must grow up ready to fight.

So he is ensuring that Russia’s schoolchildren learn the world view he wishes them to hold and even how to be the muscle that will help him pursue his territorial ambitions in the Russian periphery and beyond.

Vladimir Putin’s determination and his long-term strategy are deeply unsettling. And they take on great significance when viewed in the light of biblical prophecy. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained in our September 2014 issue: “We need to watch Vladimir Putin closely. He is the ‘prince of Rosh’ that God inspired Ezekiel to write about 2,500 years ago!”

Mr. Flurry’s article examined prophecies about an Asian military alliance that will emerge in the near future and field an army of 200 million soldiers (Revelation 9:16). It focused on Ezekiel 38:2, which calls the individual who will lead this Asian army the “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Young’s Literal Translation).

He wrote that Meshech and Tubal are ancient names representing the modern Russian cities of Moscow and Tobolsk, while Rosh is a variation of Rus, an ancient name for the Russian nation.

Ezekiel details future wars that will be prosecuted by this Asian alliance, led by the “prince of Rosh.” Placing these prophecies alongside Putin’s history of aggression and his planning for future conflict, Mr. Flurry wrote:

I strongly believe Vladimir Putin is going to lead the 200 million-man army. Just look at the power he already has. Can you think of any other Russian politician who could become so powerful and have the will to lead Russia into the crisis of crises? I see nobody else on the horizon who could do that. And only a tiny few years remain for the prince of Rosh to appear!

This 200 million-man army will be far larger than any ever assembled in human history. Most of the personnel will come from nations that ally with Russia, such as China. But many of the Russian students who are now learning the fundamentals of modern warfare will also grow up to take their place among its ranks.

It is plain that a dark future lies ahead for Russia and the whole world. But in The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ Mr. Flurry emphasizes that this darkness will not last long and will give way to a hope-filled era. He writes:

Vladimir Putin is a sign, literally a SIGN … of one of the most inspiring messages in the Bible. What we are seeing in Russia ultimately leads to the transition from man ruling man to God ruling man! … A great transition is about to occur.

To understand the details of these biblical prophecies and what Mr. Flurry calls “the most inspiring message in the Bible,” order your free copy of The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’