Mobilization in Russia for Aug. 22-23, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
A bill has been introduced to the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] proposing the suspension of criminal cases against defendants who have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the war. Upon completion of their service, these defendants would be exempt from punishment. The bill, proposed by the Supreme Court, has recently received government approval.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
In Moscow, contract military service is being advertised through ads on trucks and the distribution of flyers. These advertisements indicate a potential annual income of 5.2 million rubles [$57,000] for a contract soldier. Additionally, business cards handed out near the Kosino metro station mention a payment of 50,000 rubles [$550] for each prospective contract soldier recruited.
The Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet investigated chats among military wives, interviewed a soldier and a lawyer and reported on why the Ministry of Defense is forcing mobilized soldiers to sign contracts. The report also explores how the MoD is trying to send new categories of men dependent on the authorities to the war. According to the lawyer, artificially increasing the number of contract servicemen by enlisting mobilized soldiers who are already in the combat zone is an easy way for the MoD to report an increase in signed contracts.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Based on open sources, journalists from Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, along with volunteers, have verified the names of 65,522 Russian fighters killed in the war with Ukraine, including 8,637 mobilized soldiers. Since Aug. 6, the list has been updated with the names of 3,691 servicemen, including 781 mobilized soldiers. As noted by BBC News Russian, at least 52% of them were not affiliated with the army when the war began. Over the past 10 months, journalists have recorded a sharp increase in the deaths of volunteer fighters—weekly losses among them have not fallen below 100 since October 2023, with some weeks seeing more than 240 volunteers killed.
Vazhnyye Istorii [iStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has identified at least 84 Russian conscripts who went missing in the Kursk region, along with at least 45 others who have been captured. BBC News Russian independently has identified the names of 81 conscripts who have not been in contact with their families since the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Kursk region. Most of the missing soldiers were from the 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment, with some from the 252nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, all stationed at the Russia-Ukraine border. Volunteers working with these lists have estimated that around 300 conscripts might be in captivity. A Ukrainian representative stated that about 400 individuals were captured in total. The deaths of two conscripts, 19-year-old Daniil Rubtsov and 22-year-old Artyom Dobrodumsky, have been confirmed, though the number of unverified death notices is higher. Parents of the missing conscripts are desperately posting messages on social media in an attempt, seeking any information, as neither the draft offices nor the military units are responding. Some parents have been contacted by pro-government activists advising them to refrain from publicly discussing the capture, death or disappearance of conscripts in order to avoid "playing along" with the Ukrainians and confronting Russian authorities. Families who sought help from propagandists and military correspondents were turned away, as those individuals feared repercussions. Parents of conscripts from the 488th Regiment have written an appeal to Putin, which, according to volunteers, has been signed by more than 150 people, though not everyone believes it will lead to any change.
A conscript who enlisted for contract military service shared his experience with the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] project, detailing how conscripts are being forced to sign contracts before being deployed to the Kursk and Belgorod regions. According to the young man, he was summoned to the draft office for a data check-up in June. However, upon arrival, he was prevented from leaving the building, issued a draft notice and sent to the army. Later, under psychological pressure, he signed a contract. Those who refused were promptly summoned for private discussions at the outset of Ukraine's operation in the Kursk region, where they were pressured to sign contracts with the MoD.
Lieutenant Nikita Mitchenko from an assault company of the 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade, who escaped from a basement jail in the "LPR," shared his experience of serving in the Russian Army with the Astra Telegram channel. The 31-year-old officer has not had any leave during his two and a half years of war service. In recent months, he has been receiving 170,000 rubles [$1,860] less per month than he was entitled to. After filing a complaint, the brigade commander ordered him to be locked in a basement of a residential building in the town of Lysychansk. Mitchenko, along with two other soldiers, was held in a room under the trash chute. They had to sleep in shifts and were fed only once a day. They were not allowed to use the toilet and had to relieve themselves in bags. They eventually escaped when their drinking water ran out and are now hiding in the territories of the so-called DPR and LPR.
Another soldier from the Moscow region reported being assigned to a reconnaissance company of the 30th Regiment, which was formed at the initiative of regional governor Andrey Vorobyov. Vorobyov had publicly promised to provide the "elite" regiment with all necessary supplies and support for their families. However, according to the soldier, they are receiving only 34,000 rubles [$370] per month instead of the promised 204,000 rubles [$2,240]. This is because the unit is officially not involved in the war but is instead tasked with "protecting the Belgorod region." In reality, they have already been involved in fighting near Vovchansk and suffered significant losses. The soldiers have since been relocated to the Kursk region; however, appeals to the presidential administration and the Moscow prosecutor's office have yielded no results.
Additionally, soldiers from an assault company of the 11th Tank Brigade have complained about payment issues. Since February, they have been stationed in the Belgorod region under the operational command of the 245th Regiment. In June, they were twice sent on assaults on the Kharkiv axis without artillery support or electronic warfare equipment, resulting in severe losses. Now, only one platoon remains operational in the company. Despite enduring attacks and drone strikes, the assault troops receive only between 30,000 and 40,000 rubles [$330-$435] and are not paid combat allowances. There is no rotation or supply in the unit, forcing the soldiers to share one field ration among two or three people. According to the men, the only way out of the unit is either by being killed or wounded in action.
Mobilized soldier Yury Slavik from the 126th Coastal Defense Brigade is being threatened with deployment to an assault unit and a criminal case despite being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Last year, he underwent heart surgery and is currently on blood-thinning medication, which increases the risk of fatal blood loss if he is injured.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Chita Garrison Military Court has sentenced serviceman Aleksey Arefyev to seven years and seven months in a penal colony for going AWOL. Arefyev had previously escaped from his unit twice.
On the night of Aug. 23, unknown individuals set fire to a railway sectioning post on the Khimki-Skhodnya line in Moscow. They threw bottles containing an incendiary mixture into the building, causing it to burn down completely.
A court in Yekaterinburg has remanded three young men in pre-trial detention on charges related to the arson of relay cabinets. Arseniy Klimin, Daniil Yeliseyev and Nikita Sukhorukov are accused of attempting to commit an act of terror. Klimin claims that he is an unofficial FSB employee, allegedly recruited through Telegram for "informal assistance." The young men were detained on Sept. 5, 2023.
Svetlana Yemelyanova, a resident of Saint Petersburg, has been fined 70,000 rubles [$770] for "failure to report a crime." She did not inform authorities about the arson of a Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] warehouse and law enforcement vehicles. The case materials indicate that her partner Aleksey Baranov, who is described as an opponent of the "special military operation," attempted to set fire to the Rosgvardia warehouse and also burned the law enforcement vehicles on two occasions.
On Aug. 21, the FSB detained Yury Izmailov, a resident of Novosibirsk, on charges of participation in a terrorist organization. A female acquaintance of the man reports that he was subjected to violence. At the court hearing, he appeared with a bandaged head. The man is accused of intending to join the "Russian Volunteer Corps." Izmailov has been placed in custody until Oct. 22.
In the Bryansk region, a man has been sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for treason for filming a draft office. The regional FSB stated that he did this on the orders of "terrorists."
The administration of the IK-3 penal colony in the Kostroma region has offered Valeria Zotova the opportunity to receive favorable treatment in exchange for informing on other convicts. After she refused, the administration began spreading rumors throughout the colony about Zotova’s alleged drug addiction. Female friends have warned Zotova that drugs might be planted on her, raising concerns that this could lead to a new criminal case against her. In June 2023, the court sentenced 20-year-old Zotova to six years in a penal colony in a case for an attempted terrorist attack. Zotova became a victim of a law enforcement provocation.
Miscellaneous
Participants in the war in Ukraine are becoming the "new middle class," according to experts from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting affiliated with the Russian authorities. By the end of 2023, the share of people with incomes over 100,000 rubles [$1,100] had increased to 10%, up from 5.7% in 2021. This growth is largely driven by payments to war participants. However, experts interviewed by the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet believe that the incomes of war participants and beneficiaries will decline once the war ends.
Longreads
The Veter media project spoke with the family of conscript soldier Daniil Rubtsov on the day of his funeral, who was killed in the Kursk region. Meanwhile, the Okno media outlet reported on the story of the Kiskorov brothers. Mobilized soldiers Semyon and Gennady refused to participate in the war and were tortured by starvation, tied to a tree and threatened with being sent to the most dangerous spots on the frontline. In mid-August, Semyon was buried in Novokuznetsk, but his family remains uncertain whether he was killed by "friend or foe." His brother has not been heard from since.
The T-Invariant media outlet spoke with several friends and colleagues of Artyom Khoroshilov, a scientist accused of treason and organizing DDoS attacks. Meanwhile, Bumaga compiled all available information about Yegor Lauskis and Artemy Doronin, schoolboys who have become the youngest individuals in Saint Petersburg to be convicted on terrorism charges.
In the new academic year, over 620,000 state-funded university places were allocated, with 48,000 reserved for participants in the "special military operation," their children, as well as orphans and people with disabilities. Vazhnyye Istorii reports on those who were admitted to Russian universities under these quotas. In 2024, the number of such students reached over 14,900, an increase of 6,300 compared to 2023. About 70% of these students, who were admitted based on the results of the Unified State Exam [graduation examination in Russia’s schools], would not have qualified without the quota due to low scores.