Mobilization in Russia for Mar. 19–20, 2023 CIT volunteer summary
The Russian Ministry of Defense plans to launch a pilot project aimed at dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome among servicemen fighting in Ukraine. Upon achieving positive results, the program can be extended to all officers participating in the armed conflict. It is offered that servicemen with PTSD are temporarily transferred to the rear zone in the Rostov region.
In Russia's regions, draft notices continue to be issued. It is reported that draft notices will be distributed en masse to residents of the Orenburg region. The regional military commissariat [enlistment office] explained that draft notices are mailed to fix errors that were identified during mobilization in the fall of 2022. Now it is allegedly required to update the electronic database: "We ask citizens not to worry: this is not a new wave of mobilization, you are summoned by a draft notice to a military commissariat only for the data check-up," explained the military commissar Dmitry Kileyev. At the same time, the military commissar of the Yaroslavl region Igor Gostev said that in order to check the registration data of citizens who are subject to conscription or who are in reserve, the mailing of draft notices is not provided. Instead, according to him, "information is sent to the military enlistment office through the official portal of government services or is checked by phone."
The military commissariat of Nizhny Tagil collects data on employees of private enterprises. The city's military commissar sends requests to the HR departments of local companies. Companies are required to provide copies of military IDs for all male employees who are under 50 years of age. A fine of 150,000 rubles is imposed on the company for failing to provide this information.
In Yekaterinburg, students are being summoned to military commissariats. A young man found a letter in his mailbox requiring him to report to a military commissariat on Mar. 23 for a military service register data check-up. The letter states that "attendance is strictly compulsory." The military commissariat confirmed the authenticity of the letter: "Military service register data check-up is taking place in preparation for the spring conscription campaign."
Graduates of the Moscow Aviation Institute, when receiving a diploma, are forced to sign a draft notice to report to an enlistment office. One of the students, who had already gone to the enlistment office on such a notice, said that there they tried to recruit him for contract service. The institute administration stated that the notices were handed over to students whose deferment from conscription had ended.
Draft notices started to be distributed in technical schools of Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic]. Representatives of an enlistment office raided technical schools and colleges during school hours to distribute draft notices to all male students to report to the enlistment office for “data check-up” on April 27. One of the students, on condition of anonymity, told the Syerditaya Chuvashia [Angry Chuvashia] Telegram channel that he refused to sign anything. The representatives started threatening him with drawing up a formal note of refusal but left after a short argument, and no consequences followed.
In anticipation of the spring conscription, the Military Ombudsman project answers popular questions about the rights of school students.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia demonstrates footage of the training of mobilized military personnel "in the rear area of the special operation," as well as sending mobilized military personnel "on scheduled vacations."
Another batch of mobilized soldiers from Bashkiria [Russia’s constituent republic], participating in the "special military operation," returned home for leave. “This is the fifth batch of soldiers on leave from this regiment. The head of the republic Radiy Khabirov allocated the necessary transport, which takes the guys from the territory of the Northern Military District and then takes them back," said Alik Kamaletdinov, an adviser to the Head of Bashkiria on issues of interaction with military personnel. Meanwhile, the mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, demanded businesses release women from work while their husbands are on leave in Kazan. At the same time, children were allowed to study remotely from home.
Mobilized soldiers continue to get killed at the front. Among the casualties were Mikhail Chugaev from the Perm region, Ivan Savin from the Samara region, Aleksey Unikov from the Vladimir region, and Aleksandr Maltsev from Saint Petersburg. Pro-Russian "military correspondents" actively circulate stories of Maltsev’s participation in one of the [tactical] assaults.
At the Military Memorial Cemetery of Yaroslavl, the city authorities are planning to install identical tombstones on the graves of those killed in the war. They also plan to erect a memorial in the city. In such a manner, the officials offered to eternalize the memory of fallen men. How much this initiative will cost remains unknown.
In Omsk, a mobilized man was sentenced to 6 years in prison for assaulting an officer. Ivan Martynov was found guilty of the article "Forcible actions against the superior during the mobilization period," writes Mediazona [an independent Russian media outlet]. According to investigators, while in a tent camp, a drunken Martynov inflicted "at least twenty blows with his fists" on officer Perevalov's head on the account that he had previously made corrective remarks towards him. At the same time, according to the convict himself, Perevalov was also drunk during the brawl.
The Budyonnovsky Garrison Military Court (the Stavropol region) sentenced a mobilized man to five years in prison for leaving a [military] unit and hiding out for over two months. The court’s press release states that on Oct. 6, the serviceman left the place of service without authorization and did not appear there for over two months. According to the prosecution, Daniil Pistsov went to the Krasnodar region, "where he spent time at his own discretion." In mid-December, the mobilized man turned up at a police station. At the trial, he admitted his guilt and repented.
In Saratov, FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] and transport police officers detained two residents of the region suspected of setting fire to relay cabinets on the railway. A criminal case was initiated against them for intentional damage to property, which entailed grave consequences.
In the Ulyanovsk region, as a result of a road accident involving a passenger car and a car transporter carrying UAZ SUVs and cross-country minivans with cargo for Russian servicemen sent from the Perm region to the “special military operation” zone, three UAZ cars burned down, and two more cannot be restored. The drivers and part of the cargo were saved. These UAZ cars were loaded with heating stoves, camouflage nets, trench candles made by volunteers, and other things.
In Tyumen, they came up with another way to support participants of the special military operation: free classes in a fitness center were organized for the soldiers who returned from the “special operation.” Coaches will help them recover from wounds, and injuries and generally improve their health at no cost. Meanwhile, in Surgut, social activists organized a Ty ne odna [You’re not alone] support group for wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters of mobilized soldiers. At the meetings, soldiers’ relatives will receive psychological support, as well as stand on nails with their bare feet, reportedly in order to reduce the level of anxiety. At the same time, in Vladivostok, children of participants in the “special military operation” will ride public transport for free.
The Fontanka media outlet tells the story of Pavel Mushumansky, who recently defended the right to alternative civilian service in court during mobilization. After a court decision, he can be sent to an alternative service or even released.