Putin backs drone reality show as Russia expands military recruitment drive

Vladimir Putin has praised a planned reality television show titled Battle of the Drones for its “extremely useful” propaganda potential.

As reported by The Telegraph, the show, the premise of which remains unclear, is expected to star military veterans, students, bloggers and celebrities. It is being promoted by Mikhail Galustyan, a pro-war comedian.

It will be filmed in “the most beautiful locations across our homeland” and will be a “great opportunity for anyone interested to prove themselves and showcase their skills”, Mr Galustyan told Putin and members of the United Russia Party at the Everything for Victory! forum in Moscow, according to state media.

“Good luck. Propaganda is an extremely important thing,” Putin replied.

The Russian president may be hoping that the game show will inspire young, aspiring drone operators to sign a contract with the ministry of defence.

Its announcement comes amid an expanding campaign to recruit young Russians into drone units.

The Kremlin has launched recruitment initiatives this year at more than 250 colleges and universities. 

It has also spent almost 16 billion roubles (£151m) on equipment for “drone studies” at schools, colleges, universities and even nurseries, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe, a news site launched outside Russia by the former staff of an independent Russian newspaper that was banned in 2022.

Russian officials aim to recruit some 44,000 students – or 2 per cent of the student population – to the war effort, according to sources cited by Faridaily, the  independent media outlet.

The show will be broadcast on TNT, the Russian federal TV channel, which targets a young demographic. Its release date has not been announced.

Mr Galustyan rose to fame on KVN, a sketch comedy and improv show broadcast on TNT. He quipped that he would have liked to participate in the drone piloting show but would settle for being its host.

Putin, a supposed KVN superfan who has attended its recordings, is depicted in the most flattering terms in the show’s skits, which portray him outfoxing his bungling Western counterparts. 

Donald Trump, Ramzan Kadyrov and Alexander Lukashenko are other figures who receive a positive depiction.

While it was welcomed by the Russian president, the reality TV show was met with less enthusiasm by Russian military bloggers known to take a different line from the official reporting on Ukraine.

“People are dying in droves right now because of these drones: civilians are being murdered, cities torn apart and oil refineries are burning,” said the telegram channel When the Cannon Began to Sing.

The programme will share its name with a video game, Battle of the Drones: Ukraine, which Russian independent media have said is linked to a campaign to steer teenagers into military-aligned roles.

Alabuga Polytech, a technical college that recruits teenagers to learn how to assemble Shahed-style attack drones, promotes the video game and has encouraged young people to use it to qualify for its national drone-piloting tournaments, according to T-invariant, the Russian independent outlet.

The technical college is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, which houses Russia’s largest drone production facility. 

Its competitions, held in partnership with the proxy project Stalin’s Falcons, are used to identify prospective talented drone operators.

“Drone-con” tournaments, held in April last year and in February, April and May this year, carried prize pools of up to 18 million roubles (£170,000).