Mobilization in Russia for July 28-29, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia], has proposed increasing the duration of statutory military service to two years for naturalized male citizens and raising the upper age limit for their conscription. Moreover, they would be required to register for military service to be granted citizenship. The registration would take place at the same time as passport delivery. The State Duma plans to consider the initiative before the end of the current session on Aug. 5.
The Ministry of Culture intends to deliver combat veteran certificates and has drafted a resolution to that effect.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Saint Petersburg authorities have increased the value of their sign-up bonus. They will now pay 1.8 million rubles [$20,900] to individuals who conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense in the city. The amount includes the federal component of 195,000 rubles [$2,270]. Previously, the total amount was 1.3 million rubles [$15,100].
Meanwhile, in the Kaluga region, authorities haveincreased the value of the sign-up bonus fivefold. Going forward, they will pay 495,000 rubles [$5,760] instead of 100,000 rubles [$1,160] to anyone concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
It is worth noting that just last week, Moscow introduced an additional sign-up bonus of 1.9 million rubles [$22,100]. In the Moscow region, the bonus was increased to 1.7 million rubles [$19,800], in the Rostov region to 1.2 million rubles [$14,000], and in the Volgograd region to 800,000 rubles [$9,300].
Over the past month, as noted by Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta], 13 regions have increased the size of the sign-up bonus for contracts with the Ministry of Defense. In Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, the gubernatorial and municipal payments in the region have reached 1.35 million rubles [$15,700]. In the Republic of Kalmykia, the sign-up bonus has risen to 605,000 rubles [$7,040], and in the Republic of Dagestan, to 600,000 rubles [$6,980]. While the average increase in regional payments this year occurred every four days, in the past month, regions have been raising the stakes on average every 2.5 days. The average size of payments in the 13 regions that have increased bonuses over the past month has grown 6.5 times compared to July 2023 and has reached almost 900,000 rubles [$10,500].
As discovered by the Vyorstka media outlet, authorities in at least nine Russian regions have launched a referral program for recruiting volunteer fighters to the frontline, offering rewards ranging from 5,000 rubles [$58] to 100,000 rubles [$1,160] for each volunteer fighter recruited. Previously, such programs were known in the Yaroslavl region and Tatarstan, both of which offered 100,000 rubles [$1,160], and in the Voronezh region, which offered 15,000 rubles [$170]. Now, monetary rewards for bringing in contract soldiers are available in six more regions: in the Republic of Mordovia and the Kaluga region, the reward is 5,000 rubles [$58], with the latter allowing only military personnel to use the referral system; in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the reward is 15,000 rubles [$170]; in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, it is 25,000 rubles [$290]; and in the Arkhangelsk and Ivanovo regions, it is 10,000 rubles [$120]. The introduction of such a program is already being discussed in the Republic of Udmurtia, and it will soon be implemented in the Bryansk region.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s constituent Republic of Chechnya has spent 33 billion 315 million rubles [$387 million] on the needs of the ongoing war—these funds allegedly came from the Akhmat Kadyrov Fund, according to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov claims that 45,000 people have been deployed to the war after training at the "Special Forces University" in the town of Gudermes, with 18,000 of them being volunteer fighters. Kadyrov did not specify how many of them were residents of Chechnya and how many came from other regions.
The Okno [Window] media outlet has reported on the recruitment of migrants for the war in Ukraine. According to human rights activists, migrants are being detained without grounds, and while in detention are deprived of their phones, denied water, tasered and beaten, while being promised expedited Russian citizenship in exchange for joining the war effort. Human rights activists have observed regular roundups of migrants, followed by recruitment into the Russian Army since spring 2023. These roundups now occur on a weekly basis, and according to the activists' tally, up to 99.8 percent of detainees end up signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense. It is worth noting that some of those forced into signing up are over 50 years old, have chronic illnesses and even disabilities.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Ravi Moun, a 22-year-old Indian citizen who was deceitfully recruited into the Russian Army, was killed in the war with Ukraine. Moun traveled to Russia in January after a private recruiter offered him a job in the transportation sector. However, upon his arrival, Moun underwent weapons training, and in March, he was deployed to the frontline. According to AFP, he is the fifth Indian citizen recently confirmed to have been killed in the war against Ukraine. Last week, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that the government was continuing to work with Russian authorities to bring back home about 50 Indians fighting in the Russian Army. In early July, it became known that Russian authorities had started paying compensation to the families of Indians killed in Ukraine. This followed the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin.
As reported by Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet], three out of nine convicts who were recruited into the Russian Army from a penal colony and later escaped from a training ground in the Belgorod region have returned. This information was shared with journalists by Stanislav Nikitenko, whose number is listed as the "contact for cooperation."
Arthur Kochiev, a serviceman of the 429th Motorized Rifle Regiment, recorded a video in which he discussed a conflict with the regiment's commander, Belavin. According to Kochiev, Belavin's wife deceitfully appropriated 2.5 million rubles [$29,100] that belonged to him. Now, the commander is threatening to send Kochiev to a place "from which he will never return." In response, Kochiev threatens to reveal information about how Belavin extorts money from servicemen for injuries and receiving awards, and sends them "into minefields," leading to their mass deaths.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
In Crimea, 69-year-old elderly man Gennady Kabykin, who worked part-time in auto repair, was killed. He triggered a mine while repairing a car that had been handed over to him by Russian servicemen. The exact reasons for the incident are being investigated.
A 44-year-old Saint Petersburg resident was injured by a grenade. The explosion, preliminarily identified as coming from an RGD-5 grenade, occurred on the night of July 28 in the yard of the building where the man lived. Law enforcement officers are investigating how he obtained the grenade. It is reported that he allegedly tried to go to the war twice but was not accepted due to health issues.
A court in the Sverdlovsk region has sentenced Vladimir Shcherbakov, a former Wagner Group mercenary, to nine years of imprisonment for robbery and causing grievous bodily harm, which led to the victim’s death by negligence. Last summer, previously convicted Shcherbakov assaulted an 82-year-old woman, who later died in the hospital. Her son stated that he would appeal the court's verdict, arguing that the criminal received too lenient a sentence. The E1.RU media outlet provided detailed information about the circumstances of the crime.
A court in Veliky Novgorod has sentenced Aleksandr Golubin, a participant in the war with Ukraine, to three years in a penal colony for throwing his aunt out of a window because she insulted Putin. Golubin considered the court's verdict unjust, but the Novgorod regional court upheld the first-instance court's sentence. However, it considered the defendant's confession, partial admission of guilt, health issues, and participation in combat operations as mitigating factors.
Servicemen, presumably from the West Ahmat Regiment, opened fire in Valuyki, Belgorod region. A video recording of a man shooting into the air and dancing surrounded by several people in military uniform in the town center was published by the Pepel [Ashes] Telegram channel.
A court in Omsk sentenced soldier Sergey Sereda to five and a half years in a penal colony for going AWOL. According to the prosecution, Sereda did not show up for service in December 2023 and went to the Omsk region. Only on March 22, 2024, did he appear at the military commandant's office "at the demand of military office holders."
The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the detention of a man who allegedly attempted to mine a car of Russia's Ministry of Defense in the so-called DPR. A criminal case has been initiated against the detainee under the articles on a terrorist act and illegal trafficking of explosives.
In the occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, 25 people were detained on charges of "assisting the Armed Forces of Ukraine." According to law enforcement officers, they collected and transmitted information about the actions of Russian soldiers to "handlers from the Ukrainian Army," and "made public calls for terrorist activities."
Vladislav Cherkashin, 29, a native of Kharkiv, has been stripped of his Russian citizenship for providing financial support to his relatives in Ukraine. The FSB, along with the General Directorate for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, known as "Center E," detained Cherkashin in December 2023 for allegedly using obscene language near the FSB building, though he was released shortly afterward. Cherkashin obtained Russian citizenship in 2012. He left Russia and has been living in Armenia for the past six months, where he learned that his Russian citizenship had been revoked. It remains unclear if a criminal case has been initiated against him.
Children
Russian military academies in Saint Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Cherepovets, Ryazan, Novosibirsk, and Tyumen are recruitingstudents through advertisements in local Belarusian newspapers. Prospective applicants are instructed to contact local draft offices for further information.
Miscellaneous
Authorities will spend 81 million rubles [$942,100] to build 11 new bomb shelters in the Krasnodar region [Russia’s federal subject]. These shelters will be installed in Sochi, Adler, Temryuk, Taman, and Port Kavkaz.