Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 25-26, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Relatives of deceased military personnel may soon find it easier to claim inheritance rights under a proposed amendment to the Civil Code. The amendment would allow family members of soldiers killed in the war and relatives of civilians killed in territories affected by the "special military operation" to claim inheritance even after the six-month legal deadline has passed. They would be able to proceed without court involvement if they have a "valid reason" certified by the notary handling the inheritance case. The change aims to address delays in receiving death certificates for military personnel.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Authorities in Russia's Omsk region have temporarily doubled the sign-up bonus for contracts with the Ministry of Defense, increasing it from 400,000 rubles to 800,000 rubles [from $3,850 to $7,690] for those who enlist between Nov. 25 and Dec. 20, 2024. Including the federal component, new recruits can receive up to 1.2 million rubles [$11,500].

In Moscow, the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel reports that authorities are conducting ongoing roundups targeting conscripts. The human rights advocates have received accounts of officials detaining individuals in the metro and transporting them to the military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street. After a cursory medical evaluation, these young men are being sent directly into military service.

Relatives of a conscript from the city of Cheboksary claim he was deceived into signing a military contract. On Nov. 6, the young man was transferred from Cheboksary to a military school in the city of Saratov. According to his sister, conscripts were pressured during the journey to sign contracts. They were also threatened that refusal to sign would result in being sent to the frontlines, where they would "be killed anyway, leaving their parents to receive them as cargo 200" [a military term referring to the transportation of military fatalities]. Upon arrival, the young man signed what he thought was a training contract, only to later discover it was a standard MoD contract.

A court in the city of Yekaterinburg has suspended the criminal case against Vyacheslav Danilov, the former head of the Road Administration Department, who is accused of six episodes of bribery on an especially large scale totaling 12.1 million rubles [$116,300], as he has signed a contract with the MoD for participation in combat in Ukraine.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet has reported the deaths of two contract soldiers born in 2005 during the war. Viktor Zhugdurov, born in June 2005, joined the army in October 2023 and signed a contract in February 2024. He was killed on Oct. 23. Valentin Chernyaev, born in March 2005, also began statutory military service in 2023 and signed a contract in May 2023. Chernyaev was killed in June 2024.

Matvey Razdelny, a resident of the Vladimir region who is currently engaged in the war, has reported on Colombian mercenaries fighting alongside him against Ukraine. Razdelny referred to them as "committed communists."

In the Moscow region, Dmitry Davydov, a former prisoner of war who had escaped from forward positions, died of heart failure on Sept. 1 while in his military unit. Vasily Grigoryev, a fellow soldier who was held captive with Davydov, may be redeployed to the frontline despite having shrapnel in his leg. Both men were mobilized from the city of Pskov and subsequently captured during fighting in the Belgorod region. After spending eight months in captivity, they were exchanged and promptly redeployed to the frontline, where they were tasked with the evacuation of wounded and deceased soldiers. The men eventually fled from the field camp and travelled to Moscow, where they presented themselves to the Military Prosecutor's Office, confessed and filed a complaint against the military command for unlawful redeployment. After that, their AWOL status was removed. Grigoryev has filed a lawsuit, citing a clause of the Geneva Convention that prohibits returning former POWs to combat zones. However, the MoD considered that Grigoryev does not fall under this norm since he was exchanged before the end of combat operations and is therefore not classified as a repatriated POW.

In Kabardino-Balkaria [Russia’s constituent republic], a soldier named Nikolay Spichkin, who lost part of his intestine due to an injury, has been deemed partially fit for service and denied discharge. Spichkin serves in the 144th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, stationed in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania [Russia's constituent republic]. After being injured in the war with Ukraine, Spichkin lost two-thirds of his intestine. Despite this, the military medical board classified him as partially fit for service with a "V" category, while Spichkin himself insists he should be classified as "D," which indicates complete unfitness for service.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

A court in Saint Petersburg has detained Klaud Rommel, a serviceman who is accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl. In early October, the court initially allowed Rommel to remain under the supervision of his military unit. However, investigators appealed this decision, and Rommel has since been placed in a pre-trial detention center. According to investigators, Rommel repeatedly assaulted the girl between September 2022 and February 2024. He denies the charges. After the criminal case was initiated, Rommel went to the frontline and returned in August for medical treatment due to an injury. He was detained upon leaving the hospital on Sept. 30.

In Kursk, a court has detained British citizen James Scott Rhys Anderson, who fought with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was captured in the Kursk region. He is accused of illegally crossing the border and participating in combat in the region. News of Anderson's capture emerged on Nov. 25. Anderson served in the British Army from 2019 to 2023 before joining the AFU's Foreign Legion, allegedly inspired by a TV report on the war. The Guardian noted that Anderson’s case is the first known instance of a Western soldier being captured in Russia.

A Russian-appointed "court" in the occupied part of the Kherson region has sentenced Ihor Protokovylo, a 35-year-old Ukrainian city council member from the town of Nova Kakhovka, to 12 years in a penal colony on charges of "espionage." According to investigators, in April 2022, Protokovylo transmitted information about the locations of Russian soldiers to a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) via a messenger app. Russian soldiers kidnapped Protokovylo in the spring of 2022.

In the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject], journalist Nika Novak has been sentenced to four years of imprisonment for cooperating with a foreign organization on a confidential basis. She was detained in Moscow in 2023 and transferred to the Zabaykalsky region in 2024. Novak had worked for the ChitaMedia and Zab.ru media outlets. Since 2022, she had collaborated as a freelance correspondent with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which investigators classified as a foreign organization, according to the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet. Novak's sentence marks the first instance of journalists being sentenced to prison under this charge.

Children

A meeting was held for students from schools in New Moscow with State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] member Dmitry Sablin, who allegedly participated in the war against Ukraine in 2022. However, journalists discovered that during this time, Sablin was regularly vacationing with his family in Turkey. The meeting with the schoolchildren was conducted in a dialogue format, during which the children were forced to ask questions about "heroism, life, truth and love for the Motherland."

Based on the reports from groups of educational institutions on the VKontakte social network, the Agentstvo media outlet estimates that in 16 Russian regions, children are being prepared for missile strikes.

According to the It’s My City media outlet, citing a student, schoolchildren in Yekaterinburg are being given failing grades if they refuse to send New Year's greetings to Russian soldiers. The student reported that a teacher assigned writing letters with holiday greetings for participants in the "special military operation" instead of holding two scheduled classes: Art and Fundamentals of Spiritual and Moral Culture. The student said after refusing to write the letter, he was given failing grades in both subjects.

Miscellaneous

The government of Saint Petersburg will open the second scientific and production center for unmanned vehicle technologies. The center will provide production facilities for residents to develop and assemble drones.

Natalya Nikolayeva, the wife of the head of Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic], has sent a letter to municipal administration heads requesting that they each send three women to an upcoming event for the wives and mothers of participants in the war, according to the Serditaya Chuvashia [Angry Chuvashia] Telegram channel. As noted by the 7x7-Gorizontalnaya Rossiya [Horizontal Russia] news outlet, the Union of Women of Chuvashia organizes fashion shows and jewelry auctions in support of the war. Additionally, using a grant from the republic’s budget, the Union launched a project called The Art of Waiting, where women were taught how to properly await the return of men from the war.

Longreads

Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] reports on a military unit near Donetsk where soldiers were allegedly held in dog kennels and deprived of their salaries and compensation for injuries. Journalists identified several of the captives, spoke with their mothers and discovered that the detainees included not only military personnel. An officer from the unit told Mediazona that there were no physical punishments or extortion in the unit, adding that the commander of the 110th Brigade was "too lenient."