Mobilization in Russia for Jan. 20-22, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment
In the Sverdlovsk region, Governor Denis Pasler signed a decree increasing the one-time bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to 2.7 million rubles [$34,800], up from 2.5 million rubles [$32,200] set in March 2025. With the addition of the 400,000-ruble [$5,150] federal component, contract soldiers enlisting in the region stand to receive a total of 3.1 million rubles [$39,900].
The Vyorstka a media outlet reports that recruiters are now using Avito [the largest Russian classified advertisements website] to post listings seeking security guards for a non-existent "Luhansk Nuclear Power Plant" as a ruse to lure individuals into contract military service. These advertisements offer standard terms for Russian contract soldiers, including a monthly salary starting at 210,000 rubles [$2,710] and a sign-up bonus ranging from 1.5 million to 4 million rubles [$19,300–$51,500], while claiming the positions are suitable for students, pensioners, applicants over 45, and those with health impairments. When a reporter from the outlet called to inquire about the job, however, the recruiter admitted, "You will serve where the motherland tells you."
In Artyom, Primorsky region, military recruiters conducted a late-night door-to-door canvass, urging locals to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. Two men and a young woman knocked on every door to distribute flyers regarding contract service, leaving leaflets for residents who did not answer. Officials at the military service recruitment center confirmed they performed the rounds jointly with the police, stating that authorities carry out these actions daily nationwide under a decree issued by Vladimir Putin.
Twenty-eight-year-old Chayan Kyzan from Russia's constituent republic of Tuva, who was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for fatally hitting an 11-year-old boy in the city of Kyzyl on Sept. 17 last year, signed a contract with the MoD and left for the war on Jan. 18, thereby being released from his sentence. He had previously been convicted three times for drunk driving and fined five times for traffic violations; at the time of the incident, he did not have a driver’s license. The mother of the deceased child recorded video appeals and published petitions demanding that Kyzan not be allowed to go to war, but they were ignored.
Former police colonel Mikhail Smirnov, who previously confessed to the murder of journalist Maksim Maksimov—a crime he committed together with fellow officers in 2004—has been released from a pre-trial detention center at the request of a military draft office in order to be sent to the frontline. He stated his desire to go to war immediately after confessing his guilt in December 2024. Smirnov had earlier been suspected of the journalist’s murder, but no charges were brought at the time because the body was never found. In May 2024, he was arrested in connection with a different criminal case.
The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel reports on electronic draft notices being sent to Russian conscripts this year. Even people whom draft offices had "forgotten" about for several years are receiving them.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
At least nine conscripts from Russia’s constituent republic of Khakassia, Sverdlovsk region, and Chelyabinsk region signed contracts after being subjected to physical and psychological pressure. Their parents have filed a collective complaint with the prosecutor’s office. According to relatives, 150 out of 500 conscripts traveling on the same train signed contracts. Most of them had been drafted in December 2025. The soldiers themselves said that on Dec. 8 they were sent by train to their duty station in the city of Ussuriysk. During the several-day journey, two sergeants and Junior Lieutenant Artyom Kharitonov pressured them to sign contracts. Those who refused were subjected to moral and physical abuse. The young men were forced to do squats and push-ups despite having high fevers; their arms and legs were twisted, they were insulted and beaten, denied water, not allowed to leave the railcar, repeatedly assigned to duties, and deprived of sleep. According to relatives, at the same time personnel from military units were calling the mothers of some conscripts and demanding that they persuade their sons to sign contracts. One conscript relayed Kharitonov’s words, saying that under the plan he was required to recruit at least 30 percent of the conscripts from the trainload into contract service. After arriving at their unit, the young men repeatedly tried to submit written reports to their commanders, refusing to sign contracts and requesting a return to statutory military service. They were told in response that "these bits of paper don’t decide anything." The current status of those documents is unknown. In their complaint to the prosecutor’s office, the parents demanded that the sergeants and Lieutenant Kharitonov be held accountable and that contracts signed under pressure be declared invalid. In addition, Chelyabinsk region lawmaker Anastasia Borisova has sent a request to the prosecutor’s office calling for an investigation.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
According to Supreme Court statistics, the number of criminal cases involving recidivists has decreased by nearly one third: over the 11 months of 2025, courts considered around 108,500 cases involving individuals with unexpunged convictions, compared to 165,000 such cases for the entire year of 2024. According to lawyers, the decrease in recidivism is primarily due to procedural factors and is likely temporary. Among the main factors, they cite the introduction of a provision that allows for the termination of criminal prosecution in exchange for signing a contract with the MoD, as well as the pardon and expungement of convictions for some prisoners who were sent from penal colonies to the frontline.
In the city of Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk region, Sergey Kot, a 57-year-old former Wagner Group mercenary, was sent to a pre-trial detention center on charges of murdering his acquaintance. According to investigators, on Jan. 6, Kot was drinking with 47-year-old Ilya Odushev. Odushev had allegedly made an insulting remark regarding the war participants. Kot struck him several times in the head, resulting in his immediate death. Three days later, the former mercenary took the body of the deceased to a forest park and attempted to hide it. However, on Dec.12, it was discovered by passersby. Kot has a history of convictions for theft and causing grievous bodily harm. According to some reports, he signed a contract with the Wagner Group and was deployed to the frontline from a penal colony. Kot claims that he was released in 2018 and joined the Wagner Group as a "volunteer fighter."
In the city of Volgodonsk, a court ordered the two-month pretrial detention of 26-year-old war participant Vasily Shapovalov on murder charges. On Jan. 14, while intoxicated, Shapovalov got into an argument with a local resident and stabbed him in the heart; the victim died at the scene. During his arrest, the former serviceman resisted law enforcement. Shapovalov took part in combat operations from 2022 to 2023 and had previously been placed on a wanted list on fraud charges.
In Barnaul, a court sentenced serviceman Sergey Barabanshchikov to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony for murdering his wife. According to investigators, on April 1, 2025, Barabanshchikov, while drunk, assaulted the woman and then strangled her.
In Saint Petersburg, a serviceman who had fled was detained on Jan. 20 with the use of firearms. He had been admitted to a hospital on Jan. 17 but left the facility the following day. Several days later, he was found in a forest. He was armed with a knife and pepper spray. Attempts by law enforcement officers to persuade him to drop the dangerous items failed; the man moved toward the police, who shot him and then handcuffed him. His name and subsequent fate are unknown, and it is also unclear whether a criminal case has been opened against him.
The Abakan Garrison Military Court has sentenced a serviceman to five years and nine months in a maximum security penal colony on charges of desertion. The man was absent from his unit for almost a year: On Oct. 19, 2024, the private failed to report to his duty station, and he was detained by commandant's office personnel on Oct. 8, 2025, in Abakan. Although prosecutors previously had to prove intent to permanently (rather than temporarily) evade service to bring desertion charges, criminal cases under this article based on AWOL periods exceeding nine months have become increasingly common.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported the detention of a Russian citizen in the Kemerovo region on suspicion of preparation for sabotage on a railway. According to the agency, the man was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services while living in Poland between 2022 and 2025. He was allegedly sent back to Russia to conduct "intelligence and subversive activities." He reportedly planned to leave for the EU afterward and seek political asylum.
A criminal case has been opened against a 38-year-old resident of Russia's constituent Republic of Tatarstan on charges of committing an act of terror. Investigators believe that in early December 2025, the detained man received an offer via messenger to set fire to cellular equipment for a reward, allegedly so that its owners could collect insurance payments. On Dec. 29, the man allegedly set fire to a cell tower in the Laishevsky district, and he was detained the following day. Reports indicate the man is also linked to other arsons in Kazan, and he has been sent to a pre-trial detention center.
A teenager born in 2009 was sentenced to five years in a penal colony, on charges of participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. Law enforcement officers believe that in February 2025 the young man pledged allegiance online and joined the Russian Volunteer Corps. On Feb. 13, acting on instructions from the Russian Volunteer Corps, he recorded a video inside one of Moscow’s military registration offices, for which he was paid over $120. On Feb. 25, he attempted to photograph a piece of transportation infrastructure in the Vladimir region but was detained.
A 20-year-old man, Yegor Dergunov, was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of "confidential" cooperation with foreigners and participation in a terrorist organization. The court imposed the term sought by prosecution. According to investigators, in December 2023, Dergunov submitted applications to an "official bot" of the Freedom of Russia Legion. In early January 2024, he was contacted by a handler, who instructed him to paint the slogan "The Russian Orthodox Church is for murderers" in the colors of the white-blue-white flag on a church and a monastery in Saratov. He brought spray paint cans and a stencil to a garage cooperative for a "quality check," where police detained him. During the trial, Dergunov said he had "reconsidered his views" and, through his lawyer, filed a motion indicating he was ready to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
A resident of Sochi, Kirill Sidorov, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. Prosecutors said he contacted the Freedom of Russia Legion and submitted an application to join. Acting on instructions he received, Sidorov photographed three infrastructure sites in Sochi and sent the images to the group.
In Moscow, a court has handed down verdicts in the case involving the bombing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops of the RuAF, and his aide, Ilya Polikarpov. Ahmadjon Kurbonov was sentenced to life imprisonment, Robert Safaryan to 25 years in a penal colony, Batukhan Tochiev to 22 years, and Ramazan Padiev to 18 years. The defendants were convicted of participation in a terrorist organization, carrying out an act of terror as part of an organized group, illegal trafficking in explosives, and receiving training for the purpose of committing an act of terror. According to investigators, in the fall of 2024 the organizers, who were based in Ukraine, planned the delivery of explosive device components from Poland to Russia, disguised as household items. The components were delivered to Safaryan, who, after receiving instructions, passed them to the perpetrator of the attack, Kurbonov. Kurbonov assembled the explosive device and attached it to an electric scooter, which he left near the entrance of the building where Kirillov lived. When the general went outside, Kurbonov detonated the bomb remotely and then attempted to flee to a "safe apartment," which investigators say was paid for by Tochiev and Padiev.
Separately, the Omsk Regional Court has sentenced a 52-year-old local resident in absentia to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of treason. According to the court, in 2022 the man transferred $500 to an account at the National Bank of Ukraine, which authorities claim amounted to financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That same year, he left Russia and remains on both national and international wanted lists.
Children and Militarization
In the Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland class, schoolchildren will learn how to assemble and operate UAVs. Training kits have been added to the list of instructional equipment approved by the Russian government for school classrooms.
Longreads
The Regional Aspect media outlet has published a report on how participants in the war themselves become victims of crime.
The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has reported on how Russia, through the Alabuga Start program, is recruiting young women en masse from Africa, Latin America and the CIS countries under false pretenses to work at a factory assembling combat drones.