MILITARY TRAINING CENTERS AS A MODERN INSTITUTE OF MILITARY EDUCATION IN RUSSIA

Abstract

Military Training Centers (MTC) are a new institution of higher military education in Russia. They are characterized by specific features, which place them between military education in specialized military institutions, and traditional military departments in civil universities. The analysis of MTC in terms of student’s motivation and values, military identity, life strategies, and educational outcomes, shows that MTC students are characterized by unique social attributes and thus compose a separate social group. This fact legitimates creation of MTC as a new form of military education. To make MTCs more effective, it is necessary to pay a special attention to military identity formation, quality of professional training, promotion of military career perspectives, development of personality and psychological traits and competencies crucial for future officers.