Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 12-13, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law that allows authorities to conceal information about their operations if martial law is declared. The State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] passed the bill in late November, followed by the Federation Council [upper house] on Dec. 11. Further details about the new law can be found here.
Federal authorities have decided to allocate only 4 billion rubles [$38.27 million] to the Kursk region, a sharp drop from the 25 billion rubles [$239.19 million] requested following the incursion by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. About a month ago, Kursk regional lawmakers requested additional federal funding for 2025 to implement Putin’s decrees, restore infrastructure and provide medications to local residents. During a recent session of the regional legislative assembly, the Ministry of Finance sent an "interim response," stating that the region would receive subsidies of 3.9 billion rubles [$37.31 million].
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Andrey, a 36-year-old Saint Petersburg resident, who initially planned to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense in 2022 but later abandoned the idea, is now facing deployment to a combat zone. On Sept. 15, 2022, Andrey visited a draft office, where he was issued a summons and was deployed to a military base in the town of Valuyki by Sept. 19. At a roll-call, he was informed that he would be sent on a combat mission in two days but was given the option to decline since he had not officially signed a contract. He chose to return home and worked as a taxi driver. However, on Oct. 22, 2024, Andrey was detained and taken to the Voronezh region. During the journey, he managed to escape and went into hiding for five weeks. Acting on legal advice, he turned himself in at a military commandant's office, where officials confirmed he had not signed a contract. Despite this, he was sent to a military base while an investigation into his alleged absence without leave was ongoing. On the morning of Dec. 13, Andrey informed his mother that he was now stationed at a military base near the city of Kursk and was being prepared for deployment to the frontline.
The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel has reported new instances of roundups targeting conscripts. Young men are being deceptively transported to draft offices, subjected to psychological pressure to compel them into military uniforms, and attempts are being made to draft even those with valid university study deferments.
The Federal Bailiff Service of Tomsk has reported that a local resident has been deployed into the war. The man and his wife had obtained eight loans totaling 410,000 rubles [$3,920], along with at least 135,000 rubles [$1,290] in unpaid utility expenses. The bailiffs arrested the funds in the debtors' accounts and imposed a ban on registration actions with the borrower's vehicle. In December, the man signed a contract with the MoD, which resulted in the cessation of all enforcement proceedings for the recovery of loans and utility debts.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 83,338 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 10,051 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week, the list has grown by 1,288 soldiers, 233 of whom were mobilized. Journalists noted that the majority of recently discovered obituaries originate from Russia's constituent Republic of Bashkortostan. Since September 2024, Bashkortostan has maintained the highest number of casualties among all Russian regions, with 3,487 fighters killed on the frontline, 38% of whom had joined the war effort as volunteer fighters.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
In the Bryansk region, contract soldier Yevgeny Pankov shot and killed his fellow soldier, 61-year-old Nikolay Stepanov, during an argument. Stepanov succumbed to his injuries in hospital, and Pankov was detained.
A court in the Arkhangelsk region has again sentenced mobilized soldier Denis F. to six years and two months in a penal colony for going AWOL. He had previously been sentenced to five years and two months on probation under another part of the same article. After the first sentence came into effect, he was ordered to report to a military unit in a combat zone. However, while undergoing treatment, he refused to return to the frontline, believing that the diagnosis provided by the military medical board exempted him from service. Ten days later, he contacted the commandant's office and explained the reasons for failing to report to his duty station.
A court in the Tyumen region has fined a 24-year-old local resident 10,000 rubles [$96] for evading military service. According to prosecutors, a draft office employee repeatedly visited the conscript's registered address between November 2022 and June 2024 to deliver draft notices requiring him to appear at the draft office. However, the young man was never found at home during these visits.
Pro-government media outlets have reported the detention of two young men who allegedly planned to blow up the car of the deputy director of the KBM [Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau], a defense plant involved in developing 9K720 Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missiles and 9K38 Igla MANPADS. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Shandro Shishkov from Nizhny Tagil, previously convicted of robbery, and Denis Kaiser from the Sverdlovsk region, received an anonymous order via a messenger on Dec. 7. On Dec. 12, they allegedly traveled to their target's home in Kolomna and attempted to place an improvised explosive device under the driver's seat.
According to TASS [Russian state-owned news agency], a case has been submitted to court against a man from Kursk, accused of high treason and sabotage. He is alleged to have set fire to a transportation infrastructure facility.
Children and Educational System
The Alabuga Polytech College is reportedly recruiting schoolchildren and students from Kazakhstan to assemble combat drones for the Russian army. Recently, promotional leaflets for the college have been distributed in Astana. The leaflet openly states that the work involves assembling strike drones for the Russian army and claims that "assembling combat drones that destroy the enemy is cool." The brochure also mentions that the college is willing to hire any teenager from Kazakhstan aged 14 and older.
Miscellaneous
For the first time since 2021, Russia's Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) has reported an increase in mortality rates. Experts interviewed by the Vyorstka media outlet have linked this trend to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Between January and September 2024, the number of deaths in Russia rose by 56,800, marking a 4.4% increase compared to the same period last year. In total, 1.362 million Russians died during these nine months.
Finland has begun denying asylum requests from Russian men fleeing mobilization. Over the past two months, at least five asylum applications from Russians seeking refuge from potential deployment to Ukraine have been rejected. Finnish authorities have justified these decisions by asserting that Russia’s partial mobilization has effectively ended, leaving applicants at no significant risk of being drafted.
Longreads
Investigative journalists from the Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet, have examined hundreds of obituaries of volunteer fighters from Russia’s Volga region. In Beloretsk, a small town in southern Bashkortostan with a population of just 65,000, funerals for fallen soldiers have become a near-daily occurrence this winter. Journalists have shared several of their stories.
The ASTRA media outlet published the archives of Kirill Dyomin, an assistant commander for political affairs who served in the 132nd Motorized Rifle Brigade. Dyomin investigated drug, fuel and weapons trafficking in his regiment, which enraged the command. He was detained, tortured and then demoted before being "thrown to be slaughtered." Before his arrest, he managed to give the media three hours of audio and video recordings and two dozen pages of documents he had collected as evidence.
The Okno [Window] media outlet spoke with Aleksey Kulyaev, a 37-year-old mobilized soldier. He had previously been mentioned in the same media outlet in September, when he was chained for demanding humane treatment. As a result, after a conflict with a colonel who drank heavily and insulted his subordinates, Kulyaev fled the military unit and is still in hiding. Meanwhile, the Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet told the story of a Russian volunteer who signed a contract in January 2024 and lost his leg in May.
The Sever.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet tells the reports on how soldiers wounded on the frontline are struggling to get disability payments from the government. Meanwhile, the Sibir.Realii [also part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet reports that the Russian army allows people with mental disabilities to enlist and gives them weapons.
Mediazona covers the story of the head of the Saint Petersburg-Belgorod train, who was fired after asking a soldier to pay for his luggage.