Mobilization in Russia for Jun. 26-27, 2023 CIT Volunteer SummaryÂ
Prigozhin’s Armed Rebellion: Consequences
TASS [Russian state-owned news agency] reports, citing Federal Security Service (FSB) sources, that the armed rebellion case against the Wagner Group was dropped on Jun. 27. That information also later appeared on the FSB’s website, where it was explained that the case was dismissed because the rebels ceased any actions that were "directly aimed at committing a crime," on Jun. 24. However, lawyers surveyed by the Agentstvo.Novosti [Agency news] Telegram channel have noted that there were no legal grounds for closing the case. According to Article 31 of the Criminal Code, in the event that a person refrains from continuing to commit a crime, they must be judged based on the crimes already committed.
In his Jun. 26 evening address, Vladimir Putin thanked Wagner Group mercenaries for "making the only right decision" and “not crossing the ultimate line” (i.e., not entering Moscow). In his statement, Putin presented mercenaries with three choices: sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, return to their loved ones, or leave for Belarus.
On Jun. 27 in the Kremlin, Putin addressed the military units which, reportedly, maintained law and order during the rebellion. The Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu was amongst the troops present in the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square. In his speech Putin expressed his gratitude to the Russian Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies and special services for their "courage, valor, and loyalty to the Russian people."
In the second part of the meeting in the President's Executive Office Putin revealed that the Wagner Group was fully funded by the state with more than 86 billion rubles [$1 billion] spent from May 2022 to May 2023, as well as 110 billion rubles [$1.28 billion] spent on insurance payments for mercenaries. Putin also mentioned that the owner of Konkord [Concord] company has additionally earned 80 billion rubles [$930 million] on supplying food to the army—it is Yevgeny Prigozhin [Russian oligarch, former confidant of Vladimir Putin, and the owner of the Wagner Group], whom Putin has not named ever since the rebellion started. "I hope no one stole anything—or at least stole only a little, but we will be investigating all this," he added. The Vyorstka media outlet compared the figures named by the President to those for financing Russian regions—29 of them had annual budgets less than that of the Wagner Group.
Head of Rosgvardia [the National Guard of Russia] Viktor Zolotov has also made a number of statements, among which is the announcement of Rosgvardia receiving heavy weaponry, including tanks. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense said that the Wagner Group is preparing to transfer "heavy military equipment to active units of the Russian Armed Forces."
Meanwhile, the Wagner Group itself continues to recruit mercenaries. Those who are interested are asked to come to the Krasnodar region, and the travel costs to the duty station are promised to be compensated. Recruitment is also taking place in Siberian cities: recruitment facilities are operating in Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Vladivostok, and Barnaul. However, in Novocheboksarsk, advertisements for mercenaries have been removed.
Member of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia], Vladislav Davankov, stated that the law on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces needs to be revised after Prigozhin’s armed rebellion. According to a member of the parliament, after the events on Saturday, "thousands of Russians can be sentenced to 15 years in prison."
It is reported that the residents of Voronezh, whose houses were damaged during the rebellion, are forced to repair them on their own, according to Maksim Yantsov, the head of the Pavlovsky district in the region.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The administration of the Alexandrovsky district in the Vladimir region published a post calling for joining the Russian Armed Forces. It is duplicated in three languages: Russian, Tajik, and Uzbek, and is likely aimed at foreigners, as the authorities promise simplified acquisition of Russian citizenship for their participation in the war. Previously, the region had already sent a citizen of Tajikistan, Yuldash Vutke, to the war.
Governor of the Vladimir region Aleksandr Avdeyev made amendments to the decree on one-time payments of 100,000 rubles to participants of the military invasion in Ukraine. Now the benefit will be extended to residents not only of the Vladimir region but also of other regions that have entered into contracts with units of the Vladimir Garrison.
Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters
The lists of those mobilized soldiers killed in the war have been supplemented by Renat Nasybullin from Tatarstan [Russia’s constituent republic], Andrey Ratke and Aleksey Roschepkin from the Volgograd region, Sergey Shiryayev and Nikolay Isakov from the Tver region, Mikhail Kumzerikov from the Vologda region, Maxim Khundyakov and Sergey Yamshchikov from the Orenburg region, Igor Kazakov from the Novosibirsk region, Viktor Kolomeytsev from the Kursk region, and Ruslan Dylenov from the Irkutsk region.
Vladimir Putin awarded the head of Buryatia [Russia’s constituent republic], Alexey Tsydenov, for the region's contribution to the war in Ukraine. According to independent journalists, the republic is among the leaders in terms of the number of casualties on the frontline. As of Jun. 16, journalists from the BBC News Russian and Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] managed to identify the identities of 738 residents of Buryatia who died in the war.
More than 40 new graves of soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine have been discovered at a cemetery near Krasnodar. Meanwhile, in Yurga, Kemerovo region, 20 million rubles [$234,000] will be allocated for the arrangement of the Heroes Alley at the local cemetery.
A mobilized Russian officer from the 95482th military unit has revealed to Astra [independent Russian media outlet] another location where "disciplined" Russian soldiers and officers are held. The pit in question is located near the village of Olenivka in the "DPR". They are placed there for a minimum of three days for drunkenness and unauthorized leaves to the village or neighboring positions. In addition, a fine of 25,000 to 30,000 [$292-$351] rubles per day of detention is imposed on the "inmates." Such pits exist in practically every regiment, and higher-ranking commanders are aware of them.
Mobilized soldiers from the Storm unit of the 34th Brigade (as we reported in yesterday's summary) have once again complained that despite the command's promises to keep them in defense and provide with everything they need, they were sent to the frontline. They were issued assault rifles, 10 magazines, and two grenades. Left without artillery support, they managed to retreat with casualties. Now they refuse to return to the frontline, and the authorities are threatening them with prison terms.
The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] news outlet spoke to the mother of Viktor Petrov, an Irkutsk region draftee found hanged after being tortured by military police. The woman gave an account of how she and a group of human rights activists are trying to find out the truth about her son’s death.
The Vyorstka news outlet tells the story of Ilnaz Khabibrakhmanov, a contract serviceman from the 21st Motorized Rifle Brigade. After recovering from a wound, the man did not want to return to war and filed a suit to prevent himself from being pulled back into combat. While the court was scheduling a hearing date, however, the man was brought back to the front where he was eventually killed.
Several volunteer soldiers were detained by police near a contract military service recruitment facility in Khanty-Mansiysk. Reportedly, the volunteers behaved violently while awaiting their send off.
The Sibir.Realii spoke to Wagner Group fighters and their relatives on how they envisioned the future of the Wagner Group as well as their own. Yuriy Ryazantsev, a coordinator at the Chita office of the mercenary company, did not participate in the rebellion. While he expects a leadership change, he is confident that the organization will continue to exist. Other mercenaries interviewed who did participate in the rebellion are disappointed in its outcome. The majority of them do not want to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and are hoping to find work in Africa or Syria should the Wagner Group cease its activities in Russia.
The prosecutor’s office has become interested in the story of a resident of Bashkiria [Russia’s constituent republic] who was mobilized and sent to a military unit in Penza and, in February, got transferred to the Murmansk region where he signed the contract and continued his service. After six months, he found out that a criminal case was initiated against him for desertion. The serviceman never got the due payments for all this time.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings, and Incidents
A railroad blown up in the stretch between Petrove and Vladyslavivka in Crimea resulted in a freight train’s first car derailed. No one was hurt. Emergency services are currently working on site. It will take 4 to 8 hours to repair the railroad. This was not the first case of a railroad blown up in Crimea: similar incidents had been already reported on Jun. 11 and 21.
A failed attempt to set fire to a battery cabinet took place in Yekaterinburg. The fire went out by itself. The act of sabotage did not affect the train traffic in any way and no one was hurt.
The Abakan Garrison Military Court has sentenced a private to five years in a penal colony for going away without leave in the period of mobilization. The serviceman escaped his unit on Nov. 6, 2022 but, when called by an officer, appeared in the draft office on Feb. 7, 2023.
The Vladimir Garrison Court has sentenced Pavel Borisov, a contract soldier who returned from the war and was accused of illicit possession of a substantial quantity of drugs, to a fine of 25,000 rubles [$294]. When assigning the punishment, the court took into consideration the soldier’s good conduct and the fact that he is a war participant.
Vladislav Kanyus, sentenced to 17 years in a penal colony for murdering his ex-girlfriend Vera Pekhteleva in January 2020, was freed and left for the war. It was reported by Alyona Popova, a human rights activist, with a reference to the victim’s relatives.
Details have been revealed about the case of two teenagers, Tyhran Ohanesian and Mykyta Khanganov, shot in Russia-occupied Berdiansk. A civilian, 24-year-old merchandiser Yegor Demchenko, was killed. His mother believes that he was shot by the teenagers, however, the information has not been confirmed.
Mikhail Belousov, a lecturer from Saint Petersburg State University fired for criticizing the war, was taken for questioning on a criminal case. He is suspected of justification of Nazism. Proceedings were initiated on the account of his talk at the student union session in late February. According to the investigators, he "denied any connection between Hitler’s racial theory and the course of the Great Patriotic War."
Assistance
Governor of the Perm region Dmitry Makhonin released participants of the "special military operation" from payment for visiting natural attractions of the region.
Regions continue to send various equipment, tools, and uniforms to soldiers. An entrepreneur from Chelyabinsk donated an UAZ truck to servicemen from the region, and Semyon Yeremin, a war correspondent of Izvestia [Russian state-owned newspaper], donated vehicles and ammunition to one of the regiments as part of the Everything for Victory project. Yugra residents gathered their aid package for soldiers. The package included medicines, hygiene items, food, camouflage nets, and a GAZelle van. From Oryol, people sent help to soldiers stationed near Shebekino in the Belgorod region. Medications, food, and water were delivered to the front from Moscow, Bratsk, and the Kaliningrad region. Volunteers of Serebrianye Prudy settlement near Moscow sent 550 kilograms of aid to the "special military operation" zone in the last six months.
Aid to residents of occupied Donbas and servicemen is collected by citizens of Surgut, and a mobilized officer from Tomsk organizes assistance to his unit during his leave.
In the village of Stryapunata in the Perm region, there are workshops for weaving camouflage nets and a mini-studio for tailoring clothes for soldiers. Meanwhile, Muscovite Ekaterina Vedeneeva weaves camouflage nets for the needs of the "special military operation" in her apartment.
Miscellaneous
A school in Dubna placed life-size plastic figures of Russian servicemen [participants in the war with Ukraine] and the boy Alyosha [Aleksey Pavlichenko] next to a memorial plaque with the names of those killed during the Second World War.
According to the Udmurtiya protiv korruptsii [Udmurtia Against Corruption] Telegram channel, the head physician of a clinic in Izhevsk gathered staff and announced a survey among hospital employees on loyalty to the government. It is noted that the respondents will be asked to fill out questionnaires with full names and addresses.
In the Sverdlovsk region, a system tracking the movement of residents of the region through phones and SIM cards will be launched. The program was developed by Rostelecom together with the Ministry of Digital Development. The press service of Rostelecom noted that the service will transfer only depersonalized data to the ministry.
The government of Finland reports that it plans to tighten restrictions on the entry of Russians and the travel of Russian citizens through the country.