Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 7-8, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Federal Technical Regulation and Metrology Agency (Rosstandart) adopted a standard for bomb shelters. The official text refers to residential basements, underground car parks under shopping and entertainment centers, underground passages, as well as new metro stations and tunnels as "underground facilities for the protection of the population." The new regulation on shelter requirements will enter into force on March 1, 2024.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Law enforcement officers conducted yet another raid on migrants, this time at the airport in Vladivostok. Police checked the IDs of all drivers waiting at the taxi rank. 10 naturalized citizens, who failed to register for military service, were served draft notices. Additionally, 15 foreign nationals were taken to a temporary detention center pending decisions on expulsion and deportation. In total, 31 reports of migration law violations were issued.

In 2023, Moscow residents filed a record number of lawsuits against draft offices and boards. Since the beginning of the year, the capital’s courts have received 2,294 lawsuits against draft offices, representing 50% and 100% increase compared to 2022 and 2021, respectively. Another 2,697 lawsuits have been filed against draft boards, reflecting a 50% increase over the previous two years. Legal experts attribute this trend to a surge in illegal actions taken by draft offices. In recent weeks, there have been regular reports of conscript roundups, during which officials detain young men and send them to compulsory military service on the same day.

A resident of the Belgorod region punched a police officer in the face when the officer attempted to deliver him a draft notice. Police Major Yevgeny Chasovskikh went to deliver the draft notice to a 44-year-old resident of Novoselovka village. Apparently displeased with the delivery of the draft notice, the man punched the policeman in the face. The police officer was diagnosed with a "chin bruise," and the local Investigative Committee initiated an investigation.

A court in the Orenburg region reported that nine men who had declared their intention to take part in the war had been granted suspended sentences. According to information published on the court's website, during the 11 months of 2023, ten people aged 18 to 45 expressed a desire to participate in the war, four of whom committed minor offenses, another four committed moderate offenses, one committed a severe offense, and one committed an extremely severe offense.

Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers

The Agentstvo.Novosti [Agency News] Telegram channel spoke with a participant featured in the video address posted on the Put Domoy [Way Home] Telegram channel demanding the return of mobilized soldiers from the frontline. According to the woman, she participated in the video to demonstrate that the protests of the relatives of mobilized soldiers are real, contrary to propaganda claims. While the interviewee herself has not faced persecution by the authorities, the most active participants have already been visited by the police, who threatened them with charges of "extremism and discrediting" [the Russian Armed Forces]. She added that the husbands of some of these women were "summoned for questioning, demanding that their wives remain silent or they will be sent on the next assault." The recorded video is prepared for the President's "Direct Line" [Putin’s annual Q&A session with the Russian people], and the activists plan to submit their appeals to the "Direct Line" through various available channels.

Mobilized soldiers, volunteer fighters and contract soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Viktor Rashchupkin from the Omsk region and Aleksandr Mishin from the Vladimir region.

According to the Mozhem Ob'yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel, no fewer than ten conscripted soldiers have died as a result of combat operations in border areas during the war with Ukraine. Journalists also spoke with 21-year-old conscript Yury Osolodkov, who survived a mortar attack but lost his leg. According to him, the border under attack is guarded by conscripted soldiers; there are practically no border guards present. Despite his leg amputation, Yury has not yet been discharged from his unit, and he has received no injury payments.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has stated that Russia has blocked the POW exchange. Meanwhile, according to him, there has recently been an increase in calls from Russia to the relatives of POWs, claiming that Ukraine refuses to retrieve its soldiers.

Mobilization has impacted more than 10% of companies in Irkutsk, according to a report from the region's business ombudsman. Based on the survey data, in most companies, up to 5% of employees have been mobilized, but almost 2% of companies have sent between 5% and 10% of their employees to the war.

Four heavily wounded soldiers from the Storm-Z unit, who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense while in custody, were not accepted in the Rostov military hospital. Despite serious injuries, they are ordered to return to the forward positions.

Another ex-prisoner, who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and was wounded in his first combat, complains about the lack of promised payments. When he was recruited, he was promised three million rubles in case of injury, but this payment was not mentioned in the signed contract. This was confirmed by Maxim Ivanov, a member of the State Duma from the Sverdlovsk region. According to him, compensation is due, but the amounts in the contracts are different.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

A transformer was set on fire on a railway near Tyumen city. According to journalists, the tracks on which the transformer was located are used for transportation of military cargo. The search for the arsonists is currently underway.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, a mobilized soldier tried to join the "Freedom of Russia Legion." A criminal case was initiated against him for aiding terrorist activities, and the soldier pleaded guilty.

The Supreme Court of Finland prohibited the extradition of Jan Petrovsky, a neo-Nazi from the Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group Rusich [an openly neo-Nazi Russian volunteer unit], to Ukraine. He is suspected of crimes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014–2015. The court believes that Petrovsky may face torture in Ukraine. The court has also called for the immediate release of the man. He was detained upon exiting prison and will be deported from Finland to Russia.

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] and RBC [Russian media group] tell about law enforcement officers detained on suspicion of contract murders, abductions, and other crimes committed as part of a criminal group.

Assistance

The authorities of the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia’s federal subject] will compensate utility expenses for war participants and their families. In the city of Nefteyugansk, women with disabilities cook homemade food and send it to the military personnel from the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region. Meanwhile, residents of Aginskoye in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia’s federal subject] have initiated a campaign called "With Warmth from Zabaykalsky Region," collecting delicacies for the invaders of Ukraine.

Children and Educational System

In one of the schools in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region, participants in the war in Ukraine conducted a "lesson of courage." Armed men in balaclavas taught children how to use assault rifles and assume firing positions.

Miscellaneous

Authorities in several regions of southern Russia and the North Caucasus decided to forgo fireworks, festive decorations, and large-scale celebrations. The funds saved from these traditional activities will be redirected to support efforts on the frontline.

Vladimir's House of Culture unveils an exhibition titled "SVOI" [Our Own] dedicated to those taking part in the invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Saint. Petersburg State University is set to inaugurate a museum dedicated to the war to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the invasion.

Longreads

Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] sheds light on how authorities in Kurgan are forcing inmates to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense to fight in the war. Those refusing are charged with financing extremism, and are threatened with additional prison terms.

A feature by Holod [independent Russian media outlet] describes the ordeal of 61-year-old Galina Rybkina and other Russian senior citizens, who fell victim to scammers, leading them to set fire to draft offices.