Mobilization in Russia for July 16-18, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Federation Council [upper house of the Federal Assembly] approved a bill which would exempt employees of the Investigative Committee and prosecutor's offices from regular conscription as soon as they join these organizations after completing the relevant higher education. The State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly] approved the bill last week.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Starting on Aug. 1, 2024, authorities in Omsk will pay an additional 100,000 rubles [$1,130] sign-up bonus to individuals willing to fight in the war. To be eligible, they must conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense for at least a year. Earlier, Governor of the Omsk region Vitaly Khotsenko had increased the value of the regional sign-up bonus from 250,000 to 305,000 rubles [from $2,830 to $3,450]. Together with the federal sign-up bonus of 195,000 rubles [$2,210], individuals who enlist in the city of Omsk will thus be eligible for a lump-sum payment of 600,000 rubles [$6,790] at signing the contract.

Former Moscow Culture Minister Aleksandr Kibovsky, announced that he is planning to go fight in the war against Ukraine after police arrested him on charges of fraud and bribery on a large scale for allegedly helping businesses win city contracts.

Artyom Kamardin, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for participating in the Mayakovsky Readings poetry event, described how authorities are recruiting convicts and defendants for the war from the pre-trial detention center where he is currently held. According to Kamardin, a center’s employee told the inmates, "You will all be taken and die when mobilization [resumes]. At least, now you have a chance of joining a well-coordinated team on favorable terms, considering the 150,000 rubles [$1,700] sign-up bonus from Moscow. Only four individuals died in our unit." Everyone in Kamardin’s cell refused to enlist.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Ramil Khaziev and Nikolay Frolov from the Saratov region, Viktor Minakov from the Arkhangelsk region, Aleksandr Snegiryov from the Tyumen region, Grigory Relyuk from the Kemerovo region and Ivan Kotomanov from Russia's constituent Republic of Buryatia.

Russia's Ministry of Defense has reported a 95-for-95 POW exchange, traditionally stating that Russian soldiers were "in mortal danger in captivity" and "all those released are being provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance," while revealing no further details. The Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet has identified 19-year-old Saveliy Vasilyev among those exchanged, who had enlisted for contract-based military service at the age of 18 to avoid criminal prosecution, having no prior military experience. Among the other POW who have returned to Russia, at least 20 have criminal records or were suspects in criminal cases. The previous 90-for-90 POWs exchange took place on June 25.

The Mobilization Telegram channel has published a video in which a man wearing the uniform of a Russian Army officer claims that the brigade in which he serves has lost 12,000 men, although only 6,000 were officially reported as casualties. According to the officer, his brigade has 200 percent of its personnel on payroll.

More than 1,100 people have signed a petition demanding an investigation and accountability for the killers of Kirill Poluyanov, a conscript who died under suspicious circumstances. The petition reads, "We need to know that our children are not in danger while serving their duty to the Motherland. Please help us get to the truth and save the lives of our children." In addition, the Mobilization Telegram channel has published a statement by Poluyanov’s mother, in which she spoke about the circumstances of the incident and that the case was being covered up. Photos of the body of the deceased were also published.

Complaints emerge from families of mobilized soldiers about military police seizing vehicles donated or bought by relatives and civilian volunteers for mobilized personnel. Several occasions have been reported in which soldiers were forced out of crowdfunded vehicles, having to surrender them to military police. According to police allegations, military personnel are not allowed to drive civilian vehicles while in the “special military operation” area. Based on a regulation cited by police, there has been “an increase in the number of road accidents in the areas along the frontline involving vehicles that are not owned by the Russian Armed Forces,” which is why such vehicles are regarded as subject to confiscation. The regulation dates back to June 21, 2023, but has not been enforced until recently.

Ivan Syrkin, a convicted criminal who was serving a prison sentence for murder before joining the Wagner Group, obtained his combat veteran recognition certificate through the assistance of the Russian national “Fund for Defenders of the Fatherland.” In 2018, Syrkin was sentenced to six years in a maximum security penal colony for bludgeoning his friend to death with a fire poker. In the colony, Syrkin enlisted in the Wagner Group and was granted a presidential pardon for his service in Ukraine.

In May 2024, a mother from Buryatia appealed to the republic’s Commissioner for Human Rights Yulia Zhambalova. The applicant stated that both of her sons had been killed last winter while fighting against Ukraine, however she had never received her death benefits. The woman eventually obtained her benefits following the Commissioner’s intervention.

A resident of the Samara region is now caring for her granddaughter alone after her son was captured and taken prisoner. The child's mother has lost her parental rights, leaving the grandmother as the child’s sole guardian. Compounding the situation, social fund payments for the child have been halted, and the POW’s military salary has also been cut off. Efforts to renew and reapply for child support measures have been denied without the POW's power of attorney.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

A Moscow court has fined former Wagner Group mercenary Pavel Kukharev 1,000 rubles [$11] for displaying Nazi symbols, the minimum penalty under the law for this offense. Kukharev was detained on July 10 in Zelenograd while drunk and showing a Nazi symbol tattoo to passersby. According to the Ostorozhno, Moskva [Beware, Moscow] Telegram channel, Kukharev had joined the Wagner Group from prison, where he was serving a criminal sentence.

The Southern District Military Court has upheld the sentence for contract soldier Igor Rudenko, who was found guilty of murdering a fellow serviceman. Rudenko was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security penal colony and ordered to pay 1.5 million rubles [$17,000] in compensation to the victim’s family. The murder took place in March 2023 in the occupied territory of Ukraine. Following a conflict during a phone call, the victim entered Rudenko's room and punched him in the face, prompting Rudenko to respond with a gunshot from a Makarov pistol.

The Priargunsky district court of the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject] has sentenced Sergey Lashko, a 30-year-old local resident who participated in the war with Ukraine, to three years and two months of probation for intentionally causing minor bodily harm with a weapon and the illegal storage of large quantities of drugs. On Jan. 5, 2024, while intoxicated, Lashko quarreled with his girlfriend and stabbed her in the knee. In court, the man stated that his girlfriend was 8-9 weeks pregnant. The court considered Lashko's participation in the "special military operation" as part of the Wagner Group, his state awards, and his girlfriend's pregnancy as mitigating factors. The sentence stated that Lashko had no previous convictions, although his full namesake had been convicted at least five times since 2014.

The Omsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced contract soldier Kaiyrzhan Tasibekov to five years in a penal settlement for going AWOL during mobilization. Tasibekov was mobilized and later signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense. In October 2023, he left his unit and in April 2024, he voluntarily came to the commandant's office.

The Second Eastern District Military Court has sentenced Dmitry Kosolapov, a soldier from Abakan, to six and a half years in a penal colony for going AWOL. He was supposed to return from leave on Dec. 5, 2022, but failed to do so. A year and two months later, Kosolapov was detained and brought to the commandant's office.

In Saint Petersburg, a local resident has been arrested on suspicion of sabotage. According to investigators, Artyom Prokopets, a Ukrainian citizen residing in Saint Petersburg, damaged two transformers at an electrical substation on Ekaterininskyi Prospekt on April 3. As a result of his actions, two districts of Saint Petersburg and settlements in the Leningrad region were left without power. Prokopets faces up to 20 years in prison.

In the Moscow region, Dmitry T. and Pavel K. were detained on suspicion of arson on the railway. The arson took place on July 13 on the stretch between Pushkino and Zavety Ilyicha railway stations, and as a result of the fire in the relay cabinet, a train was delayed for about half an hour. The detained men allegedly confessed to the arson, explaining that they agreed to it for a reward from anonymous users on Telegram. They also confessed to another relay cabinet arson in Balashikha, outer Moscow.

A 20-year-old medical student was detained in the Moscow region for setting fire to a police car of the Noginsk Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the town of Elektrougli on July 17, according to law enforcement officials. As a result, the car’s hood and dashboard were burned, but no one was injured. Upon her arrest, the girl claimed she had fallen victim to fraudsters. She is accused of conspiring and committing an act of terror in a group, causing significant damage.

In Kostroma, a woman threw a gasoline bottle at a contract soldier recruitment point, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished. According to the detained woman, she was a victim to fraudsters.

A resident of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Tatyana Makarova, who attempted to set fire to the draft office in Bogorodsk, was sentenced to one year and four months on probation. The woman fell victim to phone scammers.

Vyacheslav Lychagin, a manager at the Vkusno i Tochka [Tasty and that's it] company, was sentenced to one year on probation for attempting deliberate damage to someone else's property by arson for trying to set fire to the draft office in Podolsk on Aug. 1, 2023. In court, Lychagin pleaded guilty to the charges and expressed remorse, which was considered a mitigating factor. He claimed that he was incited to arson by scammers. On the same day, elderly man Nikolay Kaplin also attempted to set fire to the same building, claiming that scammers forced him to take out a loan and promised to return part of the money after the arson.

Dmitry Mezenin, a resident of Oryol, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of treason, aiding terrorism, charge with participation in a terrorist organization, and acquiring explosives over the Internet. As Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] suggests, he wanted to join a Ukrainian unit recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. Mezenin pleaded guilty to the charges, cooperated with the investigation, and expressed remorse, which the court took into account.

The Second Western District Military Court sentenced 56-year-old Anatoly Poplavsky from Moscow to five and a half years in a penal colony for preparing to defect to the enemy by attempting to join the "Freedom of Russia Legion." The Meshchansky District Court sent the man to a pre-trial detention center. According to Poplavsky himself, his cellmate said that he had impulsively applied to the "Legion" while drunk, but in fact had no intention of joining. According to the cellmate, he saw a stun gun mark on Poplavsky.

On June 26, the Second Western District Military Court sentenced 24-year-old Andrey Morozov to 12 years in prison for attempting to participate in a terrorist organization, attempting to illegally cross the border, and attempting treason for trying to join the "Freedom of Russia Legion."

19-year-old dual citizen of Ukraine and Russia Danil Efimov was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony for transferring 13,000 rubles [$150] to the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. On Jan. 15, Efimov was arrested on suspicion of treason.

In Veliky Novgorod, an employee of a military enterprise was detained on suspicion of treason for allegedly contacting the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live." According to law enforcement officers, he provided a photograph of a police station and open data from 2GIS on the location of a military unit. He also allegedly planned to provide information on the enterprise. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Federal Security Service [FSB] in Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic] reported the arrest and detention of a woman from Izhevsk on charges of treason. According to law enforcement officers, she contacted Ukrainian intelligence agencies and collected information about defense industry facilities at their direction, as well as preparing "subversive and terrorist acts."

Ruslan Zinin, sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony for shooting at a military commissar in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk region, after the announcement of mobilization, has been held in solitary confinement for a month. He was placed in solitary confinement on June 18 and has not been released since. Earlier, Zinin cut himself and declared a hunger strike in a pre-trial detention center.

An elderly woman in the Voronezh region, who was coerced by scammers into pouring brilliant green into a ballot box during the elections, has been sent for compulsory medical treatment and fined 30,000 rubles [$340].

Children

Schools in various regions are actively purchasing educational materials for a new subject, Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland, which will be introduced into the curriculum on Sept. 1. For example, the Shuryshkarsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region [Russia’s federal subject] will spend almost 1.3 million rubles [$14,700] on weapon models and injury simulators. Additionally, a lyceum in Moscow has purchased grenade models.

In Tyumen, children of war participants are allowed to ride carousels for free, but they need to supply documents and register with a special fund in advance.

Assistance

Wives and widows of war participants will be able to use public transport in Saint Petersburg for free. Governor Alexander Beglov signed a decree to this effect. Additionally, children of participants in the "special military operation" will be granted free rides on suburban commuter trains.

In Irkutsk, the pro-government All-Russia People's Front movement is collecting hunting rifles from the population to give them to Russian soldiers to shoot down Ukrainian UAVs. However, even in pro-Kremlin publications, experts mention the uselessness of hunting weapons against drones.

In the Perm region, bailiffs confiscated 24 cars from local residents for debts and drunk driving and sent them to the frontline. In Tobolsk, two cars confiscated from local residents for drunk driving were also sent to the frontline.

In the village of Kilmez in Udmurtia, camouflage nets were consecrated before being sent to Russian soldiers.

The first Spartakiad [multi-sport festival] for participants of the "special military operation" was held in Novosibirsk. The competitions became a part of the Spartakiad of the region's disabled people. Twenty-seven people took part in the event. Judging by the photos, in addition to soldiers with disabilities, ex-mercenaries of the Wagner Group also took part in the event