Mobilization in Russia for June 8-9, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Ministry of Defense proposes granting the status of a combat veteran not only to those who fought on the territory of Ukraine but also to those who "performed tasks in the border areas of Russia adjacent to the territory of the special operation." According to the document, the status of a combat veteran can be obtained for "performing tasks related to repelling armed invasion, safeguarding constitutional rights of citizens, maintaining law and order, stabilizing the situation, as well as protecting and defending important state facilities."
Yevgeny Moskvichev, State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] member from the United Russia party [Putin’s ruling party], has introduced a bill that will allow the registration of vehicles declared wanted by Ukraine in Russia. In the explanatory note to the bill, it is stated that its development is motivated by the "need to ensure the rights of residents of new Russian regions to carry out state registration of their vehicles, which are unjustifiably and unlawfully placed on the international wanted list by the Ukrainian side."
State Duma member Aleksey Zhuravlyov has called for the execution of Russian servicemen who have abandoned their positions. According to him, in order to win the "special military operation," Russia needs to reintroduce military field courts.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
In Saint Petersburg, "SMS notifications" are being sent, calling men to the draft office to verify their data. Those who come are offered to sign a contract with the Russian Army. The draft office of Kronstadt and Kurortny districts in Saint Petersburg has confirmed the fact of sending notifications via SMS, citing the directive of the city's draft office. However, the press service of the Western Military District denies any information about the distribution of such draft notices.
A student from Saint Petersburg has received a letter threatening a travel ban if he does not appear at the military commissariat [enlistment office], according to the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet. The letter states that a registered mail with a draft notice was sent to his place of residence, but the student’s mother insists that they did not receive any draft notices.
The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet drew attention to the fact that companies in the Siberian and Far Eastern regions of Russia are inviting mobilization work specialists. These specialists will be responsible for keeping track of employees within the framework of mobilization plans, as well as exempt from the draft for those employees who are called up but urgently needed by the enterprise.
The authorities of the Sverdlovsk region have determined the payments for volunteer fighters who take part in the “special military operation”. Depending on the severity of the injuries, different amounts ranging from 150,000 to 500,000 rubles [$1800-$6000] are provided. In the event of the soldier’s death, the family members will receive 1.5 million rubles [$18150].
The administration of the Pushkinsky district in Saint Petersburg suggests that entrepreneurs pay their employees who have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense a monthly amount of 50,000 rubles [$605]. The authenticity of this letter has been confirmed by the administration’s press office.
The Vazhnyye Istorii [iStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has released an investigation on how the Government of Moscow recruits contract soldiers to participate in the "special military operation." Potential recruits from all over Russia are offered contracts with Mosgaz [Moscow gas transmission provider], Mosvodokanal [Moscow water company], and other budgetary organizations, and are then sent to war by them. This way, the contract soldiers will receive not only the stipulated payments from the Ministry of Defense but also approximately 75,000 rubles [$908] per month from the budgetary organization.
A father from Berdsk received an invitation to join the "special military operation" after applying for social benefits for his three underage children. In April 2023, the man applied for a unified allowance, and shortly thereafter, he received a call from a social worker offering him the opportunity to improve his financial situation by signing a military service contract.
In the town of Pionersky, Kaliningrad region, a concert promoting contract service took place. Advertisements for contract service were spotted in Neftekamsk, Magnitogorsk, Chernogorsk in Khakassia [Russia’s constituent republic], Saint Petersburg, and on utility bills in Murino and Yoshkar-Ola. In Saratov, a bus with recruitment advertisements for the Wagner Group was allowed.
A resident of Irkutsk demanded that officials dismantle a structure displaying contract service advertisements on a historic building but was refused by the authorities. The city administration justified its decision by citing "fundamental threats that are rudely and brazenly created by NATO."
Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters
The list of casualties among mobilized soldiers has been extended to include Yevgeny Chernegov from Buryatia [Russia’s constituent republic], Andrey Kostin from the Volgograd region, Ivan Vasilyev from the Tver region, Sergey Filatov from the Voronezh region, Aleksandr Skobelev from the Leningrad region, Yury Akentyev from the Sakhalin region, and Aleksey Dorokhov from the Novosibirsk region.
Journalists from Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, in collaboration with volunteers, were able to confirm the deaths of 25,218 individuals in the war with Ukraine, of which 2,467 were mobilized soldiers. In the past week, the list of casualties has grown by 748 names, including 138 mobilized soldiers.
After losses in Shebekino, Belgorod region, several platoons from the 1428th Motorized Rifle Regiment from the Leningrad region were sent for reinforcement, according to mobilized soldiers from the 1009th Regiment. According to them, Russian forces still lack equipment and artillery, and the fighting on the border continues.
The "7x7" online outlet has interviewed relatives of three conscripts from the Sverdlovsk region who were killed on Jun. 1 in the Belgorod region of Russia. The wife of Kirill Maksakov, one of the killed, has also talked to the E1.RU outlet.
In the Pskov region, a mobilized soldier from Petrozavodsk, Ivan Derevyanko, was recognized unfit to serve and the decision to mobilize him was cancelled in April 2023, as the man had been diagnosed with panic disorder and suicidal tendencies. Derevyanko, however, is still in the military unit. The soldier was invited to fill a report of willingness to be transferred to another service branch or depart for war.
The wife of Maksim Oslanus, a mobilized soldier gone missing in action in the "special military operation", is seeking him. The man served in the 504th Tank Regiment but was sent to Bakhmut in an assault unit. He has been listed as MIA since Apr. 22.
The wife of a killed mobilized man has addressed the Human Rights Commissioner of the Yaroslavl region, Sergey Baburkin. According to her, all the benefits provided to the family were terminated after her husband had been killed. As explained in the office of the Human Rights Commissioner, "the benefits shall expire after the serviceman is dismissed. This can happen in three cases: when the contract expires, when the service is terminated due to medical reasons, or when the serviceman dies."
Sentences, Legal Proceedings, and Incidents
As reported by the Baza Telegram channel, a conscript soldier fled his military unit in the Bryansk region having snatched a Kalashnikov assault rifle with 120 rounds of ammunition. The conscript is being sought; his location is not yet known. The Sirena [alert] plan [coordinated measures to apprehend criminals or suspects] has been introduced in the Novozybkovsky district.
The Rostov-on-Don Garrison Military Court sentenced a contract soldier to five years six months in a penal colony for dodging mobilization and absence without leave. Allegedly, in August 2022 the serviceman failed to return from approved leave to his military unit. He was detained in January 2023 in the city of Taganrog.
The Crimea Garrison Military Court found contract soldier Denis Narolsky guilty of desertion committed in an armed conflict or combat operations and sentenced him to nine years in a maximum security penal colony. Narolsky pleaded guilty, admitting that his actions were prompted by his "reluctance to participate in the special military operation and to serve in the armed forces."
The Kazan Garrison Military Court sentenced contractor Jonibek Murodov to three years in a maximum security penal colony for leaving his military unit without due permission during the mobilization period. According to Murodov, he decided to leave the unit after his commander, while intoxicated, fired a pistol at him, with the bullet striking the wall just two inches from his head. In its verdict, the court did not find the incident to be a legitimate reason for leaving, claiming that the soldier must have lodged an official statement of the crime committed against him in his military unit instead and must have awaited the results of a legal investigation. However, the court passed a lenient sentence for Murodov, imposing a penalty below the statutory minimum.
The Leninsky District Court of the city of Vladimir arrested Zhanna Romanovskaya, a 55-year-old employee of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of Vladimir, for two months for an attempt to set fire to a draft office. The woman was charged with disorderly conduct involving a weapon. Dovod [independent Russian media outlet] provides an account of what is known by now about the 55-year-old woman.
The court sent to a pretrial detention a 29-year-old resident of Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic], Irvin Lysenko, accused of setting fire to four relay cabinets on the South Ural Railway. The incident occurred on Jun. 6 and several trains were delayed as a result. Lysenko is charged with sabotage and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, there have been at least 140 attacks on military commissariats, administrative buildings and other facilities related to state authorities in Russia. Military commissariats were most frequently targeted — with 81 cases recorded as of Jun. 9. The Avtozak LIVE team has compiled all incidents of anti-war arson on one map.
A father of many children from Dagestan [Russia's constituent republic], Zapir Kurbanov, mobilized in September 2022, failed to appeal the decision on his mobilization in the Southern District Military Court. Kurbanov referred to the General Staff's instruction for fathers of three children to be deferred, as well as statements by official representatives on this matter. However, the court found that there were no legal grounds for granting a deferment.
In Kyrgyzstan, at least three Russian activists have been detained in the last 10 days. Previously, we reported on the deportation to Russia of one of those activists — Aleksey Rozhkov, accused of setting fire to a military commissariat in the Sverdlovsk region.
Assistance
Employees of Rospotrebnadzor [Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare] in Buryatia provided medical equipment to the participants of the "special military operation." Donskie kazaki [Don Cossacks] delivered components for Kamaz vehicles to the war zone, along with portable radios, an anti-drone gun, a quadcopter, food supplies, as well as letters from young residents of the Rostov region.
Tamara Fyodorovna, a World War II veteran from the Nizhny Novgorod region, bought equipment worth half a million rubles [6,000 USD] for soldiers from her region. Her shopping list included thermal vision scopes, thermal vision sights, and sound moderators. Meanwhile, Mordovia authorities organized a campaign in which children produced 70 dry shower kits for soldiers.
Children
The Youth Affairs Ministry of Tatarstan allotted 4.1 million rubles [50,000 USD] for a festival called Elbeden Military Games. Preschoolers and elementary school children will be taught to fire airsoft weapons and "bayonet combat skills." In addition, festival participants will go through an obstacle course called "Hey, fascist! Have a grenade!"
A summer camp in Buryatia has been coveted into a military-patriotic training center. Special forces members from Chechnya will teach teenagers 14 through 17 tactics, handling and shooting firearms, marching, and first aid.
In the village of Levokumka in the Stavropol region, campers participated in a flash mob called Za nashikh! [For ours!] After children were told stories of heroic feats by Russian soldiers, they were put into a Z-formation to the sound of [pro-Putin pop singer] Oleg Gazmanov’s song called Russia forward!
Participants of the "special military operation" continue visiting schools during their leaves to talk with students. Nicolay, an Arzamas resident, met with students of School No. 6 at a summer camp. Andrey Krivoschekov from the Novosibirsk region met with students from the Otradnenskoe school near Kuybyshev. Governor of the Stavropol region Vladimir Vladimirov told of a newly opened military-sports training center where "special military operation" veterans will train youth and adults.
The Ukhta State Technical University held an information and propaganda meeting with students and representatives of the draft office of Russia’s constituent Komi Republic. The students were told about the "advantages" of contract military service.
Miscellaneous
The Polygon media outlet published an article about the employees of defense industry enterprises. According to the article, the enterprises almost completely stopped producing any civilian merchandise. There is also information about raised salaries, tightened security measures, and regular overtime work. Many defense industry enterprises work in three shifts.
The SOS. Severny Kavkaz [SOS. Northern Caucasus] project published a feature story on how the residents of Chechnya [Russia’s constituent republic] are sent to the war. Thus, people detained by the police without a record were locked in basements so that they could leave only in case they signed a contract. Besides, the Chechens are prevented from leaving the country, and when detained by the police, they are offered freedom in exchange for information on their acquaintances who may be sent to the frontline.
The Vyorstka media outlet published an article about conscription into the army. The journalists describe a new practice: college and university students are sent for an early health check-up. Thus, draft offices get a chance to conscript them before the official graduation date. Meanwhile, during their service, conscripts are systematically persuaded to sign a contract.
Russian Aerospace Forces pilot Dmitry Mishov, who fled Russia, told BBC about his reasons for defecting. He is currently in Lithuania, asking local authorities for asylum.
In Moscow, a civil defense campaign is taking place: the authorities are purchasing MREs and tents for evacuation, as well as checking the condition of bomb shelters in the north-west of the city.