Mobilization in Russia for April 29-May 1, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Russia’s Labor Ministry has drafted a law that places fighters from so-called private military companies (PMCs) on the same footing as other combatants for pension purposes, authorizing the "simultaneous receipt of two pensions, including one for war-related disability." Eighteen months ago, Vladimir Putin blamed the absence of benefits for mercenaries on the fact that, "formally and legally," Russia has no such companies and "the law does not recognize them." The draft law calls PMCs “organizations assisting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” yet Russia still lacks a law defining PMCs, leaving their legal status unresolved.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] raised the bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to 1 million rubles [$12,200], up from the 400,000 rubles [$4,900] set in August 2024. The republic also provides a bonus of 200,000 rubles [$2,450] funded by regional businesses. Together with the federal component, recruits now receive a one‑time payout totaling 1.6 million rubles [$19,600].

Governor Radiy Khabirov of Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic] signed a decree that keeps in place the 1.6 million‑ruble [$19,600] sign‑up bonus introduced in January until May 15, after officials extended the enlistment incentive last month through April 30.

The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all Telegram channel reports a rise in roundups of conscription-age men across various Russian cities since April 14, primarily in the cities of Moscow and Makhachkala. According to human rights activists, in Moscow law enforcement officers are conducting raids in the metro and shopping malls, while in Makhachkala, men are being detained right on the street. In some cases, conscripts manage to leave the police station or the Unified Military Recruitment Center with only a draft notice. There are also reports of violations within the recruitment centers themselves: detainees are subjected to violence and threats, attempts are made to complete all conscription procedures in a single day, and there have been cases of men being sent to military units without being examined by a medical evaluation board.

At one of the markets in the city of Saratov, law enforcement officers conducted a raid during which they checked around 100 migrants. As part of the roundup, draft office personnel also handed out 20 draft notices to Russian citizens ordering them to report for military registration.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Mobilized soldier Dzate Mamitov, who was sent back to the frontline despite having lost an eye and two toes as well as having an untreated injury, has gone missing. According to his sister Irina, on April 12, unknown individuals attempted to withdraw money from Mamitov’s bank card, after which he contacted her and said he was heading out on a combat mission. He also asked her to transfer 10,000 rubles [$120] to an unknown number. The transfer failed, and Mamitov has not been in contact since. On April 20, the family received a notice stating that he is officially listed as missing in action. Previously, both Mamitov’s sister and members of the veterans' union of North Ossetia–Alania [Russia's constituent republic] had recorded video appeals to the head of the republic, Sergey Menyaylo, asking for help in clarifying Mamitov’s fate.

On April 28, Sergey Ch., a 20-year-old conscript soldier from the 335th Radio Technical Regiment, took his own life in the Belgorod region. According to the Astra Telegram channel, on that day, the conscript and his fellow soldier were deployed to a combat post near the village of Makeshkino. The young man shot himself in the chin with an AK-12 assault rifle. No suicide note was found with him.

It has been discovered that Ramis Kayumov, a conscript from Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, was killed on May 25, 2022, at the age of 26. He was conscripted into the Russian Armed Forces in 2021 and served in the 217th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment in Ivanovo. In May 2022, he was deployed to the Kursk region "to carry out the assigned task of reinforcing the state border of the Russian Federation." It is reported that he was killed in an attack by a projectile fragment that struck him in the heart.

Vitaliy Morozov, a 27-year-old serviceman from Vladivostok, Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject], had his imminent deployment cancelled following the video address published by his sister. Morozov was being prepared for deployment to the frontline despite becoming the sole guardian of his seven-year-old son after the death of his wife. He is currently in Moscow but is expected to fly back to Vladivostok in the near future.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

28-year-old serviceman Ramazan Gadzhimuradov, who caused a traffic accident in Belgorod involving an ambulance that resulted in the death of two paramedics, was detained after being released from the hospital where he was recovering after the crash. The case is being handled by military investigators. The accident in Belgorod occurred in the early hours of Feb. 7. Gadzhimuradov, who was driving a BMW, ran a red light and crashed into the ambulance. It was previously reported that another serviceman who had been in the car, Murad Musayev, had already returned to the war with Ukraine.

According to the Pepel [Ashes] Telegram channel, Astra and the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet, a Russian soldier murdered a large family in the Kursk region. In the early hours of April 30, he entered the home of the Larin family in the village of Giri under the pretext of checking documents and opened fire with an assault rifle. 41-year-old Olesya Larina died at the scene from gunshot wounds, while her husband sustained serious injuries and is in intensive care. The Larin children were unharmed. According to local residents, the serviceman was in an inadequate condition—possibly under the influence of drugs. Astra also cited a witness who claimed the soldier attempted to abduct Larina’s two young daughters, aged 10 and 6, in a car. Regional authorities and law enforcement agencies have not commented on the incident. The identity of the attacker remains unknown.

On April 28, in Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan, 52-year-old Anatoly Ivanov, a participant in the war with Ukraine, brutally beat his 44-year-old wife, Nadezhda, to death. According to Ivanov, the fatal altercation arose over jealousy during a shared drinking session. He allegedly struck his wife several times. Sources from the Astra media outlet reported that Ivanov had been medically discharged from military service due to disability on April 3. He is missing his right arm and left leg and is classified as having a first-degree disability. However, law enforcement did not find any official record of his discharge, meaning he was still officially recognized as a service member. This discrepancy allegedly led to the lack of criminal charges, and he was allowed to go free.

In another case, three police officers and 13 taxi drivers working at Sheremetyevo Airport were arrested in connection with a theft and fraud scheme targeting war participants. The investigation involves charges of creating a criminal group, fraud, theft and extortion. According to investigators, taxi drivers initially quoted soldiers a fair price for their ride, only for the cost to escalate dramatically afterward. When soldiers refused to pay, the drivers allegedly threatened them with violence. On multiple occasions, the drivers offered the soldiers alcohol, then stole money from their mobile bank accounts. Two Ministry of Internal Affairs employees reportedly assisted the taxi drivers by notifying them of incoming flights with military personnel. When victims attempted to file reports at the Sheremetyevo police station, a third law enforcement officer allegedly refused to initiate criminal proceedings. The total damage caused by the arrested individuals was at least 1.5 million rubles [$18,400].

The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel reported, citing data from the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court, that 9,203 servicemen were convicted in Russia in 2024. The majority of convictions were for going AWOL, desertion, and failure to obey orders. Among those convicted, 1,882 were between the ages of 18 and 24, 2,069 were aged 25 to 29, 3,416 were aged 30 to 39, 1,671 were aged 40 to 49, 154 were aged 50 to 59, and 14 were over 60. A total of 3,445 servicemen received suspended sentences, while 5,607 were given actual prison terms. Most received sentences ranging from 3 to 8 years. Only two servicemen were acquitted throughout the year. Earlier reports indicated that the number of documented draft evasion cases had exceeded 50,554.

In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject], three individuals were detained on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack targeting a war veteran from a volunteer battalion affiliated with the Ministry of Defense. On April 12, an explosion occurred in a residential building in Khanty-Mansiysk. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the blast resulted from the accidental detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) during its assembly. The suspects — a Ukrainian national and a Belarusian citizen, allegedly acting as agents of Ukrainian intelligence services — were reportedly constructing the device. The explosion destroyed two apartments and injured five people, including the suspects themselves, who are currently hospitalized. Law enforcement is also investigating a Moldovan citizen suspected of smuggling IED components into the country. The suspects have been formally charged with preparing a terrorist attack, attempted murder, and the intentional destruction of property. They remain in custody.

In Rostov-on-Don, a 15-year-old student was detained on suspicion of assembling an explosive device on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence services. During a search, law enforcement officers discovered homemade explosive materials, which, according to investigators, the teenager had produced using readily available chemical reagents. He has been placed in a pre-trial detention center.

Yevgeny Ermilov, a resident of Yaroslavl, was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony for setting fire to a relay cabinet. He was charged with treason and sabotage. According to the verdict, 22-year-old Ermilov was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence in May 2024 after responding to a job advertisement. He was tasked with setting fire to a relay cabinet on the railway section between Yaroslavl and Dunayka and filming it for a reward of 30,000 rubles [$370]. On May 18, he carried out the arson, but he was never paid. Ermilov's arrest became known on May 22, 2024.

In Moscow, a military court sentenced Mikhail Golik from Veliky Novgorod to 12 years in prison for an act of terror. According to investigators, in the early hours of April 17, 2024, Golik set fire to a relay cabinet on a railway track, expressing disagreement with the domestic and foreign policies of the Russian authorities. He fully pleaded guilty.

In Saint Petersburg, Bogdan Bogomazov, a 22-year-old native of the city of Kharkiv, was sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony for espionage and attempted terrorist attack. According to the investigation, at the request of a friend from Ukrainian intelligence, Bogomazov sought information on law enforcement officers from Bashkortostan, called for arson attacks on Russian soldiers’ vehicles online, and attempted to organize explosions on railways in Sterlitamak and Saint Petersburg, as well as sabotage attacks using pyrotechnics at a defense plant. The prosecutor sought a 24-year sentence, but Bogomazov denied his guilt in court. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] provided detailed coverage of Bogomazov's case.

In Moscow, businessman Oleg Lysenko was sent to pre-trial detention on charges of treason for transferring money to an account "associated with the Armed Forces of Ukraine." According to the leaked databases, Lysenko was born in 1990 in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

A railroad guard from Sochi was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony in a case of state treason. According to investigators, in 2023, the man passed photos and videos of the location of air defense systems to his acquaintance, a Ukrainian police officer. The prosecution called it "providing real assistance to Ukraine."

A court in the Moscow region sentenced local resident Aleksandr Kharlamov to five years in a penal colony in a case of confidential cooperation with a foreign country.

A court in Novosibirsk sentenced 29-year-old Yekaterina Yegorova from Chita to 12 years in a penal colony for treason. According to the prosecution, from June 2023 to April 2024, the woman transferred money to purchase ammunition and equipment for the Ukrainian army. Yegorova was detained in the summer of 2024 while attempting to leave the country. She pleaded guilty in court.

According to the Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] tally, in April, courts handed 90 sentences against 145 convicted individuals under politically motivated charges. The majority of these sentences were issued under articles related to terrorism, sabotage, high treason and espionage. Russian courts issued politically motivated sentences nearly every working day. Only on April 24 did the Insider not record any publicly known sentences.

Children

Another "Children’s Victory Parade" took place in Dagestan [Russia’s constituent republic]. As part of the parade, 200 kindergarteners in the village of Nechayevka, dressed in military uniforms, marched in front of spectators.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet published the story of a Wagner Group mercenary who was recruited to the frontline from a penal colony, killed his mother after returning from the war, received a new sentence, and was once again sent to the frontline.