Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 15-16, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Russian government has endorsed a bill that introduces penalties for failing to report planned acts of sabotage and their participants. The authors of the bill proposed including sabotage, aiding sabotage, organizing a sabotage community, participating in such a community, and undergoing training for these purposes among the offenses that must be reported to authorities. In the explanatory note accompanying the draft, the authors cite the increasing number of sabotage incidents in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Russia’s Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov claimed at a Ministry of Defense meeting that over 427,000 people signed contracts with the ministry in 2024. He stated that, on average, about 1,200 individuals sign contracts daily. Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] explains why this figure appears inflated. According to federal budget expenditure data, between 215,700 and 249,000 people (sources 1, 2, 3) received sign-up bonuses for enlisting during the first three quarters of 2024. Analysts find it difficult to determine a more precise number because, in August, Vladimir Putin increased the bonus from 195,000 rubles to 400,000 rubles [from $1,870 to $3,830]. Data for the last quarter has not yet been published. If Belousov's estimate is accurate, then at least 178,000 individuals would have had to sign contracts in the last 2.5 months—a number that appears highly implausible.
Near the Unified Military Recruitment Center in Moscow, a separate building has been established to process those who failed to respond to a draft notice or attempted to contest their conscription in court. According to military lawyer Lev Karmanov, this single-story facility is used for conscription procedures involving those deemed "draft dodgers" by Moscow authorities—men who ignored electronic draft notices, are not registered for military service in Moscow or are contesting their conscription in court. At this "draft dodgers" collection point, draft deferrals are reportedly disregarded more frequently, and men with medical conditions are often deemed fit for service. The area is heavily guarded, with lawyers and parents denied entry. In some cases, conscripts are locked inside buses parked on the premises and later transported to a military collection point, from where they are sent to the army. Artyom Klyga, a lawyer with the Movement of Conscientious Objectors [a human rights organization supporting those who refuse to perform military service], describes the conditions at this conscription facility as resembling those at military collection points: outsiders are barred, conscripts are held in isolation, and they are told that they are already considered servicemen. Karmanov also noted the presence of a seven-story building near the new facility, the purpose of which remains unclear.
Meduza, an international Russian-language online media outlet, reports, citing sources within the government, reports that Moscow has reduced the volume of advertising for contract military service. This cutback primarily affects the special enlistment booths that had been operating in metro stations, train stations and on city streets. There has also been a decrease in billboards and posters promoting service in the "special military operation zone." Toward the end of 2024, advertisements for contract military service were replaced by promotions for restaurants and New Year-themed banners.
The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel has reported new instances of conscription roundups. One of these cases concerns a man who was detained and subjected to physical abuse at the Moscow military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street. Ambulance personnel and police officers were not allowed to see him, and the Military Prosecutor's Office refused to intervene, citing the man's lack of official military status. Despite being eligible for a draft deferral due to having two children under the age of 16, he is currently being transferred to a military unit. He was not permitted to file a complaint at the military collection point. Another roundup was conducted at a Moscow computer club, where police officers checked visitors' documents and asked questions about their statutory military service.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet has uncovered evidence suggesting that information about the death of one of the last remaining representatives of the Kereks—a small indigenous people native to the Chukotka autonomous region [Russia's federal subject]—in the war might be fictitious. Subscribers of the media outlet pointed out that the man depicted in the memorial photo had previously been identified as a soldier from Russia's constituent Republic of Buryatia, who was also killed in Ukraine. Additionally, the VKontakte social network group, where the obituary was initially published, has a history of posting unverified news. The memorial itself raises further doubts, as it does not adhere to expected standards, lacking both the patronymic and the dates of birth and death.
The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has brought attention to the fact that Vladimir Putin awarded the Guards title to the 1307th Motorized Rifle Regiment, formed from mobilized soldiers. As the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne previously discovered (sources 1, 2), seven soldiers from this regiment were killed in the basement of a house in the village of Bakhmutske in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region on the orders of General Ospanov, commander of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division. A criminal case against the servicemen who killed their fellow soldiers has recently been submitted to the court.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Ramozon Khaydarov, a 32-year-old previously convicted participant in the war serving in the 345th Air Assault Regiment, harassed a woman and her 15-year-old daughter on a train traveling from Ulyanovsk to Moscow. The train conductor and supervisor intervened to stop the harassment. Khaydarov had previously been convicted of theft and illegal drug possession, with his most recent conviction in 2023. He was likely deployed to the war from a penal colony. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] had previously reported incidents of Russian soldiers returning from the frontline harassing female conductors and passengers on trains and airplanes.
The Novosibirsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced serviceman Viktor Litovchenko to seven years in a maximum security penal colony for causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death. In August 2024, while intoxicated and relaxing in a sauna, Litovchenko became involved in a "domestic conflict" with another man, during which he delivered at least 35 blows to the man's head and body with his hands. The victim died.
Aleksey Lokotchenko, a member of the United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] faction in the State Assembly of Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic], who was deployed to the war in Ukraine as a volunteer fighter in January, has been detained on suspicion of aiding in bribery. He has been placed in a pre-trial detention center until Jan. 30.
Konstantin Kazakevich, a public official from Stary Oskol in the Belgorod region, has been accused of stealing money from soldiers’ bank accounts. According to investigators, the 36-year-old specialist in the department for organizing the activities of the Security Council of the Stary Oskol district accompanied contract soldiers to the bank and persuaded them to link their bank cards to his phone number. In this way, he embezzled over 1 million rubles [$9,590], with at least 11 servicemen falling victim. Kazakevich is now facing four criminal cases for theft, and he could face up to six years in prison.
A court in Yekaterinburg has ordered that 29-year-old Dmitry Baranov be held in a pre-trial detention center for two months following his arrest for attempting to set fire to a draft office on Dec. 13. Baranov has been charged with committing an act of terror.
Mikhail Baranov, the former top manager of the Lukhovitsy Aircraft Plant, has been sentenced to nine years in a high-security penal colony on charges of treason, forming a criminal organization, large-scale theft and attempting to smuggle weapons. Prosecutors claimed that Baranov, who served as the plant's quality director, provided classified blueprints of military equipment, including MiG fighter jets, to a Ukrainian citizen. Baranov's arrest was made public in September 2022, and the trial concluded in 2023. Details of the case remain classified.
Dmitry Kizhmenev from Sarov, a 39-year-old employee at the nuclear weapons development center, has been accused of document forgery, attempting to leave Russia despite restrictions tied to his access to state secrets, and high treason. He was arrested on Aug. 19, 2023 and later transferred to Moscow. His detention was extended in December 2023, February 2024 and May 2024, initially under document forgery charges alone.
Vasily Zharkov from the Moscow region, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of high treason, preparing an act of sabotage at a strategic facility and participating in a terrorist organization. Prosecutors had sought a 23-year sentence. According to prosecutors, in October 2023, the 24-year-old filled out an application form on the Freedom of Russia Legion website. Allegedly, he hoped to gain assistance in relocating to Europe in exchange for completing assignments. In November 2023, Zharkov allegedly broke into military unit 84081 to destroy an artillery shell arsenal but was apprehended and taken to a police station. SOTAvision has published Zharkov's closing statement in court.
Longreads
Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] reports on the case of the Stavropol bikers. The story of eight friends from Yessentuki began with a motorcycle-themed private chat group and ended with terrorism charges. The case is reportedly marked by fabricated evidence and severe torture inflicted on the defendants to force confessions. One of the accused, Kirill Buzmakov, died after enduring a year and a half of imprisonment and brutal torture.