Mobilization in Russia for July 20-22, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Individuals could face fines of up to 5,000 rubles [$64] for searching the internet for what the state calls "knowingly extremist materials," with or without a VPN. The penalty is part of a bill that lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, approved in its final reading. The legislation would also impose steep fines for advertising VPNs, setting penalties at up to 80,000 rubles [$1,020] for individuals and as much as 500,000 rubles [$6,390] for legal entities. The independent Russian media outlet Mediazona described what might change once the bill is signed into law.

A set of bills proposes shifting from the current spring and fall conscription campaigns. Under the proposal, medical examinations, professional psychological evaluations and draft board meetings would run continuously from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. The dispatch of conscripts to their units will, however, remain within the established windows of April 1 to July 15 and Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, and his deputy Andrey Krasov, introduced the bills to amend the law on statutory military service. They cite a directive from Vladimir Putin and argue the change will "evenly distribute the load on draft offices," making "related procedures" more "convenient for the conscripts themselves." With the State Duma in recess, the bill will be reviewed in the fall and, if passed, will become effective on Jan. 1, 2026. The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel notes that draft offices already summon young men outside of official draft periods under various pretexts, such as "updating documents," only to immediately direct them to undergo tests and draft board medical evaluations. Human rights advocates express concern that these changes “could pave the way, during or after the bills' adoption, for year-round conscription,” including deployment to military units. Lawyer Maksim Grebenyuk, creator of the Voyenny Ombudsmen [Military Ombudsman] project, warns that year-round draft commission work would eliminate any "safe" period for citizens to visit a draft office to lift restrictions imposed for failing to respond to a draft notice, once the Unified Military Register becomes operational. A Voyennye Advokaty post details further changes that could stem from the new bills.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia (MinTsifry) is proposing to ease the rules for granting draft deferrals to IT specialists. Since many university graduates do not receive their diplomas in time to be included in the lists submitted to MinTsifry and therefore cannot qualify for a deferral, the ministry proposes allowing draft deferrals for graduates who have completed their studies but have not yet received their diplomas, on the condition that the document will be submitted to the draft board later. The list of IT specializations that qualify for a draft deferral will also be expanded, and companies will be required to specify the job titles of employees applying for a deferral. These changes will not affect the fall regular conscription campaign of 2025.

The Ministry of Defense proposed a 7.6 percent salary increase for military personnel beginning Oct. 1, 2025, a significant jump from the 4.5 percent increase the government had previously approved. A revised inflation forecast for the current year prompted the ministry to recommend adjusting the salary multiplier from 1.045 to 1.076. This pay raise would extend to conscripts and contract soldiers, as well as personnel within Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The increase would also apply to the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Fire Service, the Customs Service, and the senior staff of the State Courier Service. Furthermore, the ministry advocated for a parallel increase in the indexation coefficient for insurance payouts, lump-sum benefits, and financial compensations. It recommended this change be applied retroactively to all legal agreements effective from Jan. 1, 2025.

The State Duma has passed a law allowing the cohabiting partners of soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine to receive benefits, provided they lived together for at least three years, shared a household, and had a child together. In addition, lawmakers passed a law allowing widows of fallen soldiers to temporarily use their deceased partners’ vehicles before inheritance procedures are completed.

Army Recruitment

The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods / Get lost you all] project has summed up the results of the 2025 spring draft. During spring 2025, human rights activists recorded 87 roundups (compared to 170 in the fall of 2024). Idite Lesom! reported cases of conscript detentions in Moscow near shopping centers and stores, in the metro, and near residential buildings, as well as near dormitories in the city of Makhachkala. Detentions were carried out based on draft decisions from the previous year, as well as if conscripts had received draft notices or notifications via mos.ru. Non-draftable diagnoses, surgery referrals, draft deferments, and appeals were often ignored. Parents and lawyers were denied access to draft offices, leaving conscripts without communication. Young men had their passports, phones, and belongings taken, were threatened, and in some cases, force was used. Frequently, all conscription procedures were completed within a single day. In July, notifications began being sent out regarding "inclusion in the Unified Military Register." These were received by reservists, conscripts, female medical workers, and 17-year-old schoolboys.

In Moscow, draft boards continue to operate even after the spring conscription cycle officially ended on July 15, the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Moskva reports, citing legal experts. This may suggest that the capital’s draft offices are transitioning to year-round operations. According to lawyers, conscripts are still undergoing daily medical evaluations at the Unified Draft Center on Yablochkova Street, although no actual deployments are currently taking place. The Defense Ministry has yet to officially confirm the conclusion of the draft cycle. While off-cycle medical evaluations have long been conducted in Moscow, enlistment offices are now even holding full draft board sessions. Although a bill to introduce year-round conscription was submitted to the State Duma on July 22, such practices remain illegal under current law.

Aleksandr Fedyakov, former deputy director of the Chuvashia Institute for Regional Development (a nonprofit organization in Russia’s constituent republic of Chuvashia), appears to have avoided punishment for embezzling 70 million rubles [$894,800] after signing a contract with the MoD. A criminal case was opened against him in February 2024, but the investigation now appears to have been suspended.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Conscripts Yury Vitsynets, Daniyar Kereybayev, and Denis Mozhaytsev report being pressured into signing military contracts shortly after arriving for duty with the 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade in the city of Kyakhta. According to the soldiers, their platoon commander, Junior Lieutenant Bair Dashidorzhiyev, coerced them by threatening to send them to the border zone and citing incidents of mass conscript deaths in the Kursk region. They were led to believe that if they signed the contracts, they would remain stationed at the base and be sent home after a year.

Pavel Galkin, a conscript in the 8th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in Ussuriysk, also reported being pressured by his commanders to sign a contract. He and a fellow serviceman ultimately signed the documents allegedly under threats of imprisonment or even execution if they refused.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the city of Yekaterinburg, a court has sentenced serviceman Aleksey Marchukov to 12.5 years in a maximum security penal colony for murder. According to the prosecution, Junior Sergeant Marchukov committed the murder on March 4 in the village of Yurginskoye in the Tyumen region, where he had gone on a short leave from the frontline to get married. On the first night after the wedding, he stabbed his wife in the heart out of jealousy. His sister disclosed that he opted to deploy to the war after being presented with a choice between imprisonment and a contract with the MoD. Following the verdict, the soldier expressed his desire to return to the frontline from the penal colony.

In the city of Novosibirsk, a court has received a criminal case regarding the murder committed by serviceman Maksim Tivikov, who has at least four prior convictions. In 2014, he was sentenced to six and a half years in a penal colony for causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death. In 2023, he received two more sentences for causing minor bodily harm with a weapon, making death threats and stealing 7,000 rubles [$89], resulting in nearly two years of imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony. However, in late March 2024, he signed a contract with the MoD and joined the war effort. Later, in May 2025, Tivikov was sentenced to four years in a maximum security penal colony for theft. The first hearing for his fifth criminal case is scheduled for the end of July.

Student Fyodor Khizhin, who killed his girlfriend and had participated in the war against Ukraine, is facing expulsion from St. Petersburg's Baltic State Technical University, as reported by the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet. The university confirmed that Khizhin enrolled in 2024 under the "participant of the special military operation" quota but concealed his criminal record during admission. The university has announced that, following the results of the second semester, Fyodor Khizhin was recommended for expulsion. The specific reason has not been disclosed. Materials regarding Khizhin's awards have been removed from the university's website.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) office in the Novgorod region reported that it had issued a formal warning about the inadmissibility of high treason to a resident of Veliky Novgorod who had served under a military contract. According to the FSB, the man, who had recently returned from the frontline, had been planning since January last year to join the Russian Volunteer Corps fighting on the side of Ukraine. In an official FSB video, the man appears to have had his right arm amputated.

One of two teenagers who had been helping extinguish wildfires in the settlement of Atamanovka and were later placed in a pre-trial detention center on charges of setting the fires has reported being tortured. One of them is a resident of an orphanage. According to investigators, he was contacted by scammers via Telegram and offered 90,000 rubles [$1,150] to start the fires. He allegedly involved a friend, who agreed to help. The fires were set, but the promised payment never came. The mother of the second teenager said that after his arrest, he was taken to a forest, where he was abused, his genitals were attached to wires and subjected to electric shocks.

In Saint Petersburg, the FSB has detained a man suspected of collaborating with Ukrainian intelligence services. According to the FSB, the suspect had been collecting information on Russian military-industrial facilities and was allegedly preparing a strike involving 80 UAVs. A criminal case has been opened on charges of aiding terrorist activities.

The FSB reported the arrest of two suspects accused of cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence services. In Yaroslavl, authorities detained a Ukrainian citizen who, according to investigators, was building a bomb on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services to target railway infrastructure. In occupied Khartsyzk in the Donetsk region, a Russian citizen was detained on charges of plotting to murder a Russian serviceman and passing information about Russian Armed Forces units.

The FSB also reported that a court in the Lipetsk region sentenced a Russian citizen detained in 2024 to 14 years in a maximum security penal colony for setting fire to a collection point for "humanitarian" aid for Russian soldiers.

The Central District Military Court in the city of Yekaterinburg found 63-year-old retiree Sergey Silantyev from Izhevsk guilty of treason, justifying terrorism and participation in a terrorist organization, as well as inciting actions against Russian security, sentencing him to 15 years in a penal colony. However, the court released him from punishment due to his severe kidney-related disability. Silantyev was prosecuted for posting leaflets bearing symbols of the Freedom of Russia Legion on the graves of Russian soldiers in Izhevsk. The leaflets depicted Putin with a bloodied mouth and the caption "If not for him, I would be alive, stop the war!" along with QR codes linking to the unit's social media accounts. The man was detained in spring 2024.

In Ryazan, a Moldovan native was detained on suspicion of treason. He allegedly collected data on a company of the military-industrial complex for Ukraine and was supposedly planning to travel to France to "subsequently join a Ukrainian armed formation banned in the Russian Federation" and take part in combat operations.

In Kamchatka, 67-year-old Ukrainian Valery Dobrovolsky has been placed under house arrest under an article on "confidential cooperation with a representative of a foreign state." According to database leaks, Dobrovolsky was born in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region but now lives in the village of Zaporozhye in Kamchatka. His sons live in Ukraine. Details of the charges are unknown, but according to one court order, Dobrovolsky admitted to "having long-term contact with representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)." He has a second-degree disability due to "speech and language disorder with cognitive-communication deficits."

People facing charges over "fakes" and "discrediting" the Russian army, or exhibiting Nazi symbols, are reportedly being added to Russia’s "terrorist and extremist list."

Children and Militarization

In a segment aired by the Russian MoD’s Zvezda TV channel, the program Voennaya Priyomka (Military Acceptance) featured a visit to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, where, according to the report, Russia has established fully localized production of Shahed-type loitering munitions (Geran-2), and where college students and 9th graders work and study. According to the report, the drones that are now "virtually entirely Russian," are produced in the thousands, and schoolchildren are invited after the 9th grade to study with potential further employment. The Protocol media outlet and the RZVRT YouTube channel reported back in 2023 that minors are being recruited to produce kamikaze drones that are used in strikes on Ukraine.

Longreads

The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet tells the stories of several Russian prisoners who are being threatened and beaten into signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports on how Russia is actively resettling its citizens and migrants to the occupied regions of Ukraine, while simultaneously displacing the local Ukrainian population.

Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] uses the example of former Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Vasilchuk to show what is in store for Ukrainians captured in the occupied territories.

The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] published an article about how hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren in Russia are involved in programs disguised as educational clubs, linked to the Ministry of Defense: children are working on combat drones and other war-related equipment.