Mobilization in Russia for Jan. 5-7, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Irina Akhmetzhanova, the mother of an 18-year-old conscript soldier from the Chelyabinsk region, reported that her son was deceived and pressured into signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense and is now being prepared for deployment to the war. On Dec. 13, 2024, the young man was sent to a training center, and by Dec. 23, recruiters arrived, urging him to sign a transfer request to the town of Chebarkul under the pretense that he would be serving closer to home. On Dec. 26, the conscript managed to contact his mother using a fellow soldier’s phone to ask for help. According to his mother, her son had not yet taken the military oath, nor had he ever handled a weapon, yet he was reportedly scheduled to be sent to the war within a week. The conscript submitted a request to decline the contract service, but it was rejected. The 90th Tank Division, based in Chebarkul, has previously been associated with multiple reports of conscripts being coerced into signing contracts. 74.RU [Chelyabinsk city online media outlet] published accounts from mothers of conscripts who had signed contracts with the MoD. The parents believe their children were persuaded to take this step during their first days at the unit.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Vladimir Pichugin, the former military commissar of the Ozyorsk town in the Chelyabinsk region, died from an injury sustained on the frontline. In May 2024, Pichugin had been sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony for taking a bribe to influence the assignment of conscripts to units based on their preferences. He was also accused of aiding draft evasion in fall 2022 in exchange for payment. The Pogony i Galstuki [Shoulder Marks and Ties] Telegram channel reported that, under Pichugin's leadership, the Ozyorsk draft office was the only one in the region that failed to meet the mobilization quota. In October 2024, Pichugin signed a contract with the MoD and joined the war effort.

Sergey Pirkin, a serviceman of the 124th Motorized Rifle Brigade, reported receiving threats from his unit’s commanders and the murder of fellow soldiers. Pirkin refused to carry out a mission out of fear for his life. In response, the battalion commander allegedly threatened to assault him and tie a grenade around his neck, intending to stage his death as the result of a drone attack. Based on Pirkin’s testimony, criminal cases were initiated against the commanders. However, after being interrogated by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the commanders were released. Pirkin himself is currently being held at a military commandant’s office in the Moscow region, as he did not return from leave due to a concussion and the need to care for his elderly, disabled mother.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Astra Telegram channel published photos of Aleksandr Barlet, a serviceman who was shot by personnel from the military commandant’s office in Donetsk. As a result of his injuries, Barlet is almost unable to speak and is being fed through a tube. His wife reported that following the shooting, he was moved from the intensive care unit to a general hospital ward.

Relatives of Igor Tatarov, a mobilized soldier from the Rostov region, have filed a lawsuit demanding an investigation into his death. Sergeant Tatarov, who served in the 2nd Army Corps, died on May 5, 2024. The official order removing him from the personnel list stated that his death was caused by cerebral edema and was not related to military service. However, the family insists that the cause of death was an injury sustained in Ukraine. A garrison military court refused to consider the claim filed by Tatarov’s father against the unit’s command, stating that it fell under the jurisdiction of civilian, not military, courts. The Southern District Court overturned this decision and referred the case back to the garrison court for reconsideration.

According to statistics provided to the Rotonda media outlet by the press service of Saint Petersburg courts, 12 terrorism-related convictions were issued in the city in 2024, four of which involved arsons targeting draft offices. Over the past year, 34 people were convicted under charges of justifying terrorism. Four sentences were issued under the charge of "fake news" about the army—one fewer than in 2023. Additionally, the city's first conviction in the city for repeatedly discrediting the Armed Forces was handed down. Furthermore, 78 cases of discrediting the Armed Forces were submitted to the courts.

Miscellaneous

The Pskov-Pechory Theological Seminary has added to its curriculum a course on "The Basics of Preparing Clergy for Service in Combat Zones." The subject will be taught by Archpriest Aleksey Voronyuk, who has visited Russian soldiers in the occupied territories multiple times.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii, a media outlet part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has prepared a report on how and who commemorated the mobilized residents of the Samara region who were killed two years ago in a strike on a vocational school building in Makiivka. According to CIT, the attack killed at least 146 servicemen, though the official version lists only 89 fatalities.

The Insider has highlighted the absurd nature of some cases leading to convictions in Russia in 2024. These include charges based on utterly nonsensical accusations: individuals facing prison sentences for sending money to relatives, releasing balloons, or sharing photos of draft office schedules.

Meanwhile, the 7x7-Gorizontalnaya Rossiya [Horizontal Russia] news outlet has produced a documentary titled Bring Back My Husband. The film tells the story of Aleksey Abramov, a mobilized resident of Krasnodar, and his wife, Kseniya. Aleksey suffers from a spinal hernia that makes it difficult for him to walk or sit properly. Despite his condition and Kseniya’s relentless efforts to bring her husband home after his leave, Aleksey is being sent back to a combat zone.