Mobilization in Russia for July 14-15, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring) may have many more grounds in the future to add individuals to the register of terrorists and extremists. The federal government has introduced a bill into the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] to significantly expand the list, which currently includes 26 articles of the Criminal Code related to extremist activities, such as terrorist attacks, coup attempts, calls for extremism and incitement of hatred. Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer of the Pervy Otdel [Department One] human rights project, says that, if the bill is passed, authorities will start adding suspects, defendants and individuals convicted on any charge, if the motive includes hatred or enmity on political, religious, ideological, racial or national grounds. Prosecutors can claim such a motive for any crime, down to theft. Currently, they regularly do this to prosecute individuals suspected of writing anti-war slogans. Individuals on the registry are restricted in their use of bank accounts and cannot conduct real estate transactions.

Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers

Pro-government Telegram channels published a fake video in response to the address of mobilized soldiers who defended their wives after they protested in front of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. The fake video appeared a few days ago and appears to show a masked member of the 79th Motorized Rifle Regiment saying, “To all the provocateurs who hold meetings in an attempt to demotivate us and record video addresses calling for demobilization: stop whining.” The Mobilization News Telegram channel reports that the video has been dubbed. The original video, published in a small Telegram channel, depicts military personnel thanking for the delivery of aid. Earlier, Russian milbloggers also attempted to dismiss the losses in the Kharkiv region with a dubbed video.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that the 2024 spring conscription campaign had been completed. It has become the first campaign since the maximum conscription age was raised from 27 to 30. In its statement, the ministry claimed to have met the conscription targets, having enrolled 150,000 men for statutory military service. The ministry expressly points out that the conscripts will not be engaged in the “special military operation” nor deployed to what Russia describes as its new territories, i.e. the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. All the while, conscript soldiers are being routinely killed and wounded while serving in the border regions of Russia. According to the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel, from now on draft boards may not proceed with any conscription activities, including medical examinations, until the fall conscription campaign launches on Oct. 1, 2024. Meanwhile, any decisions made by the draft boards during the spring campaign but not carried out, should be declared null and void.

Since the summer of 2024, Russia's oil and gas company Surgutneftegas has been targeting members of the indigenous Khanty community in an attempt to recruit contract soldiers for the Ministry of Defense. According to the independent Russian investigative media outlet Dossier, Surgutneftegas is controlled by Vladimir Putin's close associates.

Russia’s Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs has developed a training course seeking to make migrant workers aware of Russian immigration and labor laws, as well as introducing them to the code of conduct that should be observed while staying in the Russian Federation. The 70-minute course will cover Russia’s requirements of entry and stay, standards of acceptable behavior, and major historical events. The course will specifically highlight the simplified citizenship procedure reserved for foreign nationals who sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces.

The Yaroslavl region has increased the payment for "freelance recruiters" from 30,000 [$340] to 100,000 rubles [$1,140] for each individual they bring in who signs a contract with the Ministry of Defense. The reward applies to anyone who brings volunteer fighters to a draft office or the regional administration. If the new recruit, when signing a contract, writes down the name of the person who advised them to come to the draft office, then the 100,000 rubles [$1,140] will be paid after the contract soldier departs for their military unit. A payment of 100,000 rubles [$1,140] for “freelance recruiters” was previously introduced in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan.

The recruitment telethon titled "Join the Army of Victory!" has concluded in Tatarstan. Every ten minutes, visitors were encouraged to enlist for contract-based military service in Tatarstan and receive 1.5 million rubles [$17,100] as a sign-up bonus, or to earn 100,000 rubles [$1,140] by convincing someone else to go to war. During the broadcast, Vladimir Malygin, the head of the Legenda [Legend] military-patriotic club, said that he sends his cats and kittens to the war zone to combat mice. According to him, the cats catch rodents and help soldiers cope with stress.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Yevgeny Khrestinov and Maksim Khannanov (Novikov) from Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, Konstantin Cherkassky from the Irkutsk region, Nikita Godov and Sergey Shiryayev from the Sverdlovsk region, as well as Magomed Abdulaev from Russia’s constituent Republic of Dagestan.

A soldier from the Storm unit of the 138th Motorized Rifle Brigade recorded an emotional video addressing the relatives of his fellow soldiers. The recording was made after another assault on the town of Vovchansk, from which, according to the man, only 30 out of 46 soldiers managed to return. "Not everyone has come back yet," the soldier says, asking forgiveness for those he "couldn't save." The Astra Telegram channel verified his identity as Yevgeny Zarubin, a resident of Kursk. Speaking to journalists, he confirmed that he had recorded the video and revealed that he had previously served in the Wagner Group. He now trains and leads ex-convicts and mobilized soldiers who have been disciplined, as well as recent contract signees, into assaults. Later, Zarubin recorded another video stating that he was pressured to retract his words but refused to do so. He also said that all 46 people from his unit are alive and plan to return to the frontline.

The family of Yevgeny Shishanov, an orphan from Barnaul, has been left without the housing promised by the state. Before the war, Shishanov won a lawsuit against Altai officials who failed to provide him with an apartment, but the court decision remained on paper. Regional housing authorities told him that "the 'special military operation' is now the only way" to obtain the legally mandated housing. After this, Shishanov signed a contract without telling his wife, who was pregnant with their second child. However, after he was killed in fighting near Bakhmut on Feb. 22, 2024, he was removed from the list of those eligible for housing and from the queue of "needy participants of the special military operation."

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region, contract soldier Aleksey Zhuravlyov, who shot and killed three fellow soldiers on July 11, has been detained. This information was reported by the Baza and Shot Telegram channels without citing a source. The information has not been officially confirmed.

In the Volgograd region, a 48-year-old war participant has been detained for shooting at children in the village of Ugolsky. The incident occurred on July 12, when children aged 9 to 13 were walking through the village. As they passed a house where a party was being held with the war participant, who had returned from the frontline, and his brother, the two men came out and opened fire. As a result, a 12-year-old boy was wounded. He is currently in the hospital. Both men were detained, and the shooter confessed. A criminal case has been initiated against him. According to the Agentstvo media outlet, the shooter was identified as Ivan Dyakonov, which was confirmed by his ex-wife. Dyakonov was first deployed to the war only on May 21. He was injured in the combat zone and was granted a leave.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs statistics showed a significant increase in organized crime. In the first five months of 2024, the number of crimes committed by criminal groups increased by 76% (to 16,900) compared to the same period in pre-war 2021. Judicial statistics also show an increase: in 2021, 235 people were convicted for "banditry, organization of illegal formations, gangs, and criminal organizations or participation in them," while in 2023, the number rose to 334, a 42% increase.

In Kolomna, a 40-year-old local resident named Dmitry N. has been detained for setting fire to three police cars, completely burning two and damaging another. According to Astra, the man was detained the same day. He stated that scammers forced him to set fire to the car after he transferred money to them. A criminal case was initiated against him for an act of terror committed in a group in conspiracy, which caused significant damage. He faces up to 20 years in a penal colony.

A court in the Oryol region sentenced 29-year-old local resident Ivan Tolpygin to four years in a general regime penal colony and fined him 500,000 rubles [$5,690] for aiding a foreign state. According to the prosecution, Tolpygin, an "active opponent" of the war with Ukraine, "established contact with a representative of Ukraine, maintained cooperation, and sent information threatening Russia's security."

Bogdan Belyi, a 21-year-old native of the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject], was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of attempted participation in a terrorist organization and attempted treason. The specific accusations against Belyi are unknown, as the trial was held behind closed doors. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] speculates that he may have been accused of intending to join a Ukrainian unit recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia.

On June 27, a court in Yessentuki sentenced local resident Sergey Dudchenko to seven and a half years in a penal colony on charges of possession and distribution of weapons, possession of explosives, and possession of drugs. Dudchenko had openly posted anti-war messages on Instagram and organized a motorcycle rally with a Ukrainian flag. He was arrested on Oct. 8, 2022. In the following days, Dudchenko's friends Vladimir Burmay, Kirill Buzmakov, and Nikolay Murnev were also detained. All four are involved in a case of preparing an act of terror committed in a group. The case involving possession and distribution of weapons, possession of explosives, and possession of drugs, for which Dudchenko was sentenced, is separate from the terror-related charges. Buzmakov, Dudchenko, and Murnev are in pre-trial detention. Burmay has managed to leave Russia. Murnev has been repeatedly tortured and beaten.

A court in Saint Petersburg acquitted Igor Siomik, who was accused of transferring 130,000 rubles [$1,480] to the Ukrainian Azov Brigade in November 2022. During the trial, it was revealed that Siomik could not have made the transfer, as he had sold his bank card to a Moldovan citizen and changed his phone number. Siomik was fully acquitted on this charge but was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for registering a legal entity under a false name.

A resident of Ulan-Ude has been charged with desecrating a war symbol and preparing for sabotage. According to investigators, in June 2023, the accused, following the instructions of an unknown person received via messenger, defaced a bust of Sergey Oreshkov, a WWII hero, with black paint and received a monetary reward. He then allegedly planned to commit sabotage by setting fire to a railway relay cabinet but was apprehended. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Mediazona reported on the case of 39-year-old Vladimir Yerofeyev, who was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly attempting to persuade a military acquaintance to surrender. Mediazona also discovered that since the start of mobilization, Russian courts have received four cases under the article on surrender, with only one serviceman among the accused. Two others have already been sentenced. In addition to Yerofeyev, Ilya Usoyan from the Saratov region was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for trying to help a friend at the frontline.

Children

A war participant from Tuva, Alash Saaya, visited the children of the Teremok kindergarten to speak about "patriotism" despite being considered AWOL at the time and later sentenced to five years in a penal colony. Dmitry Kuznetsov, State Duma member, Head of the Coordinating Headquarters for Assistance to Mobilized Soldiers and Their Families and one of the initiators of the "Friendship of Nations Akhmat Academy," released a video showing how children are being taught there, including training teenagers in "mopping up and demolishing enemy positions."

Longreads

In an interview with the Govorit NeMoskva [NonMoscow Is Speaking] Telegram channel, Deacon Andrey Drugay discussed what it was like to be a Russian Orthodox Church priest during the war, the reactions of parishioners and law enforcement to anti-war sermons, the "serfdom" within the ROC, and propaganda as a diabolical temptation. Drugay recently left the Moscow Patriarchate and the country.