Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 24-26, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree establishing monthly payments for children of servicemembers who were taken prisoner or are missing in action in Ukraine or Syria. The payments will be equal to the minimum subsistence level for children in the region where the child resides, ranging from 14,000 to 45,000 rubles [from $140 to $450]. Moreover, he signed a law extending the deadline for participants in the war against Ukraine and their family members to apply for credit deferments until Dec. 31, 2025.
Until 2030, Russian authorities plan to spend at least 2.3 trillion rubles [$23 billion] on the "reconstruction" of occupied Ukrainian regions, according to a budget forecast published on Dec. 20 and spotlighted by journalist Farida Rustamova. Previous estimates through 2027 had already exceeded 1 trillion rubles [$10 billion]. During the same period, officials intend to spend 5.5 times less on developing the Far East and 10.6 times less on the Kaliningrad region.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Starting Jan. 1, authorities in the Samara region will pay 3.6 million rubles [$36,100] to individuals concluding contracts with the Ministry of Defense, making it the highest regional sign-up bonus to date. This payment will be available from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, 2025, with a possible extension. Including the federal component, the total bonus for signing a contract in the region will reach 4 million rubles [$40,100]. In addition to the sign-up bonus, authorities will also pay volunteer fighters 50,000 rubles [$500] monthly for nine months. The Samara region last increased its regional payments in October, raising them from 1.2 million to 1.6 million rubles [from $12,000 to $16,000].
It was also reported that regional sign-up bonuses for contract soldiers [contract soldier] have been increased in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject]. The payment amount was raised from the 1.3 million rubles [$13,000], as set in August, to 2.2 million rubles [$22,000]. Including the federal component, the total amount of one-time bonuses will reach 2.6 million rubles [$26,000].
In the Novosibirsk region, the regional sign-up bonus for concluding a contract with the MoD to participate in the war will be reduced from the current 1.1 million rubles [$11,000] to 800,000 rubles [$8,010] starting Jan. 1, 2025, reports the Sib.fm publication, citing an insider source. The regional portion of the payment had been increased from 600,000 rubles [$6,000] to 1.1 million rubles [$11,000] on Nov. 15. However, at that time, the regional government announced that the increased payments would only be valid until Dec. 31, 2024. Therefore, after the potential reduction in the regional part, the total amount of payments, including 400,000 rubles [$4,010] from the national budget, will amount to 1.2 million rubles [$12,000].
In Irkutsk, local residents are being invited to sign contracts with the MoD in Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk region, with a sign-up bonus of 1.5 million rubles [$15,000]. Meanwhile, In the Irkutsk region, the sign-up bonus amounts to 800,000 rubles [$8,010].
Authorities in Russia’s constituent republic of Chuvashia will provide payments of 1 million rubles [$10,000] to Chuvashia residents who have been mobilized into the National Guard Forces of Russia and those who are serving there under conscription who have signed a one-year contract with Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard]. This measure is intended to support Rosgvardia members serving in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The payment will be available to those who signed contracts as of Aug. 1 this year.
Six women who were held in pre-trial detention in Makhachkala have departed to fight in Ukraine. Judging by the videos, the women went to the frontline on Dec. 24. According to activist and former convict Larisa Bachieva, four of the six detainees left for the war before their sentences were handed down.
In the Volgograd region, a raid targeting the Roma community resulted in 52 individuals receiving draft notices for military registration at draft offices.
The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel reports that the Unified Military Register, which tracks Russians eligible for military service, and the Draft Register have not been launched in 2024.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
A contract soldier from Rostov-on-Don, who sustained severe injuries, was denied medical leave and sent back to the frontline. The man signed a contract on April 27, 2024, and was gravely injured near the town of Bakhmut. After undergoing multiple surgeries, a military medical board classified him as temporarily unfit for service (service fitness category "G") and granted him 45 days of leave. However, by order of the commander of the 68th Tank Regiment, he was held at the military base and, on Dec. 23, sent back to the frontline alongside seven other injured soldiers, some of whom were on crutches or in wheelchairs.
Vladimir Gerasimov, a 49-year-old contract soldier from Voronezh, died after being assaulted at a military unit, according to his daughter Irina, who spoke with the Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel. Gerasimov signed a contract on Oct. 4, 2023, and joined the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment. Communication with him ceased on Oct. 7. Irina later learned that her father had been placed in an armory, allegedly for being intoxicated, where he remained until Oct. 8. During that time, three other soldiers reportedly assaulted him. He died from internal bleeding and intestinal rupture. On Oct. 9, 2023, a criminal case was opened under charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm resulting in death by negligence. Later, an additional charge for violating military regulations was added. However, on July 31, 2024, when the case was transferred to court, Irina discovered that the more serious charge of grievous bodily harm had been dropped, leaving the suspects charged only with violating military regulations. Irina also found a forged statement in the case file, claiming she had agreed to the exclusion of the grievous bodily harm charge, which she denies signing. According to the current investigation, Gerasimov allegedly inflicted the injuries on himself. Previous forensic evidence and witness testimonies have been removed from the case file.
Wave of Arson and Firework Explosions
On Dec. 25, a 50-year-old man rammed into a building that formerly housed a draft office in the town of Gus-Khrustalny in the Vladimir region. Afterwards, he set his UAZ-3163 Patriot SUV on fire. The man filmed the incident and tried to flee but was detained by police. The Ministry of Emergency Situations crew that arrived extinguished the fire, but the vehicle was completely burned through. According to preliminary information, the detained man fell victim to scammers and is cooperating with the investigators. According to the prosecutor’s office, charges of deliberate property damage have been brought against the man.
In Saint Petersburg, a 73-year-old retiree was instructed to set fire to an administrative building in the town of Sestroretsk. The passerby he approached for help in filling a bottle with gasoline became suspicious and alerted Rosgvardia officers. After his arrest, the retiree explained that scammers had instructed him to set fire to an administrative building or police vehicle in exchange for a promise to return a large sum of money that he had previously transferred to them.
Also in Saint Petersburg, a man threw a Molotov cocktail into a post office on the evening of Dec. 25. No fire broke out and no one was harmed as a result of the incident. A terrorism charge has been filed. According to CCTV footage, there may have been two arsonists. Police are currently searching for them.
A court in Perm has determined the pre-trial measures for those involved in setting ATMs on fire. Fifty-year-old Irina Kopytova was sent to a pre-trial detention center, where she will remain at least until Feb. 24. She set fire to the largest bank branch in Perm, causing damages estimated at over one million rubles [$10,000]. Previously, she worked as a caregiver. Eighteen-year-old student Andrey Kuptsov was placed under house arrest for two months. He had been defrauded of approximately 90,000 rubles [$900] by scammers.
The E1.RU media outlet revealed the name of the person detained for attempting to set fire to an ATM in Yekaterinburg. The suspect is Dmitry, a 19-year-old first-year student at Ural Medical University. He fell victim to scammers who initially forced him to take out a loan and then, pretending to be Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, ordered him to set an ATM on fire using pyrotechnics under the pretext of an operation to catch criminals. A criminal case has been opened for attempted destruction of property.
In Norilsk, a 23-year-old woman was detained on suspicion of setting an ATM on fire. She faces charges of deliberate destruction or damage to property.
In Arkhangelsk, a 16-year-old boy was detained on suspicion of setting fire to a United Russia (Putin's ruling party) office. According to preliminary reports from investigators, he was looking for part-time work online and agreed to set fire to the party office in exchange for money. After the arson, he sent a video to his handlers but never received payment. A criminal case has been initiated for the deliberate destruction of another's property.
According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, between Dec. 18-24, there were 55 arson and explosion incidents across the country, resulting in 44 arrests. The incidents were reported in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and various regions, including the Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Tver, Tula, Pskov, Krasnoyarsk and Altai regions. An independent count by Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] recorded at least 50 such incidents as of Dec. 24.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
According to the Astra Telegram channel, the body of 43-year-old Aleksey Trubachev, a soldier from the 137th Airborne Regiment, was found in the Lgov district of the Kursk region. Preliminary reports suggest that the man shot himself, though his motives remain unknown.
The Second Eastern District Military Court has sentenced serviceman Yevgeny Oznobikhin to seven years in a maximum security penal colony for desertion and taking a hostage using a weapon. Oznobikhin left his military unit on May 7, 2024. He was located in mid-July, and on July 19, while intoxicated, he took an unknown woman hostage. Threatening her with a knife, he demanded a vehicle, an AK-74 assault rifle with ammunition and unrestricted passage out of the military unit.
A court has sentenced a mobilized soldier from the Tyumen region named Igor to three years in a penal colony for intended grievous bodily harm. While on leave, Igor quarreled with another man and assaulted him, breaking five of his ribs.
The "Donetsk Garrison Military Court," appointed by Russian authorities, has sentenced Yevgeny, a contract soldier from Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic], to two years in a penal settlement for disobeying an order. Yevgeny signed a contract in April 2024 and was almost immediately deployed to a combat zone. In July, he was assigned to an assault unit. He reviewed the order but refused to carry it out, leading to a criminal case against him. In court, the contract soldier pleaded guilty, stating that he refused to execute the order out of fear for his life and that he no longer wished to participate in combat.
A cardiologist from Nizhnevartovsk has been sentenced to five years of probation for helping conscripts avoid statutory military service over a period of four years. In January, investigators initiated a bribery case against the head of the military medical board in Nizhnevartovsk and the Nizhnevartovsk district, along with three other doctors. In total, they helped 12 conscripts avoid military service.
The FSB has reported preventing an act of terror against a top manager of a defense company in the Moscow region. The name of the company was not disclosed in the intelligence service’s statement, but it was noted that it produces products for the MoD. Seven Russian citizens were detained, including residents of the Moscow, Sverdlovsk and Perm regions. Among them were three minors. A criminal case has been initiated on charges of attempting an act of terror.
Moreover, the FSB announced it had thwarted a series of assassination attempts targeting high-ranking MoD military officials involved in the war, as well as their family members. According to the agency, one senior MoD official was allegedly targeted for assassination by a car bomb disguised as a power bank, with an agent traveling from Ukraine to Moscow for this purpose. The FSB reported that Ukrainian intelligence services had planned to eliminate another high-ranking MoD official using an explosive device concealed in a document folder. Among the targets was Mikhail Filippov, founder and head of Russia's "Archangel" drone operator school. Filippov claimed that assassins had attempted to present him with a booby-trapped certificate. The event reportedly took place on Dec. 22 under law enforcement supervision, and the explosive device was neutralized. Two Russian citizens were arrested for allegedly delivering the disguised explosive device under Kyiv's direction. Additionally, authorities detained a Moscow resident who allegedly conducted surveillance for Ukrainian intelligence services, gathering information about the residences and workplaces of high-ranking MoD officials and their families. Criminal cases have been opened on charges of illegal trafficking of explosives, treason and preparing an act of terror. All four suspects reportedly face possible life sentences.
In annexed Sevastopol, Oksana Senedjuk, an employee of the Research and Design Institute for Urban Planning, Architecture, Survey and Environment (NII GAIS), has been sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony on charges of treason. According to investigators, Senedjuk was allegedly recruited by a Ukrainian intelligence agent who had worked in the Nakhimovsky district administration of Sevastopol before the Crimea’s annexation but relocated in 2015, continuing contact with her. Under his direction, in March 2023, Senedjuk allegedly conducted surveillance, took photographs and transmitted information on the locations of Black Sea Fleet ships to Ukrainian intelligence.
A court in Novosibirsk has sentenced 38-year-old Nikita Gorbunov to nine years in prison on charges of preparing an act of terror, "confidential" cooperation with a foreign organization, growing narcotic plants and attempted drug trafficking. Gorbunov pleaded guilty only to illegal plant cultivation and denied all other charges. He was detained in January 2023 after a bomb threat was made to the railway station from his phone, a call Gorbunov claims he never made. According to the FSB, Gorbunov intended to join the Freedom of Russia Legion and, as part of planning an act of terror, applied for a firearms permit through the Gosuslugi public services portal in December 2022. Media reports indicate that while in pre-trial detention, Gorbunov has been experiencing sleep problems and harassment, as well as has been on hunger strike for 17 days.
Mark Mazur, a resident of the Murmansk region, has been sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of high treason. In September, the FSB reported on the detention of a 35-year-old resident of Severomorsk, who allegedly maintained contact with a representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and provided him with information related to official military secrets. Although the detainee's name was not initially disclosed, court records later identified him as Mark Mazur. In March 2024, Mazur was arrested for ten days on a charge of hooliganism.
The Moscow City Court has sentenced former FSB sniper Ramazan Rasulov to 13 years in a penal colony for high treason after he attempted to deliver "sensitive information on Ukraine" to the British Embassy. In the fall of 2022, Rasulov had been sentenced to four years of probation in connection with a 2016 case involving the theft of ammunition from a training ground. However, on April 27, 2023, he was once again sent to a pre-trial detention center, this time on charges of treason.
The detention of Ruslan Izhersky, a terrorism suspect, has been reported in Saint Petersburg. Izhersky was allegedly preparing sabotage attacks on energy facilities in Saint Petersburg, as well as in the Leningrad and Astrakhan regions. Investigators believe that in March 2024, he joined a "Ukrainian terrorist organization," although he was detained only on Dec. 25.
The FSB has detained a resident of Izhevsk on suspicion of "incitement to activities against the state." According to law enforcement officers, he was distributing anti-war leaflets near draft offices in Izhevsk, calling on soldiers not to obey orders from their commanders.Â
In Izhevsk, a court has sentenced five individuals involved in the "Baymak case." Fangiz Sharifgaleyev was sentenced to five years and five months in a penal colony, while Fanur Khazhin received six years. Three others—Ilnar Asylguzhin, Aygiz Ishmurzin and Rafil Utyabaev—were each sentenced to eight years and six months in a penal colony. All five were accused of participating in "mass unrest" and using violence against law enforcement officers. The first sentence in the "Baymak case" was delivered in July in the Orenburg region, where 50-year-old Ilshat Ulyabaev was given five years in a penal colony. Another defendant, Khalid Ishkvatov, was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony in Tolyatti in December.
The Re:Russia Analytical Center's 2024 report on political case statistics highlights a shift in the nature of punishments. Unlike in 2022–2023, when sentences were mainly "demonstrative and educational" with only 35% leading to imprisonment, the proportion of sentences involving actual prison terms has increased to 70% in 2024. As of now, the pace of sentencing stands at about 60 criminal cases and 170 administrative cases per month. Although the overall number of criminal cases has remained stable in 2024, the "quality" of these cases has become notably harsher.
Assistance
In Novosibirsk, local authorities confiscated a resident’s vehicle after he was caught driving under the influence of alcohol multiple times. The car was reportedly sent to support operations on the frontline.
The Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk region has equalized the rights of residents fighting in Ukraine with those engaged in combat in Russia's border regions. Under the new measures, soldiers wounded in action will receive compensation of 300,000 rubles [$3,010], while those left disabled are eligible for 500,000 rubles [$5,010]. The families of soldiers killed in action will now receive a payout of 1,000,000 rubles [$10,000], matching the benefits provided to those serving in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Children
Authorities in Perm have issued an explanation regarding advertisements for contract military service in online school forums. Local officials clarified that the ads, aimed at parents of schoolchildren, were published in coordination with the MoD. The controversy arose after the Perm 36.6 Telegram channel filed a formal complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office against the schools involved.
Miscellaneous
The International Committee of the Red Cross continues to grapple with the devastating human toll of the ongoing war. According to Boris Michel, head of the ICRC delegation in Russia and Belarus, the organization has reviewed 41,400 inquiries about missing persons since the war began. This figure includes both military personnel and civilians from both sides of the war. Of these cases, the ICRC has been able to determine the fate of 10,500 people.
In Chelyabinsk, the widow of a war veteran was denied benefits because her husband was living under a false identity. After 13 years of marriage, she found out that she did not even know his real name. It turned out that he had gone to the frontline with a forged passport.
Longreads
Cherta [independent online media outlet] has published an in-depth report on how roundups have become the main way of recruiting conscripts into the army.
The Free Yakutia Foundation spoke with a relative of a refusenik who survived the fire at the Yakutsk detention facility.
The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has published an article reporting on how Wagner Group mercenaries and their relatives are trying to gain equal rights with volunteer fighters.
The Vyorstka media outlet together with the Roskomsvoboda public organization reviewed developments in the digital rights of Russians over the past year, while Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] summarized the year’s key events.