Mobilization in Russia for Jul. 2-3, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary
Prigozhin’s Armed Rebellion: Consequences
Governor of the Voronezh region Aleksandr Gusev announced the completion of the assessment of the damage inflicted on the region's civilian population during the counter-terrorism operation regime. Three adults and one child sustained minor injuries during the RuAF strike on a bridge in the Voronezh region. They will receive compensation of 100,000 rubles [$1120] each. Gusev also stated that "a couple dozen residential houses" (previously district authorities reported 19 damaged houses), several household outbuildings, and cars were affected. The governor pledged to restore them using the budget funds.
Olga Romanova, Executive Director of the Rus’ Sidyashchaya [Russia Behind Bars] civil rights movement, reported a decline in the pace of recruitment of convicts by the Russian Ministry of Defense after Prigozhin’s [owner of the Wagner Group] rebellion. According to her, the convicts were disappointed with the results of the rebellion, and Prigozhin’s popularity among them sharply declined. In addition, the recruitment rate is influenced by the Ministry of Defense’s failure to pay the promised money to the convicts who signed contracts, the duration of the contracts, which currently stands at 18 months, as well as the Russian MoD’s understanding of the problems arising in commanding convicts.
Authorities and Legislation
Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] Andrey Kartapolov stated that there will be no new wave of mobilization after Wagner Group mercenaries leave from Ukraine. According to him, the current focus is on the planned recruitment of contract soldiers, formation of units, and their training.
The Liberal Democratic party of Russia (LDPR) [right-wing populist and ultranationalist political party] submitted a bill to the State Duma on the establishment of the title of "Hero City of the Special Military Operation." It provides for the awarding of the honorary title to cities "whose residents made a significant contribution to the fulfillment of tasks during the special military operation." In cities with this title, stelas with the city's coat of arms will be installed, and museums dedicated to military operations will be opened.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko announced that this year, the universities will admit war veterans, Heroes of Russia and persons awarded with the Orders of Courage on preferential terms, as part of a separate quota. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Science has developed an initiative, which will allow the participants of the war in Ukraine to transfer from tuition-based to state-funded education. That will require an application from the student and a document confirming participation in the "special military operation."
State Duma member from the United Russia party [Putin's ruling party] Biysultan Khamzaev stated that impounded cars and boats should be used for the needs of the "special military operation," meaning any vehicle that has been in an impound lot for over a year. According to Khamzaev, this initiative is meant to solve the problem of vehicle shortage in the war. Later, a similar proposal was made by the Spravedlivaya Rossiya party [A Just Russia — For Truth pro-Kremlin party] leader Sergey Mironov, along with the announcement of the introduction of corresponding amendments to the State Duma in the near future.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The Sota media outlet drew attention to the advertising of military service in the social network VKontakte in Sakhalin, targeting residents of other regions. Despite the fact that it offers to serve in Sakhalin, the promised payments correspond to those received by contract soldiers participating in the war: 495,000 rubles [$5570] as a sign-up bonus and 195,000 rubles [$2195] per month of service, as well as bonuses for destroyed enemy equipment. In the meantime, according to the Idel.Realii online media outlet [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty], authorities of Russia's constituent republic of Tatarstan use the Avito service [Russia's online marketplace] for war recruiting—they promise a sign-up bonus of 195,000 rubles [$2195] and a salary of 204,000 rubles [$2295] per month to both Russian and foreign citizens.
Advertisements for contract service have been posted in kindergartens in Kirovsky settlement of the Primorsky region and in Saint Petersburg. Residents of the Tyumen region are receiving mass phone calls with offers to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. The townspeople say that a robot provides information about the terms of service, contract duration, benefits, and salary. Representatives of the regional military commissariat [enlistment office] stated that they have no information about these phone calls.
During the issuance of diplomas in colleges in Russia’s constituent Republicof Ingushetia, graduates are forced to sign draft notices or refuse to receive them. In case of refusal, an official report is immediately drawn up. At the same time, students are forced to personally come and collect their diplomas. It is not allowed to receive them by mail or through a family member or authorized person.
According to the Vyorstka media outlet, the authorities of the capital city offered at least two major construction companies to find several dozen volunteer fighters within their structure who would agree to sign a contract for military service and go to war with Ukraine. Thus, one of the companies must provide at least 30 volunteer fighters by the end of August. In return, the authorities promise construction contracts from the city administration.
Govorit NeMoskva [independent media outlet] had a conversation with Sergei Krivenko, director of the Citizen. Army. Law human rights group, on the impact that new laws, allowing the Ministry of Defense to enroll convicts in the armed forces, have on Russian society. Additionally, Krivenko discussed what can be done to avoid being mobilized, and why conscripts can find themselves sent to the war at any moment.
Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters
The war has claimed the lives of the following mobilized soldiers: Anatoly Khlobystov from Russia’s constituent Komi Republic; Andrey Ivanov from the Tver region; Bair Zugdryov, Aleksey Kozhevnikov, and Dorzho Ulzuev from Buryatia [Russia’s constituent republic]; Roman Paramanyuk from the Novosibirsk region; Mikhail Sumkin from Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic]; Pyotr Pristavka, and Ivan Alfirenko from the Rostov region; Ruslan Mikhailov, Aleksandr Rikkonen, and Sergey Antipin from Bashkortostan [Russia’s constituent republic]; Maksim Volkhontsev from the Orenburg region; Nikolay Fyodorov, and Sergey Vostokov from the Leningrad region; Sergey Guriev, Anatoly Lepinskikh, and Kirill Shumkov from the Sverdlovsk region.
Mobilized soldiers from the 1428th Regiment have recorded another video address. They report being forcibly enlisted in a "volunteer corps" for a planned assault on Bakhmut. The soldiers claim they are not refusing to serve. However, they do not intend to carry out suicidal orders. They say the absurdity of these orders became starkly apparent when "their fellow servicemen were decimated by the enemy before ever reaching the frontline." Having refused to obey, the soldiers were disarmed, and are now awaiting the arrival of representatives from the military prosecutor’s office. Relatives are also drawing attention to the hardships faced by mobilized soldiers. They post appeals on social networks, talking about soldiers gone missing after a strike, whom no one is looking for. They complain about the regiment commander, who is sending their sons "to their deaths."
A scan of a combat order by the commander of the 159th Rifle Regiment to move the killed servicemen of the regiment from the Dzhankoi morgue to Melitopol for subsequent burial has surfaced online. The document has not been verified.
The authorities of the Pskov region have canceled the regional payments to participants of the war with Ukraine. Previously they were entitled to 100,000 rubles [$1126] a month. The families of the servicemen have only found out that the payments had been canceled after they stopped receiving the money.
The Novaya Vkladka [New Tab] media outlet tells the story of Andrey Borzakov who lived in the Moscow region. The man had been working in the rescue service and raising his disabled son before he was mobilized despite his medical leave and draft exemption based on his job. His wife managed to make public officials admit the mistake and order to bring him back home. However, the papers did not reach the unit in time—Andrey had been killed several days before they arrived.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings, and Incidents
The Federal Security Service (FSB) reports on the detention of a Russian citizen for an attempted assassination of Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea. Criminal cases have been initiated on charges of "attempted terrorist attack" and "illegal possession of explosives."
The Tomsk Garrison Military Court sentenced a draftee to seven years in a general regime penal colony for going AWOL. The man left his place of service twice, "wanting to take a break from performing his duties."
The Magnitogorsk Garrison Military Court sentenced a mobilized serviceman to six months of service restriction with a 10 percent salary deduction for going AWOL. On Nov. 21, 2022, he left the field camp without permission and went home, but returned on Nov. 30. The soldier was facing up to five years of imprisonment.
Draftee Aleksandr O. was sentenced to six years of imprisonment for going AWOL. The man left a temporary home station in the Tyumen region on Oct. 19, 2022, and was staying in Yekaterinburg. He surrendered voluntarily to his unit two months later after learning he was wanted.
In Rostov-on-Don, a court sentenced a 17-year-old teenager to six years in a correctional colony for an attempted arson of a military commissariat. He was arrested before he could complete his plan.
The Appellate Military Court upheld the sentence of Dmitry Lyamin, a resident of Shuya, Ivanovo region. The man was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony on the charge of a terrorist attack. On the night of Mar. 19, 2022, Dmitry attempted to set fire to a military commissariat. His cocktail bomb, however, did not enter the building, only breaking the exterior glass.
The Southern District Military Court started hearings in the case of Mikhail Filatov. During the night of Sep. 26, the man drove to the building of the district draft office and threw several Molotov cocktails at it. He was detained the next morning. Filatov is accused of an act of terrorism resulting in significant property damage.
The court increased the punishment doled out to Aleksey Moskalyov by banning him from administering internet resources for two years. Earlier, he was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for "repeat discreditation of the army." In his final statement, Moskalyov asked the court to sentence him to "capital punishment" because he could not bear being apart from his daughter. The Mediazona news outlet live-streamed the proceedings.
Two fuseless anti-tank mines were found in a parcel at the Central Postal Customs Office in Moscow. The building was evacuated.
Assistance
Authorities in the Pytalovo district of the Pskov region promised to distribute firewood to families of draftees including those killed in the war. Up to 15 cubic meters of firewood per household once a year would be provided.
The Irkutsk region is planning to send 40 tons of aid to the front. 20 tons of aid containing food, water, and necessities were sent from the Tyumen region to the "special military operation" zone. Kuban cossacks contributed over 100 tons of aid to the war effort. Udmurtia [Russia’s constituent republic] sent a GAZ Sobol vehicle, outfitting, and equipment to the combat zone.
Aleksandr Rasskazov, 84, from the village of Kirsanovka, Gribanobsky district, Voronezh region, turned his home into a camouflage netting weaving workshop. A Moscow resident, meanwhile, assembled a camouflage net-making rig.
Miscellaneous
On the Avito website, an advertisement has appeared for the sale of a BMK-130B towing boat in Chita. The advertisement states that the boat is new and has just been removed from storage. It is important to note that this type of boat is part of a pontoon set and is used in bridging operations for military purposes.
In Krasnoyarsk, employees of maternity hospitals are asked to provide information "in case of evacuation." The employees have been required to fill out a special form where they need to indicate who they live with.
The Protocol media outlet and the RZVRT YouTube channel have released an investigation into how the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan has turned into a site for assembling Iranian drones for the war with Ukraine. In order for employees to receive the government's granted deferment from mobilization, the management decided to take a small state defense order. Initially, Alabuga planned to produce body armor, but eventually, they started assembling kamikaze drones there.
Starting from Jul. 4, Latvia will resume issuing visas to Russians. It should be noted that visa issuance was completely suspended after Prigozhin’s mutiny.