Mobilization in Russia for July 9-11, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The Ministry of Defense and the Federal Security Service (FSB) plan to electronically exchange information on conscripts, in order to prevent them from leaving the country, Meduza reports. As evidence, the international Russian-language online media outlet points to a procurement contract for an "electronic data system" published on a government website. Authorities have awarded the contract to the Voskhod [Rise] Scientific Research Institute, which has until Sept. 2, 2024 to develop, document and functionally test the software. By Oct. 14, it must have systems in place "to enhance the capacity for interagency information exchange." The expected cost of the project is 40.9 million rubles [$463,600]. With the new system, the FSB Border Service will regularly receive lists of all conscripts from the draft register of the Ministry of Defense and prevent them from leaving Russia. It is worth noting that the authorities plan to use the draft register and the register of citizens subject to military service during the regular conscription campaign in the fall of this year. Vladimir Putin had signed the corresponding decree in December 2023, while the government published a resolution on the Unified Military Register in April. The document mandates its launch by Oct. 31, 2024. From Nov. 1, the authorities plan to begin serving digital notices (the regular fall conscription campaign usually runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 15). The Gosuslugi public services portal will notify citizens when information concerning them appears in the register. A draft notice will be deemed served seven days after it is added to the register. According to the current legislation, the authorities can unequivocally bar conscripts from leaving the country. However, given the wording of the law, they could also prevent the departure of mobilized individuals in the future. The Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet spoke with the coordinator of the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel to understand how the new system will work.
Authorities in Russia’s constituent republic of Bashkortostan are raising the value of the sign-up bonus from 205,000 rubles [$2,320] to 505,000 [$5,720], effective July 10. The previous amount was set in May. To be eligible, one must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense to fight in the war. Including payments from the Ministry of Defense and the municipal authorities, the lump sum will now reach 1 million rubles [$11,300]. In the regional capital of Ufa, for instance, the authorities have introduced a 200,000 ruble [$2,270] sign-up bonus.
The authorities of the Omsk region have also announced an increase in the sign-up bonus for contract soldiers. Starting July 9, the region will pay 305,000 rubles [$3,460] instead of 250,000 rubles [$2,830], according to Governor Vitaly Khotsenko. Including federal funds, the total amount of the bonus now reaches 500,000 rubles [$5,670]. This amount will also apply to mobilized men who choose to sign a contract.
Residents of the Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan [Russia’s constituent republic] will receive a bonus of 200,000 rubles [$2,270] when signing a contract to participate in the war. This bonus is only available to volunteer fighters aged 18 to 30. Previously, Dagestan increased the regional payment from 100,000 rubles [$1,130] to 500,000 rubles [$5,670].
In the localities of the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject], local authorities continue to introduce additional payments for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense. Volunteer fighters from the town of Kueda are promised an additional 100,000 rubles [$1,130]. Previously, additional payments of 70,000 rubles [$790] were introduced in the towns of Osa and 50,000 rubles [$570] in Cherdyn.
In Tatarstan [Russia’s constituent republic], two days after introducing a payment for "freelance recruiters" (residents of the region who can persuade anyone to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense), the amount was increased from 50,000 rubles [$565] to 100,000 rubles [$1,130]. Friends, relatives, and employees of draft offices, government agencies, and departments are eligible for the reward. An official service contract will be signed with them, and the money will be paid after the recruit departs for their unit. This "promotion" has been in effect since June 11. Previously, the republic also raised the sign-up bonus from 600,000 rubles [$6,780] to 1 million rubles [$11,300].
The government of the Saratov region claims that since the beginning of the year, 3,000 residents have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense. However, there is no independent confirmation of this information. Vitaly Fyodorov, an officer at the contract service selection point, stated that men without prior statutory military service experience have also signed up for the war.
In Khabarovsk, contract-based military service advertisements are placed on utility bills. Previously, the Chelyabinsk regional government had asked the housing and utilities department to include notices soliciting donations for the war on such bills.
In Samara, traffic police and military investigators conducted a raid targeting migrants. Reports indicate that eight individuals of military age who had obtained Russian citizenship but had failed to register for military service were identified. They were taken to the draft office and fined for "failing to fulfill military registration obligations."
Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers
Participants in the July 8 demonstration near the Ministry of Defense building in Moscow shared some details. According to the women, 27 people were initially supposed to participate in the event. Still, by the morning of July 8, only eight remained—all the others withdrew due to pressure on them personally or on their mobilized relatives. After speaking with the women, representatives of the Ministry of Defense promised to convey their demands and preliminary lists of meeting participants to Russia's Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov.
Additionally, one of the demonstrators published two videos in which her husband and a group of other soldiers stated that they would not tolerate provocations against women who are picketing the Ministry of Defense building. They also demanded the announcement of demobilization and the opportunity for other Russians to "contribute to the country's defense."
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Yury Solodyankin from Saint Petersburg, Roman Demkin from the Sverdlovsk region, Aleksandr Shoshin from the Vladimir region, and Dmitry Ivin from the Volgograd region.
A 26-year-old contract soldier, Aleksey Nazarov, is being sent to the frontline despite his disability. He is currently stationed with the 108th Air Assault Regiment in Novorossiysk. He has been declared partially fit for military service. According to Nazarov, he is unfit for military service and can only serve in the rear. He is also classified as a group 3 disabled person.
A 45-year-old mobilized soldier, Yevgeny from the Moscow region, who was about to be sent to the frontline before completing his treatment, was returned to the hospital. According to his wife, despite multiple injuries and paralysis of his foot, he was given only one week for rehabilitation. Doctors have declared him fit for military service with minor restrictions).
The Idite Lesom! project reports on a volunteer fighter from the Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject], who was promised a job in the unit without being sent to the frontline when signing the contract. In the end, he and other men are being forcibly sent to the forward positions under the threat of imprisonment.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Krasnoyarsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced Private Ertyne Chambaldoo, who had been previously convicted twice, to four years in a penal colony for grievous bodily harm to his wife using a weapon.
In Adygea [Russia’s constituent republic], war participant Magamet Datkhuzhev, who solicited intimate photos from a 13-year-old girl, has been sentenced to five and a half years of probation for lewd acts against a person under the age of 14 and going AWOL. He was released in the courtroom. The court considered a concussion, the voluntary signing of a contract with the Russian Armed Forces, and an award as mitigating factors.
Sergey Kaforin, a Wagner Group mercenary from Volgograd, has been sentenced to three years and two months’ probation for two counts of theft and bringing in war ammunition. In imposing the sentence, the court took into account his participation in the war against Ukraine and the awards he received. Due to a presidential pardon, Kaforin, who had previously been convicted nine times, is considered to have been previously unconvicted.
The Barnaul Garrison Military Court has sentenced contract soldier Yevgeny Zemlyakov to eight years in a penal colony for two episodes of going AWOL and two counts of theft. The same court in Barnaul sentenced serviceman Viktor Pozdeev to nine years in a penal colony for going AWOL.
In Abakan, a court sentenced serviceman Sergey Ermolov to five years in a penal colony for leaving his unit during mobilization. Ermolov went on leave and did not return to his unit. The same court sentenced serviceman Maksim Petrov to three and a half years in a penal colony for leaving his unit for up to a month during mobilization. He did not return from leave and was detained.
The Omsk Garrison Military Court sentenced serviceman Nikolay Belov to six years in a maximum security penal colony on two counts of desertion.
In the Rostov region, Nikolay Shvets, a 16-year-old student at an agricultural technical school, was detained and later arrested on charges of attempting to set fire to a humanitarian aid collection point. According to law enforcement officers, he tried to set fire to the collection point on June 12, but his plans were thwarted by FSB officers. The young man has been charged with terrorism.
Dmitry B., a resident of the Magadan region, was detained on suspicion of attempting to set fire to a military unit in the Moscow region. According to law enforcement officers, last October, the 38-year-old native of the Kherson region allegedly planned to set fire to military vehicles on the territory of the 9th Radiotechnical Regiment under the direction of a handler.
Unknown individuals set fire to a relay cabinet in Krasnodar at the Pashkovskaya station. As of now, no one has been apprehended.
In Novosibirsk, the trial began of Pavel Bugay, an 18-year-old who, while still a minor last August, set fire to a relay cabinet on the local railway and attacked another similar cabinet. In September, he allegedly set fire to a thermo cabinet on a communications tower at the direction of handlers in a Telegram chat. Bugay is accused of sabotage and faces up to 10 years in a penal colony.
The Dzerzhinsky District Court of Perm has sentenced a city resident to one and a half years of probation for attempted arson of draft offices, on the charge of intentionally damaging the property of another person by means of arson. In November 2023, the woman allegedly agreed to an offer from an unknown person to set fire to the buildings and destroy documents at the draft offices in Perm.
A Kaliningrad region court has sentenced Larisa Mardan to 1.5 years of probation for an attempted arson at a draft office. On Nov. 18, 2023, she approached a draft office in the city of Sovetsk and threw three Molotov cocktails at it. Judging by the video of the incident, someone had been guiding the woman by phone; however, the court sentence states that Mardan conspired to destroy the draft office to "express her disdain for society" and "demonstrate being above the law."
On June 19, a Sevastopol court fined 63-year-old Natalya Budyanskaya 60,000 rubles [$680] for setting fire to a military commandant’s office in annexed Sevastopol. Budyanskaya was found guilty of hooliganism. It is likely that she pleaded guilty to the charge. After her arrest, Budyanskaya claimed that she had acted under the influence of scammers.
The Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced Mikhail Mungalov to 12 years in prison for setting fire to a relay cabinet. According to the prosecution, Mungalov decided to set fire to the relay cabinet to express his disapproval of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Aleksey Oksenyuk, a Stavropol region resident, has been sentenced to 15 years in a maximum security penal colony for preparing to commit an act of terror. Authorities claimed that Oksenyuk had been corresponding with an "Ukrainian nationalist battalion" and alleged that he was preparing an explosion in the region.
A court in Birobidzhan sentenced a student to five years in a penal colony on charges of treason. According to the prosecution, the young man was tasked by Ukrainian intelligence services with "collecting information about Russian military personnel."
In annexed Crimea, a local resident was sentenced to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony for high treason charges. The court's press service released only the convict's surname and initials: Kotelkov V.V.
The Tomsk Regional Court sentenced 21-year-old artist Tatyana Laletina to nine years in a penal colony for high treason. She was detained in Tomsk on Feb. 26, 2024, allegedly for donating $30 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet calculated that since the start of the full-scale war, at least 58 criminal cases related to the "Russian Volunteer Corps" and the "Freedom of Russia Legion" have been initiated in Russia. The actual number of cases may be much higher, as the authorities sometimes conceal information about them. The most common charges have been calls for terrorism (15 cases) and participation in a terrorist organization (11 cases).
Assistance
Recently appointed Deputy Minister of Defense Anna Tsivilyova, during a working trip to Rostov-on-Don, announced plans to establish a comprehensive prosthetics and rehabilitation center in the Southern Military District. Tsivilyova acknowledged problems with the prosthetics for wounded soldiers.
Authorities in Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic] refused to provide financial support to those who served in the Wagner Group. Relatives of deceased and injured Wagner Group mercenaries complain about the lack of assistance and denial of all payments, benefits, and social support.
According to a government decree in the Vladimir region, participants in the war with Ukraine and their families residing in the region will pay 30% less for utilities, with the regional budget covering the discount.