Mobilization in Russia for Aug. 18-19, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Federal authorities have decided to allow businesses, operating in the border areas of the Kursk region, to defer the payment of taxes and insurance contributions. "Deferment of these payments will be allowed for 12 months with a subsequent option to pay in installments," states the government’s announcement. Premier Minister Mikhail Mishustin has instructed the Ministry of Finance to draft a corresponding government bill and submit it for approval within ten days.

A minimum of 12 regions across Russia have canceled various recreational activities in solidarity with the Kursk region, where combat operations have been taking place for two weeks already. Moreover, at least 7 municipalities have canceled or shortened their City Day celebrations.

Renat Suleymanov, a State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] member from Novosibirsk (Communist Party), said at a meeting with participants of the "special military operation" that 60% of them were from rural areas or small towns, concluding that the "army remains composed of workers and peasants."

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] project has compiled all that is known about raids on migrants. Law enforcement agencies have been conducting raids in order to add men, who have acquired Russian citizenship, to the military rolls and force them to perform their military service or enlist to fight in the war. Recently, such raids took place in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and the Volgograd region. According to the project, they resulted in the registration of around 150 naturalized citizens. 25 of them concluded contracts, as did six foreign citizens.

In Russia's constituent Republic of Mari El, authorities have doubled the value of the sign-up bonus payable upon conclusion of a contract with the Ministry of Defense from 500,000 to 1,000,000 rubles [$5,590 to $11,200]. Including the federal component of 400,000 rubles [$4,480], individuals enlisting in the region are now eligible for a 1.4 million rubles [$15,700] lump sum payment.

The Ministry of Defense has reported on a teleconference between conscripts from the Altai region [Russia’s federal subject] and "military personnel performing tasks in the special military operation zone." According to the MoD, the main goal of these events is "to inform conscripts and persuade them to sign a contract."

Vasily Smolin, the head of the Bichursky district of Russia’s constituent Republic of Buryatia, who was arrested on accusation of murder, has decided to evade punishment by going to war with Ukraine. According to investigators, Smolin had physically assaulted a man who died from his injuries the next day. Smolin is facing charges of grievous bodily harm resulting in death. He did not plead guilty but decided to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense before the court's verdict.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Timur Myakotin from the Belgorod region, Denis Pikulev from the Volgograd region and Tagir Khaibulin from the Chelyabinsk region.

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet has reported, citing sources, that Siberian conscripts are being forced to sign contracts under the threat of being deployed to the Kursk region if they refuse. In particular, in the town of Aleysk in the Altai region, where the 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade is stationed, senior officers regularly visit conscripts to persuade them to sign contracts by promising that they will work in the headquarters instead of going to the frontline. According to the source, about 20 individuals have signed contracts there in the past two months. Aleysk conscripts took the military oath on Aug. 11, and allegedly, they are to be sent to a training unit in the Belgorod region in early September.

According to a source from the Sota media outlet, military units in Buryatia have received orders to send a specific number of conscripted soldiers on a mission to reinforce the border. The plan reportedly aims to gather 200 soldiers from the region. However, Ivan Alkheyev, the Deputy Chairman of the Government of Buryatia, denies this information.

The Astra Telegram channel and the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] project have launched a joint helpline to assist conscripts and their families. The creators of the initiative promise to provide legal assistance, offering guidance on what to do if a conscript ends up in border regions, is captured, or is being sent to a combat zone. They also offer advice for those being pressured to sign a contract. If needed, the journalists pledge to bring the issue to public attention through the media.

The Mozhem Ob'yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel has confirmed the identity of another captured conscript—a 20-year-old Anton Spiridonov from the Kurgan region. A video of his interrogation was published by Ukrainian sources. According to the soldier, their commanders abandoned them, leaving them without communication or weapons. Anton's relatives recognized him in the video.

Daniil Churkin, a conscript who was seriously injured by an exploding projectile, was returned to his unit before making a full recovery. In April 2024, a projectile exploded at a training range in the Saratov region, killing one soldier and severely injuring Churkin. He was repeatedly hospitalized and then discharged before completing the treatment. On July 22, an officer from the training ground took him back to the unit, even though he was scheduled for surgery. Churkin's mother recorded a video address demanding that those responsible for the incident at the training range be held accountable and that her son receive proper medical care. She also called for a new evaluation by the military medical board evaluation.

Refuseniks who were transferred from a unit near Saint Petersburg to the Kursk region reported to their families that they were moved to the Shebekinsky district in the Belgorod region, where they were immediately sent into assault operations. Since then, there has been no communication with them. One refusenik mentioned that their commanders told them, "If you want to run, run." Thirty-seven soldiers managed to escape with rifles and bulletproof vests, but were later apprehended by military police. During a subsequent attempt to escape, one refusenik was shocked with a stun gun and another was handcuffed to a post. Ultimately, all the escapees were taken to an unknown location.

In Donetsk, the commandant's office has reportedly abducted Yury Prudnikov, a 31-year-old volunteer fighter. Yury and his brother voluntarily enlisted for service in 2022, but later left their posts due to lack of payment. They had not signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense, yet were declared wanted for going AWOL. On Aug. 13, men in military uniforms forcibly entered their apartment. The military police were searching for the older brother but took the younger one, who was present at the time. Their mother called the police, who eventually filed a missing person and home invasion report. The abducted man later made contact, stating he and another man were being taken to a mine in the city of Horlivka.

The body of Khamzet Gogov, a fighter from the Storm-Z unit, has not been evacuated from the battlefield for eleven months. He has still not been officially declared dead. Gogov's mother received documents stating that her son "went missing during assault operations" in the "LPR" near the village of Raihorodok, where, according to her, hundreds of bodies of Russian soldiers remain.

The Voyennye Advokaty project has reported receiving messages about notaries refusing to certify powers of attorney for representation in draft offices. According to one notary, citizens are required to visit draft offices exclusively in person. However, the current legislation does not impose any restrictions on representatives.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Irkutsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced serviceman Aleksandr Palady to four years and seven months in a maximum security penal colony for two counts of group robbery with violence. Palady, along with an accomplice, committed several robberies, stealing mobile phones. The sentence was handed down in conjunction with a previous conviction for armed robbery and rape resulting in grievous bodily harm.

In Volgograd, Roman Krylov, a former Wagner Group mercenary pardoned by Vladimir Putin, was sentenced to one and a half years on probation for robbing two microfinance institutions' offices of approximately 18,000 rubles [$200]. The court considered his participation in the war against Ukraine and the injury he received as mitigating factors. Krylov had previously been convicted multiple times.

The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Garrison Military Court sentenced a serviceman from Sakhalin to two and a half years in a penal colony for refusing to follow orders.

In the Novgorod region, the Federal Security Service detained a local resident who allegedly planned to go to Ukraine to "kill Russians." In the interrogation footage released by the intelligence services, the young man mentioned that he had applied to join the "Freedom of Russia Legion." However, a few seconds later, he stated that he wanted to join the "Russian Volunteer Corps." The young man was detained in the Bryansk region, his name has not been disclosed. Criminal cases have been initiated against him for preparing to participate in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing to commit high treason.

A court in Saint Petersburg sentenced Ukrainian citizen Viktor Rudenko to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of espionage. He was accused of passing information to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) that did not constitute a state secret. Rudenko was detained on April 24, 2023, and the case was heard behind closed doors. The charges against Rudenko claimed that in March 2022, while on Ukrainian territory, he collected and passed information to the SBU, which allegedly led to a mortar attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a motorized rifle division unit.

On June 21, a Kaliningrad court arrested Aleksandr Polyachkov, a resident of the city, on charges of espionage. As noted by Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet], only citizens of foreign states can be prosecuted under this article. Polyachkov is a citizen of Lithuania.

Relatives of every ninth person involved in "political" cases in Russia have faced pressure, according to calculations by the OVD-Info independent human rights project. The research published by human rights activists states that between 2016 and 2023, the relatives of 378 Russians persecuted for political reasons encountered pressure. In total, 3,332 people were involved in political cases during this period.

Assistance

In Buryatia, 49 orphans who fought in Ukraine were given apartments out of turn. In total, more than 5,000 orphans are waiting for housing in the region. According to the law, every orphaned child has the right to receive an apartment from the state upon reaching the age of 18. However, the actual waiting period averages from five to seven years, with some waiting as long as 10 to 20 years. Orphans are actively encouraged to sign contracts with promises of advancement in the queue.

Children

The prosecutor's office in Yekaterinburg has ordered an advanced school to admit a schoolgirl to a field-oriented class because her father is a participant in the war, even though the girl did not score enough points to be admitted.

Longreads

In the past two months alone, at least 13 18-year-old Russians have been killed in the war in Ukraine. They often end up at the frontline after just two weeks of training and sometimes die on their very first combat mission. Holod [independent Russian media outlet] spoke with the relatives of the deceased 18-year-old soldiers to understand what drives them to go to the war.