Mobilization in Russia for Aug. 4-6, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Military spouses will be allowed to accompany their husbands to health resorts while they undergo rehabilitation, stated Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council [upper house of the Federal Assembly], during a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Putin responded by saying that wives are "the best psychiatrists." Matviyenko indicated that the Federation Council and Ministry of Defense are already working on the corresponding proposal. Russia’s Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov has given instructions to draft regulations concerning travel and accommodation of spouses accompanying contract soldiers during their rehabilitation.
Putin has signed a decree to compensate employees of the Investigative Committee 3 million rubles [$35,200] if they are wounded in the war against Ukraine. Those injured will receive 3 million rubles [$35,200], while their families will be entitled to a 5 million rubles [$58,700] death gratuity in the event of their death.
Additionally, at a meeting of the State Council, Putin has instructed that participants in the war against Ukraine be involved in the education of children and youth. The instructions specify inter alia that this should be done by investing into the regional branches of the Center for the Development of Military-Sports Training and the Patriotic Education of Youth. This autonomous non-profit is set to receive federal budget funding for this purpose from 2025 to 2030.
The MoD published a draft resolution, according to which it would treat participation in the war as a secondment. If approved, contract soldiers would use military travel documents to make their own way to their place of service. The resolution, if enacted, would apply retroactively from February 2024.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
In the Kurgan region, the sign-up bonus for contracting with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the war with Ukraine has been increased from 120,000 rubles [$1,410] to 400,000 rubles [$4,700], the minimum recommended by Putin's decree. The Orenburg region has also raised its bonuses to this level. Previously, those willing to sign a contract in Orenburg received 50,000 rubles [$590]. Now, in both regions, volunteers can expect a total of 800,000 rubles [$9,400] including the federal component.
In the city of Saratov, the sign-up bonus for contracting with the military has been increased from 50,000 rubles [$588] to 200,000 rubles [$2,350] starting Aug. 1. Therefore, with the addition of regional and national bonuses, contracting in Saratov will total 1.1 million rubles [$12,900]. City officials will allocate 77 million rubles [$904,300] for these payments, which will cover bonuses for 385 contract soldiers.
In Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic], a project called "Recruit" has been launched, offering a payment of 50,000 rubles [$590] for recruiting contract soldiers. Recruiters can be the parents, siblings or other relatives of a contract soldier, as well as fellow soldiers, acquaintances and other individuals. Neither the recruiter nor the contract soldier needs to be a resident of Bashkortostan. As previously reported by the Vyorstka media outlet, at least nine regions in Russia have implemented similar referral programs for frontline recruitment.
In the Novosibirsk region, a man seeking assistance from an employment center was instead directed to a draft office, according to the Prizyv k Sovesti [Call to Conscience] coalition. The man had hoped to retrain as a psychologist through a free training program, but was offered a job as an infantryman instead. According to the organization's staff, similar redirections are being given to all men who seek help from the employment center for job searching, retraining or unemployment benefits. Lawyers note that failure to attend a scheduled interview or declining two consecutive job offers can result in the loss of unemployment benefits.
Igor Ryzhkov, Former top manager of an energy company from Chita, who was accused of the attempted murder of Andrey Artamonov, the person appointed to his position, signed a contract with the MoD to avoid punishment. In December 2023, the court acquitted Ryzhkov, who had shot his "offender" with a crossbow. However, the decision was later overturned, and Ryzhkov was found guilty. Authorities sought to place him in pre-trial detention but were unable to locate him, leading to his being declared a wanted fugitive.
In Perm, employees of a draft office and investigators conducted a raid against migrants. Law enforcement officers detained more than 30 people who had recently obtained Russian passports. They were taken to the draft office and forced to register for military service. The draft office reported that 25 naturalized citizens were conscripted during the spring conscription campaign.
In July, Russian draft offices increased the distribution of notices for military service register check-ups, according to Grigory Sverdlin, the head of the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] organization. According to Sverdlin, their frequency rose to between 10 and 14 per week, up from 3 to 4 per month previously. Students receiving such notices often face medical examinations and recruitment attempts for military contracts, even if they have a draft deferment or medical exemptions.
Nikolay Kolin, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of treason and financing terrorism for donating 10,000 rubles [$120] to the "Russian Volunteer Corps," was offered the opportunity to participate in the war, despite the fact that the charges, for which he was convicted, prohibit him from signing a military contract. Kolin declined the proposal.
Colonel Ilya Timofeev, the former head of the dismantling department of the Main Automotive-Armored Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, who was accused of receiving a bribe of nearly 3 million rubles [$35,200] and abusing his official position, was not allowed to participate in the war. Timofeev had hoped to avoid punishment by returning to work in the same department he once led. Although a position in the dismantling department was unavailable, he was offered the opportunity to fight on the frontline. Unwilling to take part in combat, Timofeev has appealed the refusal to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers
Maria Andreeva, the wife of a mobilized soldier, has been charged with failing to report herself as a "foreign agent," a source close to the activist told the Sota media outlet. According to Andreeva, the protocol for this charge will be drawn up on August 8, and she has received a notification of its preparation. On May 31, Andreeva and the movement she leads, Put Domoy [Way Home], which supports relatives of mobilized soldiers, were added to the list of "foreign agents." Additionally, Andreeva reported that she was forced to resign from her job. In a conversation with Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet], she clarified that she worked at the Scientific and Practical Center for Children's Psychoneurology in Moscow. Later, in a conversation with the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet, Andreeva stated she decided to stop her public fight for the return of mobilized soldiers from the frontline. She explained her actions by the need to take care of her child.
The Russian MoD responded to the demand of military wives to meet with Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. In a document published by one of the activists' Telegram channels, it is stated that citizen reception is conducted strictly according to a schedule that has not yet been established. A meeting with Belousov was promised to the activists by an officer during a protest near the MoD building in early July.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Aleksey Popov and Aleksandr Isakov from the Sverdlovsk region.
Based on open sources, Mediazona and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 61,831 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 7,856 mobilized soldiers. Since the last update ten days ago, the list has been supplemented with 822 soldiers, 193 of whom were mobilized. Mediazona notes that the number of obituaries is increasing at a rapid pace, exceeding the capacity of the team to process them, with their backlog reaching several thousand obituaries.
During a raid in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured at least six Russian soldiers, including several conscripts. Ukrainian Telegram channels have published videos showing the young men being interrogated. Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has identified 22-year-old Danil Kolesnikov from the Rovensky district of the Belgorod region and 21-year-old Maksim Hyamyalaynen from the town of Inta in Russia's constituent Republic of Komi. Both were stationed at positions in the border town of Sudzha, which is currently the site of active combat. Kolesnikov’s family confirmed to the Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel that he was performing his statutory military service and was stationed near Kursk.
A conscript from the 69th Motorized Rifle Division was sent to the Russia-Ukraine border in the Kursk region after only a few months of service. He was given a long list of items required for deployment, which he will need to purchase at his own expense.
In March 2024, Vazhnyye Istorii discovered 64 Russian servicemen on prisoner lists for whom funerals had already been held in their homeland. The families of these servicemen were given closed coffins and were prohibited from opening them. It is possible that the actual number of soldiers mistakenly declared dead and later found alive could be even higher. Furthermore, journalists have learned of six more cases where families managed to find their loved ones among prisoners of war, despite the fact that their remains had already been buried.
The mother of Ivan Demidkin, a serviceman from the Kemerovo region, claims that her son is being forcibly detained at a commandant's office in the "LPR." Demidkin signed a contract with the MoD last October while serving a sentence for theft in a penal colony. In May, he was wounded and subsequently had a concussion. His mother asserts that he was assaulted, placed in a basement and later deployed to forward positions without undergoing a medical evaluation board and without completing his treatment. She also complained that her son is not receiving payments for his injuries, and instead of the promised salary, only 37,000 rubles [$430] is deposited into his account each month. Later, the Astra Telegram channel, citing Demidkin’s mother, reported that he is being threatened with transfer to an illegal prison for refuseniks in the village of Zaitseve for allegedly leaving his positions.
Former Wagner Group mercenaries and their relatives have complained that they are unable to obtain military disability status, and their injuries, which prevent them from finding employment, are classified as civilian diseases. Draft offices refuse to record information about awards and injuries in the military IDs of these former mercenaries.
Several servicemen have complained about being sent back to the frontline despite having untreated injuries and severe medical conditions. In particular, Andrey Bochkarev, a serviceman of the 272nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, reported that after he lost a leg from an injury, he was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod region to wait for payments and prosthetics. However, after seven months with no assistance, he and other servicemen, including those who had lost limbs and were moving around with crutches and Ilizarov apparatus, were sent back to the frontline. Servicemen of the 80th Tank Regiment have also reported forced deployment to the frontline despite suffering from severe injuries and chronic diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
​Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Former Hero of Russia Lieutenant Colonel Irek Magasumov, who was found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old resident of the Luhansk region and sentenced to 11 years in penal colony in June, returned to the frontline just three weeks after his conviction. Magasumov returned to his unit as a battalion commander. Previously, he served as the brigade deputy commanding officer. It is likely that Magasumov now commands a Storm unit. The court stripped him of his Hero of Russia title but did not revoke his military rank.
A court in Azov, Rostov region, has sentenced former Wagner Group mercenary Viktor Salyannikov to seven years and one month in a penal colony for attempted murder, threats of murder and causing bodily harm. The court considered his participation in the war against Ukraine as a mitigating factor. Although the verdict stated that Salyannikov had no previous convictions, he had been sentenced to seven and a half years in a penal colony in 2021 for the murder of his drinking companion. Without serving his full term, Salyannikov was recruited to fight in the war.
A court in Barnaul has sentenced serviceman Yakov Rychkov to five years on probation for assaulting a subordinate. While he was initially charged with torture, the court ultimately found him guilty of abuse of power involving the use of violence and special means.
A mobilized soldier from the Primorsky region has been sentenced to two years and three months in a penal settlement for failing to obey orders during the mobilization period. Upon returning from leave in the fall of 2023, the 30-year-old man was ordered to deploy to the combat zone. He initially refused verbally and later submitted a written refusal.
Maksim S., a member of the "DPR" People's Militia from the Moscow region, has been sentenced to three years in a penal colony for going AWOL for more than a month. After being wounded and hospitalized in January 2023, the serviceman did not return to his unit, claiming that "the People's Militia no longer exists." During the criminal proceedings, it was revealed that he was removed from the People's Militia personnel list on Dec. 28, 2022, but was added to a Russian unit's roster as a contract soldier on Jan. 1, 2023. Despite his claim that he was not a member of the Russian Army and had not signed a contract, the court determined that he was indeed a serviceman of the Russian Army.
In the Rostov region, two young men have been detained on suspicion of sabotage. According to law enforcement, they allegedly set fire to a transformer on the railway section between Bataysk and Azov before fleeing the scene. The suspects, reportedly from the town of Azov, are said to have agreed to carry out the arson for 20,000 rubles [$230] from alleged handlers. The detained individuals are now facing criminal charges for attempting an act of terror. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison.
In the Stavropol region, two 15-year-old teenagers from Nevinnomyssk have been detained on suspicion of setting fire to four cellular base stations in Stavropol. According to investigators, the high school students carried out the arsons "with the aim of destabilizing the activities of government authorities". They are now facing criminal charges for committing an act of terror.
The First Western District Military Court has sentenced two 15-year-old students from Saint Petersburg, Yegor Lauskis and Artemy Doronin, to two and four years in prison respectively for an act of terror committed in a group. The court also prohibited Doronin from administering internet resources for a year and a half, while Lauskis was ordered to undergo mandatory psychiatric observation and treatment. On Sept. 16, 2023, they attempted to set fire to a relay cabinet at the Lakhta railway station, causing damage worth 758 rubles [$8.9]. They were detained several days later.
The FSB [Federal Security Service] has reported the detention of a Russian citizen who was allegedly preparing a terrorist attack against pro-Russian officials in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region. According to the FSB, the individual was purportedly acting under the instructions of Ukrainian intelligence services, gathering information about local authorities appointed by Russia and transmitting it to the Ukrainian side. During a search, a homemade explosive device and components for its manufacture were allegedly found. The man is facing criminal charges for high treason, preparation of a terrorist attack and illegal manufacture of explosives.
A court in Karachay-Cherkessia [Russia’s constituent republic] has ordered the detention of a resident of Bashkortostan on suspicion of preparing to blow up a city prosecutor's office building. He is being charged with preparing a terrorist attack and participating in a terrorist organization. The suspect was detained on Aug. 2, and he allegedly had 2 kg of explosives in his possession.
A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria [Russia’s constituent republic] has been sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony for espionage in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the court, the convicted person, from April to June 2022 while in the Kharkiv region, gathered information on the movement of military columns and the location of Russian Armed Forces checkpoints, which was then transmitted to his handlers.
In Saint Petersburg, a Ukrainian citizen Aleksey Yefimenko has been sentenced to seven years in a maximum security penal colony for espionage. According to information from leaked databases, a person named Aleksey Andriyovych Yefimenko, born in 1996, is listed as missing in action in Ukraine. He disappeared in June 2023 in the village of Mykhailivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, which was occupied by Russian forces. During the summer of 2023, Yefimenko was captured by Russian soldiers and detained at the commandant's office in the occupied city of Melitopol.
Grigory Skvortsov, a photographer from Perm accused of treason, stated that the reason for his persecution was a publicly available book about Soviet bunkers, which he had passed on to an American journalist.
The official cause of death for 39-year-old Pavel Kushnir was listed as "congestive heart failure," according to Mediazona. The pianist, who was accused of making public calls for terrorism on the internet due to anti-war videos, died on July 27 in the pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Birobidzhan after a prolonged hunger strike. Shortly before his death, Kushnir refused both food and water. According to a Mediazona source, the pianist was given IV drips with "ordinary glucose and vitamins," but his condition did not improve. Friends of Kushnir want to conduct an independent examination of the cause of his death, but his mother is against it. Mediazona provides a detailed account of Kushnir's death and his life.
Assistance
Governor of the Omsk region Vitaly Khotsenko has announced that families of participants in the war with Ukraine in the region will receive medical assistance without having to wait in line.
Children
The son of a war veteran, who was expelled from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) due to poor academic performance in his first semester, has been re-enrolled under a quota reserved for participants of the "special military operation" and their children. Last summer, the young man entered MIPT with the lowest test scores in the university's history, achieving only 127 points out of the required 290. The quota allowing preferential admission to universities in Russia for war veterans and their children has no expiration date, enabling unlimited use of this privilege. Furthermore, Sechenov University did not admit more than a hundred Olympiad medalists due to the same quotas. Out of 250 individuals eligible for admission without entrance exams to the Department of General Medicine based on exceptional academic achievements, only 140 were enrolled.
Miscellaneous
In the Bryansk region, mobilization drills involving officials were conducted for "management in complex situations."
A resident of the Tyumen region has been ordered by court to return a one-time payment of 600,000 rubles [$7,050] that was issued to him for signing a contract after he refused to go to the frontline. The contract, signed on March 15, was deemed invalid because the man cited mental health issues as his reason for not going to Ukraine.
Leaders of 12 public organizations in North Ossetia–Alania [Russia's constituent republic] have published an open letter to the head of the republic, Sergey Menyaylo, demanding disclosure of data on losses among the republic's residents in the war with Ukraine and declaring a week of mourning. They requested a ban on Ossetian conscription.