Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 25-27, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Federal Security Service (FSB) may soon regain control of seven pre-trial detention centers that were handed over to the Federal Penitentiary Service in 2006. Lawmakers introduced a bill in the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] that aims to transfer these facilities back to the FSB. They cite a surge in criminal cases—driven by the war against Ukraine—involving state treason, "confidential" cooperation with foreigners, and espionage as the reason for this move. The bill’s authors argue that most defendants in such cases are held in these centers and claim that FSB jurisdiction would "increase the effectiveness of investigations into these offenses."

Russia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that automatically extending contracts with the Ministry of Defense does not violate the Constitution.The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel reported the court’s decision in a lawsuit filed by two servicemen who attempted to challenge the automatic renewal of their contracts. In its ruling, the court stated that the provisions of Putin’s decree "On the Announcement of Partial Mobilization" do not infringe or restrict the constitutional rights of military personnel.

The Ministry of Defense announced that its bill to grant combat veteran and disabled war veteran status to service members stationed in areas bordering Ukraine is ready for introduction in the State Duma, after the Government endorsed the measure. See our previous summary for more details.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

According to the Astra Telegram channel, 26-year-old Nikita I., who was detained for harassing a 13-year-old schoolgirl, was offered the option of going to war in Ukraine to avoid prosecution. On Feb. 20, a criminal case was opened against him for lewd acts involving a person under the age of sixteen. The suspect was released on recognizance and then offered the opportunity to voluntarily sign a contract with the MoD to be freed from the restrictions of his release conditions. A similar case recently occurred with another accused individual, Vitaly Bublikov, who was charged with sexual violence against a person under the age of fourteen. Despite the fact that his charge legally prohibits him from signing a military contract, he was nevertheless sent to war.

One of the three residents of the town of Yurga, Kemerovo region, accused of kidnapping and abusing a schoolboy has left for the war. In April 2024, the men met a 13-year-old boy they knew, forcibly stuffed him into a car’s trunk and took him to another part of the city, where they abused him, tortured him with a stun gun, and one of the suspects committed acts of sexual violence against the boy. The schoolboy was abused because of his long hair. It is not specified which of the accused went to the frontline. The two remaining suspects are charged with kidnapping a minor, group torture of a child with particular cruelty, sexual violence combined with other serious crimes, and knowingly putting another person at risk of HIV infection—likely one of the accused is HIV-positive.

In the city of Tomsk, law enforcement officers suggested that a fraud victim sign a contract with the MoD and go to war. The 56-year-old man had intended to use escort services, but an unknown individual instead threatened to send their correspondence to his relatives and friends, demanding a payment of 48,000 rubles [$550]. The man complied but later reported the incident to the police.

Maksim Ostanin, the Deputy Mayor of Novosibirsk, will be deployed to a combat zone as part of the BARS volunteer unit Orion, according to a source from Siberian Express. In late December 2024, law enforcement searched Ostanin’s property as part of a criminal investigation into officials from the Novosibirsk region's Ministry of Industry and Trade, who were suspected of abusing their power in handling government contracts. However, according to the source, Ostanin's departure is unrelated to the investigation.

Authorities in Chuvashia have revoked the Russian citizenship of a man born in Tajikistan who obtained his Russian passport five years ago. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he was involved in activities that posed a threat to national security and was implicated in several criminal cases, including draft evasion.

Military enlistment offices in the Tyumen region are seeking to fill around 40 positions across their departments. The primary demand is for personnel to manage the mobilization base. Applicants are being offered a monthly salary ranging from 28,000 to 40,000 rubles [$460].

On Feb. 27, law enforcement officers in Tyumen carried out a raid on local cafés and market stalls. During the operation, eight men who had recently obtained Russian citizenship were detained and taken to the military enlistment office for registration for military service.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Among those killed in the war Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] has discovered a 60-year-old resident of Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, Rasim Garipov, who had been sentenced to death for murder of two or more persons. The sentence was issued in May 1998, but in 1999, by presidential decree on clemency, the death penalty was replaced with 25 years of imprisonment. In 2017, the remaining part of his sentence was replaced with restrictions on freedom for three years and 11 months. Garipov ended up in the war after signing a contract with the MoD and was killed on Aug. 30, 2024.

A serviceman of the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment has recorded a video with his fellow soldiers, who were still recovering and using crutches or wheelchairs, being taken for deployment to forward positions. It is claimed that the video was recorded at the home base of the regiment in Russia’s constituent Republic of Chechnya in the village of Kalinovskaya.

Wives of mobilized soldiers from the Belgorod region have reported the suspension of minimum wage payments to servicemen. In March 2023, the region introduced payments to servicemen without alternative sources of income for the entire duration of their service. Earlier, women had already complained about arrears, which the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, promised to settle by March 1, 2025. At the same time, social security authorities have stated that the payment was a "temporary support measure" and has "run its course."

A Russian contract soldier who was recently returned from Ukrainian captivity is being sent back to the frontline without even being allowed to visit his family. Alexander Romanov was initially declared missing in action before it was discovered he had been captured. After being exchanged on Dec. 30, 2024, Romanov was transferred between various military units for almost two months without undergoing evaluation by a military medical board. In mid-February, he was transferred to the Kursk region and will soon be assigned to combat duties.

25-year-old mobilized soldier Denis Tadyshev, while on leave, won the election for the head of his native village in the Altai region. He ran as a United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] candidate and received 90% of the votes. However, the soldier could not assume office due to his status as a mobilized draftee. Currently, Tadyshev is in a combat zone, awaiting discharge orders. According to the Kommersant daily newspaper, this isn't the first such case. In September 2023, in Russia's constituent republic of Sakha (Yakutia), mobilized soldier Vyacheslav Sleptsov was elected head of a settlement. He submitted a discharge request, but was sent back to the frontline. The Military Prosecutor's Office confirmed his right to be placed in reserve, but this did not help. In December 2024, Sleptsov died on the frontline. In the Kirov region, mobilized soldier Nikita Gorelov in October 2024 during his leave, with the governor's support, won the competition for the position of mayor of the town of Sosnovka. In December, the draft office issued him an order to return to the frontline, but after the Kirov region head's intervention, they reconsidered removing him from office.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

According to Fontanka [pro-Russian media outlet of the Leningrad region], on Feb. 26 in Lomonosov, a previously convicted 26-year-old war participant was detained on suspicion of rape and murder of a 43-year-old woman with Down syndrome. The man has already confessed to the crime.

On Feb. 24, a court in the Krasnoyarsk region sentenced ex-convicts Maksim Zelenov and Aleksey Chernyavsky, who had participated in the war as part of the Wagner Group, to five and a half years in a penal colony on charges related to "fake news" about the army. Zelenov was also ordered to undergo compulsory psychiatric supervision and treatment. According to the court, Zelenov and Chernyavsky were recruited into the Wagner Group in November 2022, which led to their release from punishment under Putin's "pardon" decree. However, in January 2023, they escaped from a training camp and lived in the "LPR." In September 2023, they gave an interview to the Gulagu.net human rights project, claiming that Wagner Group commanders had allegedly ordered them to murder civilians. According to prosecutors, Vladimir Osechkin [founder of Gulagu.net] promised the mercenaries 50,000 rubles [$580] and assistance in leaving the country if they agreed to lie about the murder of civilians. Osechkin himself also stated that the men were paid for the interview.

In Abakan, a mobilized soldier has been sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony for desertion. A corporal with the last name Ulyanov received leave in the spring of 2023, after which he decided to stay with his family and did not return to his unit.

The Ufa Garrison Military Court has upheld a claim filed by a mobilized father of four children under 16 and ordered the commander to issue a discharge order, recognizing his right to a draft deferral from military service.

In Samara, a man detonated a grenade near the regional government building. As a result of the explosion, the pavement tiles were damaged, but no one was injured. According to the SHOT Telegram channel, the man has already been detained and charged with committing a terrorist attack. During interrogation, he claimed that he was drunk and had simply found the grenade.

The First Western District Military Court sentenced a Saint Petersburg resident to 12 years in prison on charges of a terrorist attack for setting fire to a battery cabinet at the Pustynka station in the Leningrad region. According to the prosecution, the suspect, who has a previous criminal record, received instructions online on how to carry out a terrorist act.

The FSB claims to have prevented terrorist attacks in Stavropol. Law enforcement officers detained a citizen from a Central Asian country who, allegedly following orders from handlers in Ukraine, was supposed to set fire to the main offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a draft office, a military hospital, and a district administration building. According to intelligence services, the man then planned to travel to Ukraine.

A criminal case for terrorism has been initiated against a 75-year-old employee of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch. He allegedly set fire to three ATMs in the Novosibirsk region. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the arson incidents occurred in December last year, after the scientist was defrauded of his money by scammers. The ministry claims that since the start of the full-scale invasion, there have been ten arson attacks in the Novosibirsk region, five of which took place last year. Suspects in all of the cases have been detained.

In the Zabaykalsky region, a court sentenced 37-year-old former railcar mechanic Sergey Avtomonov to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony on charges of treason. In 2023, he was convicted for online calls for extremism, but the details of the case and the punishment remained undisclosed.

In Yaroslavl, a court sentenced a 75-year-old elderly man to 12.5 years in a penal colony on charges of treason. The court did not disclose the details of the accusation or the convict’s name. In November 2024, the FSB reported the arrest of a resident of Rybinsk on treason charges, alleging that the man had been gathering and passing information about Russian Armed Forces facilities to Ukraine "under the instructions of a Ukrainian handler."

The Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Ukrainian refugee Serhii Karmazin under eight articles of the Criminal Code, including espionage, sabotage, and preparation of a terrorist attack. In April 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for setting fire to railway equipment in the Moscow region. The appellate court confirmed the verdict later that summer. During the latest hearing, Karmazin claimed he was kept in a cell with broken glass and housed near "special military operation" personnel.

In Orsk, the court sentenced five defendants to five years in penal colony for their involvement in the January 2024 protests in Baymak, Bashkortostan. Aitugan Abdulina, Murat Bikbulatov, Denis Ikbaev, Aybulat Nigametov, and Ilmir Ryskulov were found guilty of participating in mass unrest and violence against authorities.

Assistance

Deputy Minister of Defense Anna Tsivilyova, also chair of the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund, presented keys to SWM manual cars to 22 "special military operation" veterans severely injured in action.

The Far Eastern State Scientific Library sent over 700 icons to the frontline.

Children and Educational System

In the Magadan region, 40 children from a kindergarten participated in a play about the war. The concert raised 100,000 rubles [$1,160], which organizers will donate to residents of the region who are fighting in Ukraine.

A second grader from Irkutsk will receive blades from a Ukrainian drone as a prize for winning a video greeting contest in honor of Feb. 23 for participants in the invasion of Ukraine.

In Naberezhnye Chelny, a 6-year-old child was forced to march in a ceremony at his kindergarten with a medal belonging to their deceased father. The event also included a group of military personnel—participants in the "special military operation"—who declared that they would serve as father figures.

In the Kursk region, tenth-grade girls were forced to weave camouflage nets for the front line in a basement with no windows, poor lighting, and unsanitary conditions. In the Belgorod region, children have begun to join the local territorial defense forces. Additionally, in Belgorod, fighters from the Kamerton Akhmat unit, made up of former members of the Wagner Group, held a meeting with elementary school students at one of the local schools.

Miscellaneous

Andrey Grigoryev, a resident of Yakutia who killed a Ukrainian soldier in hand-to-hand combat and received the Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation from Putin, will be trained under the regional program "Yakutia—The Land of Heroes." Under this program, participants of the invasion of Ukraine are retrained to become managers.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet reported what had happened to volunteers and mobilized soldiers from Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic] during the three years of war.

The Sever.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet published a story about migrants being forced to go to the frontline.

The ROMB media outlet released a video telling the stories of convicts who received pardons for their participation in the war.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty spoke with Russian army deserters and human rights activists about whether making it abroad is a happy outcome for deserters and the problems they face in their new countries.