Russia's Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) has begun recruiting applicants for a "special group" on its cinematography faculty, offering a state-funded place without entrance exams, free dormitory accommodation, and combat veteran status to those who sign a one-year contract with the Defense Ministry to serve in unmanned systems troops, the outlet Ekho reported.
"If you dream of studying at the world's first film school, the renowned VGIK — this is your chance," reads an announcement posted on the faculty's VKontakte page. The number of places in the group was not disclosed.
In addition to a state-funded place and dormitory, students are promised "expanded technical and financial opportunities when carrying out student film work." The contract is for one year and service is equated to conscription, but lawyers warn that in practice such a contract is automatically extended until the end of mobilization, making it extremely difficult to leave after it expires.
Simultaneously, the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARCHI) announced it is recruiting students for the volunteer formation BARS "Moscow," Novaya Gazeta Europe reported. A notice on the university's website offers students a one-year contract to defend Moscow from drone strikes, with service limited to Moscow, the Moscow region, and the Kaluga region.
Participants in BARS are promised a salary of at least 200,000 rubles per month, bonuses for each drone shot down, the possibility of transferring from a paid to a state-funded place, and social guarantees for families: free education for children in Moscow colleges and universities, priority enrollment in kindergartens and schools, monthly child payments, housing and utility subsidies, and assistance for elderly parents.
The recruitment campaign at universities unfolds against the backdrop of instructions from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. According to Ekho, Minister of Higher Education Valery Falkov demanded that university and college leaders send 2% of students to the war. Earlier, free education for those serving in unmanned systems troops was promised at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) and Irkutsk Polytechnic University. A similar announcement about recruitment into unmanned systems troops was posted by the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg Conservatory.