Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 17-19, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the Woods/Get Lost You All] Telegram channel reports that police in Moscow continue to round up conscripts, contrary to the claim by military commissar Maksim Loktev that conscription in the city ended two weeks early. The channel shared a recording from a subscriber showing law enforcement officers detaining a young man, allegedly to deliver a draft notice. According to the conscript’s sister, they approached him near his home, forcibly pushed him into a vehicle and took him to the military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street without an ID check. He was released only after he signed a draft notice.

The fact that conscription activities in the capital continue unabated despite the military commissar’s statement was confirmed to the Vyorstka media outlet by human rights advocates. According to Timofey Vaskin, a lawyer with the Shkola Prizyvnika [Conscript School] project, many conscripts still hold draft notices for medical examinations at the Unified Military Recruitment Center or to begin their military service, while officials continue to expect those who requested alternative civilian service to appear for a review of their applications. Artyom Klyga of the Movement of Conscientious Objectors, a human rights organization supporting those who refuse to perform military service, added that they continue to receive reports of authorities detaining young men and sending them to the Unified Military Recruitment Center.

The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel notes that this fall’s roundups have also targeted conscription-age men who were not drafted during previous draft campaigns, whether for valid reasons or not. If officials deemed an individual to be fit for service, but the conscript failed to report for deployment, the draft decision remains valid. At the start of the next regular conscription campaign, draft offices can immediately send such individuals to military units without conducting a new medical examination or issuing a new draft decision. Consequently, authorities may detain and deliver them to a military collection point, then dispatch them to a military unit, all in a single day. Only a court ruling or a higher-level draft board can overturn such a decision.

In the city of Saratov, law enforcement officers conducted a raid targeting individuals "evading military duty." During the operation, police and military police stopped all drivers, checked passports and military IDs, and issued draft notices en masse. Over 30 men who had recently obtained Russian citizenship were detained and taken to draft offices for military registration. A similar raid occurred in the Samara region, where law enforcement officers checked the documents of more than 50 drivers. Seventeen of them, who had obtained Russian passports but had not registered for military service, were taken to draft offices. Another raid was carried out in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, where Federal Security Service (FSB) officers raided a hostel. They checked around 100 men, eight of whom had recently received Russian citizenship—they were all issued draft notices.

Vladislav Loginov, mayor of the city of Krasnoyarsk, stated that nearly 4,000 people were recruited for the war from the city in 2024, reportedly 1,000 more than the previous year. Currently, those signing a contract in Krasnoyarsk receive a sign-up bonus of 900,000 rubles [$8,650]. In March, it was revealed that the city was required to send 2,000 men to the war.

More men accused or convicted of crimes have left for the war in Ukraine to avoid serving their sentences. Among them are two out of three police officers from the Irkutsk region accused of torturing detainees. In the city of Saratov, a court granted probationary release to lawyer Vadim Markelov, who had been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for large-scale fraud and money laundering. In the city of Vladimir, a court suspended a criminal case against a local resident accused of drug distribution, allowing him to go to the war in Ukraine. Similarly, in the city of Perm, a court suspended a murder case against Aleksey Golovin, accused of killing an investigator, due to his signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense.

Not everyone manages to escape responsibility by enlisting for the frontline. On Dec. 18, the Moscow City Court suspended criminal proceedings against Nail Gubaev, a former investment director at Rusnano [Russian state-established and funded company] who had been sentenced to eight years in a penal colony for embezzling 179 million rubles [$1.72 million]. Gubaev had signed a contract with the MoD and was about to be deployed to the frontline. However, the decision was revoked the following day, and his detention was extended "due to emerging circumstances preventing the conclusion of a military service contract." Andrey Shvarev, the former deputy head of Correctional Facility No. 37 in the Perm region, also expressed his desire to sign a contract with the MoD. He was detained in the Donetsk region in 2023, where he had participated in combat operations. In response to his new attempt to reach the frontline, draft office representatives stated they could not deploy him because they had received certain "compromising information" about the defendant from law enforcement agencies. Ultimately, Shvarev was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony. He was found guilty of two counts of bribery and abuse of office.

A female resident of Komi joined the war to pay off her child support debt, which had exceeded 900,000 rubles [$8,650]. The Astra Telegram channel has identified at least two similar cases.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The Pskovskaya Gubernia news outlet reports the death of another conscript soldier in the war with Ukraine—20-year-old Aleksey Grubinin from Pskov. Grubinin was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region. It remains unclear whether he had signed a contract for military service.

In Yaroslavl, several conscripts were deceived into signing contracts with the MoD. On their second day of service, Anna Kushnir, the assistant commander for political affairs, offered conscripts from Rybinsk the opportunity to serve in their hometown. They agreed but unknowingly signed MoD contracts along with their transfer consent. About 15 such cases have been reported among fall conscripts. The assistant commander for political affairs refuses to accept soldiers' requests to nullify their contracts.

The wife of severely wounded serviceman Dmitry Logachev has reported that her husband, who requires medical treatment, is being forcibly held in his unit. Logachev spent four months at forward positions without rotation and was wounded on Sept. 24. In early December, his wife brought Logachev to Donetsk, but a few days later it emerged that all his documents had been "lost" at his unit, leaving him unable to take leave, receive hospital treatment, or claim compensation payments. The man was taken back to his unit, and his wife has been unable to contact him.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Rostov-on-Don, a participant in the war with Ukraine killed his daughter and inflicted knife wounds on his wife and son before committing suicide by jumping from a window. According to reports, the family had specially traveled from Russia's constituent Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to meet the man, who was on short-term leave.

The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel has reported the detention of Aleksandr Ivanov, a previously convicted war participant, who attempted to rape an elderly woman in a veterans' hospital in the Moscow region.

A court in Barnaul has sentenced Dmitry Miller, a soldier with multiple prior convictions, to eight and a half years in a maximum security penal colony for attempted murder and assault by a previously convicted individual. According to prosecutors, Miller threw his drinking companion off the seventh floor. The victim survived but sustained severe injuries.

A court in the Moscow region has sentenced 26-year-old Adam Shcherbakov to life imprisonment for the murder of the 90-year-old father of Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church's press service.

Contract soldier Maksim Grigoryev has been denied a discharge after receiving a suspended sentence. In September, he was sentenced to two years and six months of probation for two counts of going AWOL. Following the verdict, he submitted a report requesting discharge, but the command denied it, stating that the right to discharge is only granted after a sentence involving actual imprisonment. Simultaneously, a new criminal case was initiated against Grigoryev for going AWOL, and he was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony. The court upheld the command’s position that contract soldiers on probation must continue their service, with the right to discharge reserved only for those serving actual imprisonment.

A 22-year-old Uzbekistan national was sentenced to five years on probation for his participation in the war against Ukraine on Russia's side. In Kushtepa District Criminal Court (Uzbekistan), he stated that in the summer of 2023, he was detained in Russia for lacking proper documents and taken to the police. There, under the threat of deportation and criminal charges, he signed a contract with the Russian MoD. After spending four months on the frontline, he was hospitalized due to injuries and subsequently obtained Russian citizenship. However, he had to return to Uzbekistan following a conflict with his commanding officers.

A court has remanded a 23-year-old Daniil Pavlov from Sestroretsk in a pre-trial detention center after he threw a Molotov cocktail at the door of a draft office in Saint Petersburg on Dec. 17. He faces up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges. Pavlov reportedly fell victim to fraudsters who stole 800,000 rubles [$7,690] from him.

In Perm, Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] officers detained a 19-year-old college student, Alan V., who allegedly planned to set two draft offices on fire in exchange for a reward promised by an unidentified person online. During his arrest, a bag containing bottles with liquid was confiscated from him. He faces criminal charges of attempted terrorist attack and intentional destruction of property. The young man has been remanded in a pre-trial detention center for two months. Law enforcement officers claim that the detainee suffers from mental health issues.

In the Rostov region, law enforcement officersdetained three teenagers suspected of setting fire to an electric locomotive. According to investigators, a 15-year-old student of a railway vocational and his female classmate went to a railway station and set fire to the electric locomotive of a grain transport train. The teenagers were detained along with another underage friend who also participated in the arson. The SHOT Telegram channel claims that 150,000 rubles [$1,440] were transferred to the suspect’s cryptocurrency wallet by "Ukrainian handlers." A criminal case has been opened against the detainees for an act of terror committed in a group.

In Tyumen, an eighth-grader born in 2010 was placed in a pre-trial detention center for two months, accused of attempting to set fire to a relay cabinet. He is charged with preparing to commit a terrorist act. According to the prosecution, in late November, the 14-year-old eighth-grader suggested to his 13-year-old friend, a seventh-grader, that they set fire to a relay cabinet. The task was reportedly given to the eighth-grader by an unknown person through a messaging app. The seventh-grader agreed to help his friend. The mother of the 13-year-old learned of her son’s plans and reported them to the police, after which the boys were detained. The younger boy, being below the age of criminal responsibility, will likely avoid punishment.

In southern Moscow, law enforcement officers detained a young woman who set fire to a bailiff’s car. In a video published by TASS [Russian state-owned news agency], the woman claims to have acted on the instructions of scammers.

Ivan Kartashov, a resident of Saint Petersburg, has been placed in a pre-trial detention center for two months on charges of "confidential" cooperation with foreigners. According to investigators, Kartashov holds anti-war views and, through an unnamed Russian citizen, made contact with a representative of the US Central Intelligence Agency to sell classified documentation related to a "certain facility" and UAV systems. Authorities allege that an "operational experiment" was conducted, during which Kartashov's initial meeting and continued communication with the CIA were documented.

Svetlana Savelyeva, a resident of the Irkutsk region, has been placed in a pre-trial detention center for two months. She is accused of treason for allegedly planning to join the Ukrainian side to participate in combat operations against Russia. Investigators allege that she traveled to the Kursk region and attempted to cross the line of contact near the town of Sudzha but was detained by law enforcement officers.

A court in Irkutsk is set to hold a closed-door trial of Aleksandr Levchishin, a 37-year-old programmer from the city of Bratsk, who has been accused of treason. In July 2023, Levchishin was reportedly detained and charged with using software intended to unlawfully affect critical information infrastructure.

The FSB has charged a resident of Khakassia [Russia’s constituent republic] with treason for allegedly aiding the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Investigators allege that in 2022, the man from the town of Abaza transferred funds to purchase a vehicle for the Ukrainian army. He has been arrested and remanded to a pre-trial detention center for two months.

Anarchist Roman Shvedov has been sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony for setting fire to an administration building in the Rostov region on Sept. 26, 2022. The man was found guilty of committing a terrorist act.

TASS [Russian state-owned news agency] has reported, citing the FSB, on a resident of Russian-annexed Sevastopol, who has been sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony for setting fire to a collection point of "humanitarian aid for the Donbas" and preparing an act of terror on a crude oil storage facility.

Former Belgorod administration official Victoria Shinkaruk and locksmith Aleksandr Kholodkov have been sentenced to 21 years in prison for preparing terrorist acts. According to investigators, in September 2022, Shinkaruk withdrew more than 100,000 rubles [$960] and placed it in a cache. Her accomplice, Kholodkov, passed more than 500,000 rubles [$4,800] in a similar fashion. The caches of money were retrieved by an unknown individual who appeared in the case as a secret witness with the code name "Kirillov." According to the testimony presented in court, "Kirillov" participated in an "operational game" of the Russian intelligence services with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, under the pretext of carrying out tasks for the Ukrainian intelligence service.

Ivan Maksimov, an 18-year-old university student, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of treason and sabotage. According to investigators, in November 2023, Maksimov began corresponding with representatives of the Freedom of Russia Legion, allegedly wanting to join the unit. The FSB claims that the young man, on the instructions of a "handler" operating via Telegram, had distributed "anti-Russian" leaflets, set fire to a railway trunk communications relay cabinet and also provided the "handler" with the coordinates of a volunteer organization that aids Russian soldiers.

A court in Samara has fined 37-year-old serviceman Vladimir Kochetkov 100,000 rubles [$960] for attempting to disrupt the presidential election. Kochetkov was detained on March 16 near a polling station in Samara after throwing a Molotov cocktail at a wall. No one was injured in the incident.

Ludmila Romanova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Vladimir region, reported on an inspection of penal colony No. 7 in the Vladimir region, where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians abducted by Russia are held. Romanova stated that no violations were found during the inspection. However, prisoners previously released in exchanges had reported systematic torture and abuse within the colony.

Assistance

Authorities in Tyumen have spent approximately 140 million rubles [$1.36 million] over the past year on purchasing prosthetic limbs. The documents regarding these purchases do not specify who the recipients are.

In the city of Yekaterinburg, spending on support for war participants will more than double in 2025, reaching 400 million rubles [$3.84 million]. Earlier, authorities had planned to allocate 185 million rubles [$1.78 million] for sign-up bonuses and support to the families of war participants.

Children and Educational System

The direct line with Vladimir Putin, which took place on Dec. 19, was shown in Russian schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and care homes. Both employees of the institutions and their pupils and wards, including children from the occupied territories of Ukraine, were made to watch the broadcast.

Miscellaneous

Regional authorities plan to launch their own personnel programs for participants in the war in Ukraine, the Kommersant daily newspaper reports. The programs are scheduled to start in early 2025.

Longreads

The OVD-Info independent human rights project has published a final report on repression in Russia in 2024. Meanwhile Meduza [international Russian-language online media outlet] has prepared a brief retelling of the main conclusions of the researchers.

The Okno media outlet tells the story of Ruslan Gusev from Karelia [Russia's constituent republic], who waited 18 years for an apartment promised to him by the authorities to replace the one that burned down in a fire. After he was wounded in the war with Ukraine and returned home, he was provided with a dilapidated property without renovation, water or heating.