Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 8-9, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

A decree signed by Vladimir Putin extends differentiated compensation of up to 4 million rubles [$39,800] for combat injuries to members of the Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard], the Federal Security Service and other law enforcement agencies, as well as to volunteer fighters and personnel deployed to the combat zone.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

In Moscow, authorities identified a 21-year-old asthmatic student in the metro using CCTV cameras and detained him, even though he is challenging a draft board decision in court and has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 12. The board’s ruling remains suspended until the legal process concludes. Despite this, police tried to take him to the Moscow military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street. Only after his lawyer intervened did they release him from the station.

According to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, law enforcement officers detained students from a Moscow university during raids. Posing as housing and utilities workers, they entered the student dormitory without prior notice and took the young men to a draft office, where officials demanded they sign statements to register for military service.

The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel published a post reminding its readers that the fall regular conscription campaign will conclude soon. As a result, draft boards are intensifying their efforts to secure additional conscripts and meet their prescribed targets.

Authorities in the Sverdlovsk region closed penal colony No. 59 in Kamensk-Uralsky after it ran out of prisoners, since many had enlisted to fight in Ukraine. Meanwhile, officials in Ulan-Ude postponed the planned construction of a 3,000-inmate "super colony" because the government withdrew its funding. Alexey Tsydenov, the head of Buryatia [Russia’s constituent republic], also noted that "for obvious reasons, all colonies have emptied out."

A resident of the Rostov region, accused of murdering his lover, has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense to avoid punishment before the court verdict, resulting in the suspension of his criminal case.

Meanwhile, Andrey Shevnin, an entrepreneur accused of murdering two 13-year-old girls in 1994, has expressed his willingness to join the war against Ukraine as well. Shevnin and the second suspect in the 30-year-old case, Vasily Kuznetsov, were detained in the fall of 2024. A decision on Shevnin's petition has not yet been made.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet has identified the officer who shot and killed 19-year-old conscript Artyom Antonov at a training range in the Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject] as 22-year-old Lieutenant Aleksandr Vladimirovich Yemelyanov. Investigators have initiated a criminal case against him for violating weapon handling regulations resulting in the accidental death of a person. The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet interviewed Antonov's family and friends to ascertain the circumstances of the incident.

Maksim Chebakov, who was incarcerated for drug trafficking and signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense while in the penal colony, made a call to his family on Oct. 12, 2024, and said that he was about to be executed. He was listed as missing in action on Oct. 14, and his mother recently found his body in a morgue. She was informed that Maksim had died from head and abdominal wounds. The mother intends to have an autopsy conducted and to contact the Military Prosecutor's Office to find out the circumstances of her son's death.

Aleksandr Stetsenko, a soldier of the 109th Rifle Regiment, has been sent on a combat mission in handcuffs instead of undergoing urgent surgery. This winter, the soldier suffered a concussion, two broken ribs and a spinal impingement. According to Stetsenko’s wife, he was not evacuated from his position. On July 30, 2024, he came under attack again and sustained shrapnel wounds to his arm and leg. His treatment was formal: his tendons were severed, the bones in his arms healed improperly, and the shrapnel in his limbs was not removed. As a result, his arm functioned at only 30%. On Nov. 25, Stetsenko was taken to a hospital, where urgent surgery was recommended, but instead, he was sent on a combat mission. A few days later, Aleksandr was taken to a medical facility again, but this time, no examination was conducted. The same day, he was handcuffed and sent on a combat mission. What happened to the soldier after that remains unknown.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

Dmitry Balashov, a former Wagner Group mercenary, has been sentenced to nine years in a maximum security penal colony for the murder of an elderly person. The court considered his "LPR" and Wagner Group merit certificates as mitigating factors.

In Kursk, Igor Grabin, the deputy director of the Kursk Region Development Corporation, who supervised the construction of defensive structures on the border with Ukraine, has been arrested for two months for embezzling 173 million rubles [$1.72 million]. According to investigators, in 2023, Grabin paid a commercial organization for work that had previously been carried out by another construction company and already paid for. Grabin faces up to 10 years of imprisonment. The regional government had allocated a total of 3.2 billion rubles [$31.86 million] for building defensive structures in the Kursk region.

On July 30, a court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur sentenced 50-year-old cleaner Elena Degtereva to one and a half years of probation for attempting to set fire to a draft office under the influence of scammers. She was detained by police near the draft office before she could carry out the arson.

The Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel discovered that as of early September, the case database of the Second Western District Military Court contained only three visible entries of initiated criminal case records—two of which involved treason charges against active-duty military personnel. However, the court handles significantly more cases, including all terrorism-related trials in Moscow and Central Russia. In October, the court began concealing the names of defendants. At the time, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] reported that this was due to a technical failure, but other courts did not experience similar issues. However, the names had been manually removed from the entries.

Assistance

Head of Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] Alexey Tsydenov reported that since February 2022, the republic has spent 7 billion rubles [$69.68 million] to support the war. This amount includes both regional budget funds and private donations. In 2024, Buryatia's debt increased 2.5 times, reaching 1 billion rubles [$9.95 million].

Governor of Kamchatka Vladimir Solodov signed a decree granting participants in the "special military operation" an additional 700,000 rubles [$6,970] from the regional budget in case of severe injury.

In Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kemerovo region, funeral services for soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine are financed through tenders issued by the local natural history museum as part of a social support program.

Parents of schoolchildren in Udmurtia [Russia’s constituent republic] were asked to contribute money to buy water "for the needs of the special military operation." According to the Udmurtia Without Corruption Telegram channel, the water shipment from the schoolchildren will be sent by United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] deputy Aleksandr Golovin.

Retired service dogs from the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject] have been sent to the war. According to the governor, they are needed to search for people trapped under rubble.

Children and Educational System

On Dec. 9, Russian kindergartens and educational institutions held events marking Heroes of the Fatherland Day. The Vyorstka media outlet has reviewed reports of such activities. In kindergartens, children mainly participated in "military-sports relays." For example, in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, kids mimicked battlefield scenarios, such as "clearing minefields" and "helping the wounded." In a kindergarten in the Krasnodar region, children sang the national anthem and learned to bandage wounds. In schools in Karelia [Russia’s constituent republic] and the Oryol region, Wagner Group mercenaries gave lectures to students. Additionally, a subscriber of the NeMoskva media outlet shared a video showing how almost all posts on one school’s social media accounts were dedicated to the war in Ukraine in connection with the "celebration."

Longreads

Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] reported on how the authorities of the Belgorod region are attempting to restore border settlements. However, residents who have been forced to abandon their homes in the region find it extremely difficult to secure any payments or compensation from the authorities.

Vyorstka released a report on how authorities in the Kursk region are attempting to address the challenges faced by residents evacuated due to the war. Officials estimate the cost of restoring the region’s economy after the invasion at 700 billion rubles [$7 billion].

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, an independent Russian investigative media outlet] studied the causes and consequences of the labor shortage currently affecting the Russian labor market.