Mobilization in Russia for July 5-7, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Authorities in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan have increased the regional sign-up bonus for concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense from 600,000 rubles [$6,800] to 1 million rubles [$11,250]. Additionally, residents from other regions are now eligible for the bonus if they sign the contract in a draft office in Tatarstan until July 31, 2024. “These are huge expenses, but we cannot fail to complete this task,” said Tatarstan’s Head Rustam Minnikhanov, without specifying the task. Including bonuses from the MoD and municipalities, one can now earn up to 1.5 million rubles [$17,000] for enlisting in Tatarstan. However, the leading region remains Krasnodar, where the total bonuses can reach 1.65 million rubles [$18,700].
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Members of the 506th Regiment of the 27th Division, fighting in the Avdiivka direction, recorded a video to complain that their commanders sent them to slaughter. They were ordered to take positions that were supposedly deserted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but, as it turned out, "a whole village" of Ukrainian soldiers were waiting for them. According to the Russian soldiers, their unit was shattered by the enemy, but their commanders "prevented them from evacuating" and insisted on sending them back to face certain death. Out of 350 soldiers, only 50 remain. Commanders have been sending them on assaults without artillery support and denying requests to evacuate either the wounded or the bodies of those killed in action.
In the Belgorod region, Igor Burtsev, a 52-year-old resident of Stary Oskol, was detained by military police and sent back to war two years after his discharge. Burtsev had been demobilized after participating in the war for several months. He had signed a three-month contract with the Ministry of Defense at the end of August 2022. Due to his age, Burtsev was not eligible to enlist for contract-based military service, resulting in his discharge at the conclusion of the contract. However, in June 2024, the military police detained him on suspicion of going AWOL and initiated an investigation. It was discovered that the city's draft office no longer possessed any of Burtsev's papers. Nonetheless, he was held in Belgorod for two weeks, during which all his personal belongings and documents were confiscated. Burtsev was then sent to trenches near Shebekino and, according to a fellow soldier, later to the vicinity of the town of Vovchansk in Ukraine.
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Vyacheslav Vlasov from the Vologda region, Nikolay Tolstykh from the Belgorod region, as well as Dmitry Lapin, Yevgeny Tysyachin, Nikolay Kulikov and Ivan Sokolov from the Sverdlovsk region.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Orenburg Garrison Military Court has received a criminal case against a serviceman accused of looting during a flood. According to the court, the serviceman is accused of conspiring and committing two thefts in a group from houses abandoned due to the flooding, causing significant damage. The accused has been sent to pre-trial detention until Sept. 27.
In Moscow, Colonel Sergey Trigilev, the military commissar of the Preobrazhensky district, has been detained on suspicion of accepting a large bribe. He has been arrested for two months on charges of accepting a bribe, committed in conspiracy with others.
A court in Moscow has arrested 24-year-old lawyer Gleb Troitsky on charges of attempting to join a terrorist organization. According to the Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel, Troitsky was detained at passport control on May 25 while trying to fly abroad. He was then taken to his home and subsequently to a police station, where he was charged with petty hooliganism. Troitsky was initially arrested for 10 days, and on June 5, the court extended his arrest for another 15 days. On June 20, he was again detained and sent to a detention facility on similar charges. In 2023, Troitsky and his father were previously arrested for 14 days under a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement officers after allegedly refusing to open the door to Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] officers. After the visit from Rosgvardia, Gleb set an anti-war picture with the caption "Stop fraternal wars!" as his profile picture.
The Slovo Zashchite [Word to the Defense] Telegram channel recounts the story of Irina Navalnaya, a 26-year-old woman who shares a surname with Alexei Navalny and was captured in 2022 in Mariupol. She faces charges of planning an act of terror and illegal possession of explosives. According to investigators, she allegedly intended to detonate a bomb at polling stations in Mariupol on the day of the "referendum" on the "DPR" joining Russia. However, her actual "crime" appears to be her last name and her stepfather's service in the Azov Brigade, as he remains in Russian captivity. During her imprisonment, Navalnaya endured torture aimed at extracting a confession.
According to the Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet, in 2024, the number of cases involving charges of state treason in the Baikal area has reached five. These cases potentially carry sentences of up to 20 years in a penal colony for espionage, disclosure of state secrets or defection to the enemy. This figure surpasses the combined number of such cases over the past five years. In the Irkutsk region, where previously only one person per year was typically convicted on such charges, only one case is currently known. However, in Buryatia, four criminal cases of state treason have been recorded—the first application of this charge since 2017. Among those sentenced is Aleksandr Matkheev, whose case we reported on in June of this year.
The Volgograd Regional Court, with minor adjustments, upheld the sentence for Albinа Dryupina, a resident of Volzhsky, who was sentenced to two years of probation for 17 episodes of fraud. A mitigating factor in her case was her husband's participation in the war against Ukraine.
Assistance
According to the Govorit NeMoskva [NonMoscow Is Speaking] Telegram channel, regional authorities are showing their support for mothers and wives of participants in the "special military operation" through various initiatives. In Oryol, 16 wives and mothers received lessons in flower arranging. Meanwhile, in the Tomsk region, a women's club named "Strength of OurZ" has been established, providing masterclasses in crafts and dancing. Additionally, in Voronezh, there is a club called "Heart-to-Heart Talk," where women are taught to make brooches and decorate gingerbread cookies.
Children and Educational System
In occupied Berdiansk and its suburbs, Rosgvardia military classes will be introduced in schools. Children will receive lessons on anti-terrorist protection, self-defense techniques and martial arts. Similar Rosgvardia classes have already been introduced in occupied Melitopol and Kostiantynivka.
Miscellaneous
At the "Brigantina Belogorye" children's camp in the Belgorod region, four decorated concrete bomb shelters have been installed. Authorities have also provided armored window film, first aid kits and personal protective equipment, and conducted training sessions for children on how to respond in case of an attack. Previously, the mayor of Belgorod, Valentin Demidov, opposed the idea of local artists decorating concrete bomb shelters, expressing a preference for protective structures that are uniform and easily recognizable.
The Idite Lesom! [Get lost you all] Telegram channel and the Vyorstka media outlet have prepared a guide detailing ways to leave the frontline and common mistakes made by military personnel.
In the village of Khabarikha in Russia's constituent Republic of Komi, a memorial plaque has been installed for Vladimir Popov, a Wagner Group mercenary who was killed in the war with Ukraine. Previously, Popov had been sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for the rape of a woman with a mild intellectual disability.
Longreads
Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] has detailed how Montenegro became a refuge for those escaping war and repression. Unlike in other countries where diasporas remain separate, in Montenegro, Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians unite and support each other.
Govorit NeMoskva has covered the story of Alietdin Makhmudov. In 2015, he was sentenced to 17 years for organizing two murders, but due to the war, he was released from a penal colony. Makhmudov has since risen to the rank of lieutenant and now commands the Storm-Z unit.