Mobilization in Russia for Mar. 5–6, 2023 CIT volunteer summary  

Alexey Tsydenov, head of the Russia’s constituent Republic of Buryatia, announced on his Telegram channel the launch of a project called "Father's Brother." The idea of the project is that caring people, primarily men, can take under the wing a family that has lost its breadwinner in the war. Tsydenov himself took custody of the family of a serviceman who was killed in the war with Ukraine.

The Government of the Yaroslavl region reported that since Feb. 24, 2022, the region has spent 538.55 million rubles from its own treasury on the needs of the “special military operation.” In total, according to the government, 656 million rubles have been spent from the reserve fund in 2022.

The management of St. Petersburg outpatient clinic No. 99 forced employees to hand out draft notices to patients who attended a medical appointment. An audio recording of this order from the clinic's head physician, Aleksandr Zagorodnikov, was received by the source of Vazhnyye Istorii [iStories, an independent Russian investigative media outlet]. According to the source, the employees of the clinic issued, in total, more than a hundred draft notices to patients. Several doctors, in order not to participate in this, took an unplanned vacation.

The former head of Zavolzhsk town of the Ivanovo region, Vyacheslav Kasatkin, wrote a complaint to the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] on Dmitry Dvoretsky, the former director of the Volga utility company. Allegedly, after the announcement of mobilization, he arranged a reservation from mobilization to ten employees. Among them was the brother of the military commissar of the Zavolzhsky district and the children of other employees of the military enlistment office.

Against the background of appeals from the mobilized soldiers from the 1439th Regiment, the Ministry of Defense of Russia published a video with the story of a mobilized man from the Irkutsk region. In the video, the soldier talked about good training and excellent living conditions, care from the commanders, and high morale. In addition, the Ministry published two videos about the combat training of assault groups of the troops of the Western Military District.

Information about the deaths of draftees in the war in Ukraine continues to come. Nikolay Bulychev from the Kostroma region, Dmitry Alyoshin from Ufa, Aleksandr Ershov from the Nizhny Novgorod region, Oleg Melnikov and Dmitry Naushin from the Volgograd region, Uran-Sai Olzey from Tyva, Erdem Gazhitov from Buryatia, Ivan Orlov from the Irkutsk region, and Anatoly Sharapov from the Krasnoyarsk region were killed at the front.

It is reported about the death of a neurologist Andrey Safronov, from Vladimir, in the war. The doctor of superior expert category with more than 23 years of experience as a neurologist was mobilized for the war as a military doctor, despite the fact that he had three children, one of whom is disabled since childhood. At the same time, the Governor of the region, Aleksandr Avdeev, had previously admitted that the shortage of doctors in the Vladimir region had increased in 2022 and amounted to more than 900 people.

Relatives of killed draftees from Buryatia complain that they have nowhere to hold commemorations for the killed, since all the restaurants are booked for staff parties for March 8 [International Women’s Day].

A mobilized soldier from Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic] claimed that instead of the 14-day leave promised by Vladimir Putin, he was allowed to go home for only 10 days, which included the way out and return. Thus, the man would spend only 6 days at home. A close relative of another soldier confirmed this information. The soldier would have only 10 days on leave. He must return to Ukraine at his own expense. The soldier was paid a vacation allowance, but then most of the money was taken to buy an UAZ light utility vehicle.

At night someone broke a window at a collection point of aid for mobilized soldiers in Novosibirsk and threw a burning rag inside. The district administration claims that no severe damage has been done: a broken plastic window and a burned table. A criminal case has been initiated.

On Mar. 4, residents of Gukovo in the Rostov region heard an explosion sound. Later a photo of an unidentified artillery projectile which fell in a residential area was published. Head of the city Yevgeny Grinenko called the fallen objects "fragments of unknown origin" and asked residents not to believe the rumors and not to panic. However, he did not disclose the reason for the incident. According to the Astra Telegram channel, it was established during investigation that the incident was caused by the mistake of one of the military personnel. Located at the point of temporary deployment, a soldier unintentionally fired an RPG-22. This is what caused the explosion.

According to Astra sources, at 2 a.m. on Mar. 6, a conscript from the 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade temporarily stationed in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region opened fire. Reportedly, the sentry heard outsiders near the guard post. He opened fire after he received no answer to the question "Halt, who's there?" As a result, one conscript was killed, the second one was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. There is no official confirmation of what happened.

A man with a grenade was detained in the town of Domodedovo, Moscow region. According to the Baza Telegram channel, the man was dressed in military uniform and threatened to blow up a military commissariat [enlistment office]. According to the Telegram channel, the car in which the man was traveling was stopped on the street. After a grenade was found on him, the police closed the street and called sappers and the FSB officers. According to preliminary data, the man is 38 years old, and he was mobilized last year. However, the grenade turned out to be fake and the man appeared to be a deserter.

In the Russia’s constituent republic of Buryatia, unknown individuals damaged the railway. According to the Astra Telegram channel sources, on Mar. 5, a technical malfunction was found on the railway tracks. Unknown persons shorted the track circuit with a wire jumper. Because of this, a train loaded with coal was forced to stop for 30 minutes.

In Chuvashia, firewood was delivered to the wife of a mobilized soldier from Alatyr. Moreover, the support was provided not by the authorities of the town but by a local entrepreneur, for whom the soldier worked before being drafted.

Wives, mothers, daughters, and widows of participants in the war in Ukraine will receive a one-time payment of 8,000 rubles ($106) in honor of March 8. Meanwhile, for wives and children of heroes of the "special military operation" in Volgograd, a thematic photo session was arranged. As part of the "Wives of Heroes" project, a patriotic photo exhibition will be held in Volgograd on Mar. 8.

Local authorities in the Amur region urge orphans to go to the front to receive housing, which they are already entitled to by law. “Today, those orphans who have taken and are taking part in the “special military operation" have the priority right to receive a housing certificate,” said Natalya Kiselyova, Minister of Social Protection of the region. Earlier, Governor of the Amur region Vasily Orlov said that 3.5 thousand orphans were in the line for housing in the region. In 2020 and 2021, only 147 orphans received housing certificates. An orphan from the town of Zavitinsk, who is fighting against the Ukrainians, has already received his certificate out of turn. Also, four more military men took advantage of the chance to get the housing out of turn.

In the Oryol region, schoolchildren were involved in making Cheburashka soft toys with the letter "Z" as a symbol of the war. The toys will be sent to Russian servicemen fighting in Ukraine as mascots. Besides, a contest called Camouflage Makeup was held in the region in anticipation of the Women's Day holiday celebrated on Mar. 8.

Administration official Aleksandr Volkov reported that a primary branch of the Dvizheniye Pervykh [Movement of the First], created by the Russian authorities in order to "form youth leisure based on traditional spiritual and moral values," was opened at school No. 36 of the city of Vladimir.