Mobilization in Russia for Jan. 12-14, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that discharged participants in the war against Ukraine will receive specialized medical care and priority access to rehabilitation programs. The federal government has introduced corresponding changes to the state program guaranteeing free medical assistance for 2025-2027.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Kaluga region Governor Vladislav Shapsha has introduced a bill into the regional legislative assembly to raise the sign-up bonus for concluding contracts with the Ministry of Defense to 2 million rubles [$19,500]. Since September 2024, regional authorities have offered a 600,000-ruble [$5,840] bonus, which lawmakers extended through 2025 in December. If they approve the governor’s proposal, contract soldiers departing for war from Kaluga could receive up to 2.5 million rubles [$24,300], including 400,000-ruble [$3,900] federal bonus and 100,000-ruble [$970] municipal components.

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, authorities in Russia’s constituent Republic of Chuvashia have raised the sign-up bonus from 1 million rubles [$9,740], set last fall, to 1.4 million rubles [$13,600]. Including the federal component, new contract soldiers from the republic will receive a total of 1.8 million rubles [$17,500].

In the Smolensk region, authorities have raised sign-up bonuses to 1.1 million rubles [$10,700], up from the previous 600,000 rubles [$5,840]. With the addition of federal and municipal components, the total amount now reaches 1.6 million rubles [$15,600]. They have also increased the reward for "assisting in preparing a candidate to conclude a contract," offering 100,000 rubles [$970] to "volunteer assistants," up from the previous 75,000 rubles [$730].

BBC News Russian has calculated that at least 12 regions increased payments to contract soldiers at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. According to the journalists' research, 60% of regions now offer volunteer fighters more than 1 million rubles [$9,740] for signing a contract, including municipal and national bonuses. In a quarter of these regions, the payments reach or exceed 2 million rubles [$19,500]. Additionally, 13 regions officially offer payments to recruiters for securing new contract soldiers.

In the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject], according to the regional Investigative Committee, 750 naturalized foreigners were registered for military service in 2024. Of these, 62 were conscripted during regular conscription campaigns, while another 17 signed contracts with the MoD. During a recent raid in the city of Perm, five men who had recently obtained Russian citizenship were detained and taken to the draft office for registration.

Another raid was conducted by law enforcement officers at a shopping mall in the city of Novosibirsk. Military Investigative Committee personnel checked 40 men, including foreigners who had obtained Russian citizenship, for compliance with military registration requirements. Five men were taken to the draft office for registration.

In the town of Chekhov, Moscow region, law enforcement officers conducted a raid, checking the documents of over 50 men. Among them, 20 were taken to the draft office for data check-up and military registration.

In Tomsk, Roscosmos [Russia’s space agency] is advertising contract service in the armed forces. Posters displayed around the city promise potential servicemen annual earnings of up to 5 million rubles [$48,700] and a sign-up bonus of 1 million rubles [$9,740]. The state corporation also offers assistance with document restoration and "special conditions" for those with outstanding debts or criminal records.

In Saratov, bailiffs are encouraging debtors to sign contracts with the MoD by going door-to-door and offering them the opportunity to join the war in exchange for the suspension of enforcement proceedings. This targeted recruitment focuses on specific apartments, requiring those considering the offer to sign a document. Debtors who sign the contract are promised 1.3 million rubles [$12,700] for the first month of service and at least 3.5 million rubles [$34,100] for a year. They are also assured that enforcement proceedings against them will be suspended. Previously, Saratov Regional Duma member Aleksandr Anidalov revealed that the region was taking out loans to pay contract soldiers because of its dire budget situation.

Two Novosibirsk residents, Maksim Ovchinnikov and Sergey Yulin, who were sentenced to 18 and 22 years in maximum-security penal colony for the murder and rape of 19-year-old student Kristina Prikhodko, have been released from the colony after signing contracts with the MoD to participate in the war. In 2017, Ovchinnikov and Yulin lured the young woman to a cottage under the pretext of cleaning, where they raped and then strangled her. In 2018, they were sentenced without the possibility of parole. Ovchinnikov went to war in winter 2024. According to the victim's father, Ovchinnikov has already been wounded, received compensation payments and purchased an apartment. The second killer left the penal colony in late December and is currently at a training center.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Aleksandr S., a 20-year-old conscript soldier, has been reported killed in a mortar attack in the Bryansk region.

Dmitry L., a 25-year-old soldier from the Stavropol region who sustained serious injuries, has been scheduled to be redeployed to the frontline. He enlisted in the army in June 2024 from a penal colony, where he had been serving a sentence for illegal drug possession since 2022. In August 2024, the soldier suffered severe shrapnel wounds to his legs. After surgery, medical professionals determined that he was unfit for further military service and issued a 45-day medical leave certificate. However, just three days later, Dmitry was returned to his military unit, from which he will soon be redeployed to the frontline. Currently, he is unable to walk or stand for more than 10 minutes.

Yury Vorobyov, a 47-year-old war participant, has been denied his rightful leave despite being declared temporarily unfit for military service due to severe injuries sustained on the frontline. Vorobyov also reported the lack of proper medical care, despite being able to move only with the help of crutches. Furthermore, he has not received his salary for the past four months.

A court has ordered Nikolay Gulak, a mobilized resident of the Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject], to return a payment of 150,000 rubles [$1,460] following his conviction for refusing to serve. Gulak was mobilized at the age of 20. A few months later, the Pacific Fleet headquarters requested that the regional labor ministry revoke the payment, alleging that Gulak had "refused to serve." Gulak, however, insisted he never received the money. Two criminal cases were initiated against him: one for going AWOL and another for attempting to steal money from a bank account. While his sentence remains unknown, local social media platforms in December 2024 alleged that Gulak was involved in the assault and murder of a bar patron in his home village. Military investigators are now handling this new case.

ASTRA released a video allegedly filmed in a "prison" located in a police station in the Nozhay-Yurtovsky district of Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic]. According to the report, the facility holds Russians who came to Chechnya to sign contracts with the Akhmat unit and join the war. The detainees claim they were placed in the police station basement without proper documentation and held for months, without regular access to toilets or food. Reportedly, Chechen authorities use this method to extort ransoms of about 500,000 rubles [$4,870] to return disgraced compatriots from the frontlines, swapping them for volunteer fighters held in the prison. Journalists verified the identities of three men featured in the video, all of whom were released from the basement by New Year’s.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Adygea [Russia's constituent republic], a contract soldier has been sentenced to eight years in a penal colony for multiple instances of going AWOL. His defense team requested that one of the charges be dropped, arguing that the soldier had visited his military unit with his sick child. While the command acknowledged the soldier's presence at the duty station, they stated that he had failed to fulfill his service obligations and had only stayed in the barracks with his child.

The Khanty-Mansiysk regional court has sentenced local resident Sergey Loshakov to nine years in a penal colony on charges of treason for transferring money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to investigators, the Surgut resident was "opposed to Russia’s external and internal policy." He reportedly initiated a conversation in the Telegram messenger app with an unidentified individual and subsequently transferred funds to support the Ukrainian army.

It has been revealed that 53-year-old artist Sergey Bryukhanov from Irkutsk has been held in a pre-trial detention center for one and a half years on charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, treason, financing a terrorist organization and calls for terrorism. According to prosecutors, he painted the symbol of the Freedom of Russia Legion on a parapet along a river embankment.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that a criminal case of treason is being considered in Belgorod, with the accused remaining unknown. The individual is also charged with preparing for illegal border crossing.

A resident of Khabarovsk has been sentenced to 17 years in a maximum-security penal colony for treason related to cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence services. The 50-year-old man was also charged with training for terrorism, as well as the illegal acquisition, storage and manufacture of ammunition.

The Novosibirsk Regional Court has sentenced four teenagers accused of setting fire to a Sukhoi Su-24 (Fencer) bomber at the Sukhoi aircraft plant in Novosibirsk in the spring of 2023, as well as a relay cabinet on the Seyatel-Berdsk railway section and a cellular base station. Pavel Solovyov and Saveliy Ryapolov, both 19 years old, were charged with sabotage and sentenced to seven and a half years and seven years in a penal colony, respectively. 19-year-old Kirill Veselov was sentenced to six and a half years, while 21-year-old Viktor Skorobogatov received a five-year sentence. According to investigators, the teenagers carried out the arsons in exchange for monetary rewards from anonymous users in messaging apps.

A court in Rostov-on-Don delivered a verdict regarding the arson of a draft office in Goryachy Klyuch, Krasnodar region. Boris Goncharenko was found guilty of aiding terrorist activities and sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony, while Bogdan Abdurakhmanov was convicted of committing an act of terror and received a 13-year sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. According to investigators, in the early hours of Oct. 6, 2022, Abdurakhmanov drew a peace sign on the wall of the local draft office and attempted to set the building's door on fire using three bottles filled with an incendiary mixture prepared by Goncharenko. The fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived, and the damage to the draft office amounted to less than 8,000 rubles [$78]. The defendants claimed that the arson of the draft office was their way of protesting against the "special military operation" and forced mobilization.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia reported the arrest of a Russian citizen accused of planning a chemical attack targeting employees of a defense industry factory in the Yaroslavl region, under the direction of the intelligence services of Ukraine. According to the FSB, the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Ilya B. from the town of Gavrilov-Yam, had allegedly been in contact with an operative from Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who was orchestrating the act of sabotage. The FSB claims the suspect intended to release a chemical substance into the ventilation systems of vehicles belonging to employees of the plant.

In the Saratov region, authorities reported foiling an alleged assassination attempt on a regional lawmaker, Aleksandr Yanklovich. According to law enforcement, a 16-year-old suspect named Pavel D. had reportedly coordinated the plot via Telegram with an unidentified individual. Investigators allege the teenager agreed to carry out the attack as an act of protest against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. The suspect now faces criminal charges of attempted murder related to the lawmaker's official duties and public service.

A 16-year-old boy has been accused of arson for allegedly setting fire to a United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] party office in December of last year. Prosecutors charged the teenager with deliberate damage to property by means of arson.

The number of criminal cases related to sabotage on the railways of the Ural Federal District has more than doubled. In 2024, 14 cases were initiated, which is 2.3 times more than in 2023. Almost all of the defendants in these cases are teenagers.

Children and Educational System

In all schools in the Arkhangelsk region, "Halls of Fame" will be established to commemorate Russians who were killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Miscellaneous

Volunteers in the Kursk region have compiled a list of 340 names of people who remain in the Sudzhansky district, an area currently held by the AFU. All individuals on this list are alive. Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] spoke with the volunteers and published the list. Previously, Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, released a list of 517 missing residents from the region, which faced criticism for numerous errors and inaccuracies.

Longreads

In 2024, Russia recorded the highest number of grave and aggravated crimes in 14 years, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs analyzed by the Vyorstka media outlet. Record levels were observed in regions bordering Ukraine. For example, the Bryansk region recorded its highest figure in 11 years (4,025 cases), the Kursk region reached a 15-year high, the highest since records began (3,802 cases), and the Rostov region reported its highest figure in 14 years (15,234 cases).

Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] investigated the story of Lyudmila Kolesnikova from Yalta, who had previously served in both the Ukrainian militia and the Russian police before moving to Ireland. Upon returning to Yalta to bid farewell to her dying mother, she was detained and charged with treason.