Mobilization in Russia for Aug. 24-26, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Russia’s Ministry of Labor will expand the list of professions for alternative civilian service, adding five new positions, including lathe operator, smokejumper, occupational therapy instructor, printer, and electrician for power grids and electrical equipment. The ministry also added 121 organizations to the list of available workplaces. Before the changes, the list included 266 professions and 1,671 organizations. According to the Federal Service for Labor and Employment, more than 2,000 young men annually opt for alternative civilian service instead of military service.
Cybersecurity specialists may soon be able to defer their statutory military service, according to a new government resolution targeting "young specialists engaged in countering illegal acts, including those involved in conducting forensic examinations in the field of information and communication technologies." The Ministry of Defense and other departments will need to establish the specific criteria for deferral. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, the Federal Security Service, Roskomnadzor [Russia's internet censorship agency], and other organizations will likely be eligible for the deferral. The application process would be similar to that for IT specialists, requiring a new submission for each semiannual conscription campaign.
The government has approved Russia’s withdrawal from the European Convention against Torture. The resolution on withdrawal from both the convention itself and the protocols adopted to it was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The international treaty against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was signed by Russia in 1996. As noted by the Team Against Torture [Russian human rights organization], after leaving the convention Russia will no longer be obliged to provide international inspectors with access to places of detention. They last visited the country in 2021. Since its expulsion from the Council of Europe, Russia has ignored requests from international observers.
Army Recruitment
The authorities of the Krasnodar region have increased the sign-up bonus for military contracts by 600,000 rubles [$7,430]. The last increase in the region was in October 2024, when the payment was set at 1.5 million rubles [$18,600]. Now the region will pay 2.1 million rubles [$26,000], with an additional 500,000 rubles [$6,200] from the municipalities of the region and 400,000 rubles [$4,960] from the national government. As a result, when being sent to the war, new recruits from the region will be able to receive an immediate payment of 3 million rubles [$37,200]. The increased bonus applies to those who sign contracts between Aug. 25 and Sept. 30.
Sign-up bonuses have also been increased in the Saratov region. The regional payment has risen to 2.2 million rubles [$27,300], up from the previous 700,000 rubles [$8,670]. The municipal payment will amount to 400,000 rubles [$4,960]. Taking into account the national contribution, the total bonuses will reach 3 million rubles [$37,200]. In addition, the region earlier introduced an extra payment of 500,000 rubles [$6,200] for former law enforcement officers willing to go to war. The region also provides payments for assisting in the recruitment, which can reach 400,000 rubles [$4,960].
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has reported an increase in advertising for recruitment into the African Corps [a Russian paramilitary group controlled and managed by the Russian government] in Russia's constituent Republic of Tatarstan. Since early August, Tatarstan media outlets have been publishing direct ads for service in the corps noticeably more often. At the same time, authorities raised the sign-up bonus for contract military service in the African Corps from 2.1 mln rubles [$26,055] to 2.7 mln rubles [$33,500], while the MoD pays an additional 400,000 rubles [$496].
In the Tomsk region, the mayor of the town of Strezhevoy, Valery Denichenko, has expressed concerns regarding the competition for recruits with the neighboring Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject]. According to Denichenko, local residents sign contracts in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region because of the regional payment of 3.2 mln rubles [$39,600], while the Tomsk region only pays 1.4 mln rubles [$17,300]. The mayor has stated that those who enlist in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region are being assigned to assault troops and die, whereas those enlisting in the Tomsk region can become artillerymen, sappers and UAV operators, with the potential for leave. Local residents, however, have stated that the place of signing a contract does not affect whether a person will be assigned to assault troops.
In the Krasnoyarsk region, law enforcement carried out a raid targeting migrants. Several agencies participated in the operation, which involved the use of drones. As a result, 176 people were taken to a police station. Two of them, who had previously obtained Russian citizenship, were issued notices to register for military service.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that around 90,000 residents of the capital are currently fighting in the war against Ukraine. The figure includes mobilized men, volunteer fighters, contract soldiers, and career military personnel.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg has opened proceedings against 50-year-old former soldier Mikhail Molochkov, who is charged with murder committed with extreme brutality. According to prosecutors, in May 2024, Molochkov deserted his unit in the Leningrad region and began drifting across the country. He was subsequently charged with going AWOL. In late June 2024, he appeared in the city of Sarapul in the Udmurt Republic, where he asked a janitor to let him spend the night in a utility cabin. During a drinking session with the janitor and a female acquaintance, Molochkov—without apparent provocation—set them on fire, killing both. Leaked reports suggest that Molochkov has multiple prior convictions dating back to 1999 for murder, theft, and inflicting grievous bodily harm resulting in death. Shortly after being released from a penal colony, on Oct. 25, 2023, he signed a contract with the MoD.
A prosecutor has requested 15 years in a maximum security penal colony on terrorist attack charges for Yekaterinburg resident Aleksey Belozerskiy. According to investigators, in August 2023 Belozerskiy threw three Molotov cocktails at a military enlistment office of the Sverdlovsk region. The fire was quickly extinguished and the building sustained no damage. Belozerskiy himself claims he acted under pressure from phone scammers who convinced him to take out loans totaling 5.4 million rubles [$66,900] and transfer the money to "safe accounts." The scammers told him he could only recover the money by carrying out their demand—setting fire to the military enlistment office. After the attack, Belozerskiy went to the police himself and confessed to his actions, though he has not admitted guilt to the terrorist attack charges.
A court has placed 20-year-old technical college student Timofey Sukharev from Syktyvkar in a pre-trial detention center on suspicion of attempted sabotage. According to investigators, the suspect broke into an electrical substation in the village of Vylgort and drained oil from a local transformer "with the intent to disable power equipment and cut off electricity to the district." This triggered the substation's emergency system, though it did not cause any power outages. During interrogation, the young man said that he had previously been contacted on Telegram by an unknown person claiming to be a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer. Following this person's instructions, the student first filmed trains at the Syktyvkar station, then broke into the electrical substation grounds. In exchange, the "FSB officer" promised not to disclose the young man's personal data from the Gosuslugi public services portal.
In Krasnoyarsk, authorities arrested a 14-year-old schoolgirl who attempted to set fire to a relay cabinet at the Bugach junction station. Law enforcement officers say the minor was offered 20,000 rubles [$250] to torch the railway equipment. Her contact convinced the schoolgirl her actions were legal, provided instructions and advice on how best to carry out the sabotage. The girl failed to complete the arson—she was spotted by the engineer of a passing electric train. Authorities have opened a criminal case against the schoolgirl for attempted terrorist attack and placed her under house arrest.
In Yekaterinburg, a criminal case has been initiated against Oleg Podkorytov, a 33-year-old resident of Pervouralsk. He is charged with committing an act of terror and participating in a terrorist organization. According to the prosecution, in August 2024, Podkorytov filled out an application to join the Freedom of Russia Legion using a fake account. An unknown person then contacted him and proposed that he set fire to relay cabinets on the Pervouralsk–Podvoloshnaya railway section to gain entry into the Legion. On the evening of Aug. 30, Podkorytov went to the location, opened a cabinet with a crowbar, set it on fire, and recorded it on video, which he then sent to the unknown individual. The video of the arson was posted on the Legion's YouTube channel on Oct. 1, 2024. On Sept. 24, Podkorytov traveled to the Georgian border to leave the country and join the Legion, but was detained by FSB officers at the Verkhny Lars checkpoint.
The FSB also arrested a 54-year-old resident of the Volgograd region, who, allegedly instructed by phone scammers, brought a bomb to the agency's headquarters in annexed Crimea. According to the intelligence services, the woman received a call from a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in May, who introduced himself as an FSB investigator and said that a Ukrainian citizen on the terrorist list had taken out a loan in her name, after which he donated the money "for the needs" of the Ukrainian army. The scammer convinced the woman that in order to avoid criminal liability, she needed to transfer more than 3 million rubles [$37,200] to his account. To do this, the Volgograd resident took out several loans using her apartment as collateral. The scammers also convinced the woman to come to Crimea, where she took an Orthodox icon with a bomb hidden inside from a courier. After this, she brought the icon to the checkpoint of the FSB Directorate for Crimea and Sevastopol, where she was detained. A criminal case was opened against the woman for an attempted terrorist attack and illegal possession of explosives. She was sent to a pre-trial detention center for two months.
A court in Yekaterinburg sentenced 26-year-old physical education teacher from Izhevsk Daniil T. to 18 years in prison on charges of treason, preparing an act of sabotage, and participation in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, in February 2024, the man filled out a questionnaire for the Freedom of Russia Legion. In March, he was contacted by an unknown person who asked Daniil to collect information about the Izhevsk enterprise Finco, which produces drones. Daniil took a photo of the factory and the surrounding area before sending it to the "handlers." In addition, following the instructions, the man made two Molotov cocktails and left them near a transformer substation, which was supposed to be set on fire by another person. Soon after, the man was detained by law enforcement officers. According to the case materials, he was followed almost from the very beginning. The man pleaded guilty and said that he was promised $700 for the work, but never received any money.
A Sevastopol resident, Dmitry Myskov, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of treason. According to investigators, the 45-year-old allegedly sent Ukraine photographs of Black Sea Fleet ship locations, along with videos showing troop deployments and the movements of Russian military helicopters between July and September 2024.
The Moscow City Court handed former Yandex employee Sergey Irin a 15-year sentence in a penal colony, also on treason charges. Prosecutors said the programmer donated $500 to the Ukrainian charity "Come Back Alive" using his Russian bank card on Feb. 27, 2022, just days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Irin later left Russia, living in Turkey and Sri Lanka before returning in April 2024. Upon his return, he was first jailed for five days on charges of petty hooliganism. As he was being released, he was detained again—this time on treason charges and, after an interrogation "with a stun gun," was flown to Moscow.
Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet, noted that Irin’s case underscores how the FSB prosecutes Russians for donations to Ukraine—and why anyone returning to Russia should weigh the risks carefully.
The Vladimir regional court sentenced 43-year-old resident of Murom Sergey Loktev to five years in a penal colony on charges of secret cooperation with foreigners. According to the prosecution, in April 2022 Loktev joined a Telegram group that collected information about Russians supporting the invasion of Ukraine. The man sent to it photographs of cars with the Z symbol. The investigation linked the group with "representatives of Ukraine." In September 2024 Loktev was sentenced to one year and 10 months in a penal settlement on charges of calls for extremist activity on the internet. He was charged with messages in which he allegedly called for violence against officials and employees of the Federal Protective Service.
The Military Court of Appeals in Vlasikha rejected an appeal against the sentence of 32-year-old resident of the town of Rezh, Sverdlovsk region, Vladlen Menshikov, who in April 2024 was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of sabotage on the railway. The man was detained in September 2022 while attempting to fly to Belarus. He was also found guilty of calls for terrorism and cooperation with the Freedom of Russia Legion.
The OVD-Info independent human rights project analyzed data on criminal cases under the article on rehabilitation of Nazism. The number of politically motivated prosecutions under Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has been growing since 2020. In 2024, 60 criminal cases were initiated in Russia, and in 2025, as of the end of August, another 31 cases.
Longreads
The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] spoke with pro-war "volunteers" from border regions of Russia who since 2022 have been purchasing equipment, gear, and other assistance for the military.