Mobilization in Russia for June 6-7, 2023 CIT Volunteer SummaryÂ
Authorities and Legislation
The Federation Council [upper house of Russia's Federal Assembly] approved amendments to the law "About procedure for departure from the Russian Federation and entry into the Russian Federation," [Russian Border Crossing Act] expanding the powers of border guards in dealing with citizens' international passports. More details about the draft law — in one of our previous summaries.
In addition, the Federation Council approved the exclusion of the status of a police officer from the number of aggravating circumstances in criminal cases. We have also previously discussed this draft law.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has introduced a draft order on the procedure for restricting the driving license to "ensure the compliance with draft notice, which summons one to the draft office." These measures are provided for by the law on digital draft notices. The draft order only contains information on the processing times for the military commissariat's [enlistment office] requests for imposing and lifting restrictions — the information is proposed to be entered into the system within 24 hours from the moment the decision is received by the Main Directorate for Traffic Safety [Russian Traffic Police]. The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel has been discussing these restrictions in more detail previously.
State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] Member Vladislav Reznik has introduced a draft law on voluntary insurance of citizens against damage caused by terrorist attacks and sabotage. If the draft law is adopted, it will function similarly to comprehensive and collision car insurance, but in relation to movable and immovable property lost as a result of a terrorist attack or sabotage.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The draft office of the Yaroslavl region promised not to dispatch conscripts to "new territories." According to the military officials, the majority of the conscripts will be performing their military service in the Central Military District, as well as in the Murmansk and Omsk regions. In total, over 1,500 people are expected to be drafted in the Yaroslavl region, and the first deployments have already begun.
In the city of Orenburg, military reservists are being called up for a 45-day military training. Draft notices, received by residents of the Kurgan and Krasnodar regions, summon them to military training, where they will be repairing military vehicles. Meanwhile, in the town of Kyshtym in the Chelyabinsk region, a resident received a draft notice for a military registration data check-up.
Ads for military service were spotted in Saint Petersburg and Volgodonsk.
Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters
The list of casualties in the war has been updated with the names of mobilized soldiers: Andrey Yankov from Buryatia [Russia’s constituent Republic], Igor Lunkin from the Volgograd region, Aleksandr Shishkunov from the Bryansk region, Yuri Karamulin and Yevgeny Gorobets from the Krasnodar region, Eduard Dementsov from the Rostov region, as well as Rustam Yusupov, Aleksey Malygin and Aleksandr Balakirev from the Sverdlovsk region.
The authorities of Krasnoturinsk, a city in the Sverdlovsk region, have refused the parents of conscript soldier Kirill Maksakov (who was killed on Jun. 1t during a shelling in the Belgorod region) to provide assistance in organizing his funeral. According to officials, they only provide assistance if the servicemember dies while taking part in the "special military operation." By law, Kirill, as a conscript, is not considered a participant of the "special military operation," and therefore the above does not apply to him. The death of Maksakov was previously confirmed by Tatiana Merzlyakova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Sverdlovsk region.
23-year-old Mikhail Andreev, a draftee from the city of Pskov, has been captured as a prisoner of war. The Vyorstka media outlet established his identity and contacted his mother. It was from a journalist that the woman learned about her son’s captivity. Another mobilized soldier, Andrey Vedernikov from the city of Kizel in the Perm region, was also captured.
Vice-Speaker of the Krasnodar City Duma [city-level legislature in Russia] Gennady Ufimtsev has announced his decision to volunteer for the war. Deputy Chairman of the Ulyanovsk region government Sergey Kuchits has made a similar decision.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings, and Incidents
In Volgograd, the trial of 30-year-old Aleksey Rakovich has begun. He is accused of going AWOL. In September, the man voluntarily signed a three-month contract with the Ministry of Defense. After 3.5 months, he was sent home from the war as his contract had ended. However, in February 2023, Alexey learned that he was wanted for evading military service. He voluntarily appeared at his military unit, where he was arrested and charged with a criminal offense.
The Omsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced Private Valentin Konovalov to a six-year suspended sentence with a probationary period of three years for evading military service. Konovalov went on leave and was supposed to return to duty on Jul. 12, 2022, but he failed to do so. Only in March 2023 did he voluntarily appear at the military investigative department.
The court has sentenced Petty Officer Yury Tryapkin of the Black Sea Fleet to five years and four months of imprisonment for going AWOL during mobilization. In October 2022, Tryapkin did not report to his duty station and only arrived at the military investigative department on Feb. 3, 2023, where he confessed to the charges. The accused fully admitted his guilt.
The Vladimir Garrison Military Court sentenced Private Aleksandr Sosin, who was mobilized for the war with Ukraine, to four years in a penal settlement for unauthorized abandonment of his unit during the mobilization period. According to the verdict, Sosin fled from his military unit on Oct. 30, 2022. He was apprehended by law enforcement officials on Mar. 8, 2023. The mobilized soldier explained his actions by citing his mother's illness.
Contract serviceman Aleksey Krasnopyorov from the Kamchatka region was sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony for unauthorized abandonment of his unit. Krasnopyorov was absent from service from Mar. 1 to Mar. 20 until he was apprehended by law enforcement officers.
Former member of the Taseyevsky District Council Aleksandr Khakonov was sentenced to nine years and eight months in a maximum security penal colony for the murder of his wife. According to information from sources of the NGS24.RU media outlet, the man evaded imprisonment by joining the Wagner Group and going to war.
In Vladimir, an employee of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction attempted to set fire to the military commissariat. Zhanna Romanovskaya drove up to the building in a car and threw three bottles containing flammable liquid into it. The police detained Romanovskaya immediately after the arson attempt, and investigators are working with her. The motive of the woman is still unknown, however, Zebra TV sources say that she fell into the debt trap set by scammers, and this was her assignment, for which her debts would be forgiven.
At the railway crossing Khrebet – Syrostan near Chelyabinsk city, four relay cabinets with equipment were destroyed by fire. The information was confirmed by the press service of the South Ural Railway. The likely cause is arson.
The court in the city of Yaroslavl extended the arrest of Valeria Zotova for three months. The young woman is accused of attempting to carry out a terrorist act through an arson attempt at an aid collection point for the mobilized individuals.
Aleksey Rozhkov, a suspect in the arson case of the military commissariat, revealed details of his arrest in Kyrgyzstan and transfer to Russia. According to him, Kyrgyz security forces threatened him with torture, and in Russia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) officers used an electroshock device on him.
The jury refused to treat Vitaly Koltsov’s actions (he threw two Molotov cocktails at riot police vehicles that were parked on Moscow’s Revolution Square on May 2, 2022) as an attempt upon the lives of 12 riot police officers (OMON). However, the jury found him guilty of arson but deserving leniency.
Oleg Borisenko, ex-head of the Russky [Russia] military patriotic club, may be facing jail time. On Jun. 5, after his 10-day administrative arrest for failing to timely pay a fine, Borisenko was arrested for two more months right at the detention center’s doors. Now, he is charged with discrediting the army for publishing two videos and damaging a Z-letter poster.
Assistance
Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov announced that the veterans of the "special military operation" and their family members would receive "comprehensive attention" within the frame of medical psychiatric assistance. As of Jun. 1, 2023, the citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to seek psychological assistance in regional outpatient clinics.
Residents of Buryatia are asked to donate old bedclothes, from which "medical underpants with hook-and-loop fasteners," will be sewed for the patients of a military hospital in Rostov-on-Don. Meanwhile, women in the Zabaykalsky region have made a batch of 100 portions of dry borscht [Eastern European sour soup] to be sent to the "special military operation" area. Also, four UAZ vans have been sent to the war from the region. One more UAZ van has been sent by residents of the Sverdlovsk region. It was loaded with personal parcels and medical aid for troops.
Governor of the Oryol region Andrey Klychkov has told about yet another batch of aid from the region. Oryol’s medics collected more than two tons of cargo for their colleagues in the "special military operation" area: diesel generators, a quadcopter with a night-vision camera, thermal goggles and batteries for them, as well as medicines and foodstuff.
Volunteers weave camouflage nets for the military in a church in the Republic of Altai [ Russia’s constituent republic]. As reported by the Director of the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Oryol State University, students and teachers have speeded up net weaving. Meanwhile, students of the Far Eastern College of Humanities and Technology do the weaving instead of classes. In the Voronezh region, school students will be weaving nets on summer holidays.
Several museums in Saint Petersburg have started offering free admission for participants of the "special military operation" and their family members.
Miscellaneous
The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Volunteer Centers Association will be recruiting volunteers to work in the occupied territories. The working group overseeing the volunteers will include representatives from the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Defense. Volunteers will be assigned to various types of work after the receiving organization reviews their application.
Mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexey Orlov has approved a plan in case of a terrorist attack in the city. According to him, threats will be classified into three levels of danger: blue, yellow, and red. Authorities will have no more than two hours during working hours and three hours during non-working hours to take all necessary measures to protect the population. Additionally, the building of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region was sealed off by police this morning. The police stated that the government and law enforcement are training in preparation for a "complicated operational situation."
The Sever.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet tells the story of convicted Ilya Khanbekov. In 2020, at the age of 18, Ilya was imprisoned for drug trafficking. Since the "special military operation" started, recruiters from the Wagner Group visited his prison three times. They wanted to recruit him, but Ilya's mother did not give her consent. In February 2023, he was put in a solitary punishment cell, after which he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and was sent to war. The last time he made contact was on May 9, and his fellow soldiers say he was killed. Ilya's mother cannot get a clear answer from the military about her son's status.
On Sept. 26, 2022, Ruslan Zinin shot military commissar Alexander Eliseev in the draft office of Ust-Ilimsk [a town in the Irkutsk region]. Journalists from the Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet spoke to his relatives and friends. According to them, Ruslan's act was an attempt to stop his brother's mobilization.