Mobilization in Russia for May 5-6, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Crocus City Hall Terrorist Attack
Lipetsk regional authorities are moving to bar migrants from several sectors, including logistics and people transportation. They are also considering restricting other sectors in the future. Earlier, authorities had put restrictions on migrant work in the Saratov and Kursk regions, as well as in a number of other federal subjects (1, 2).
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Authorities in the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject] have begun summoning college students to medical evaluations, despite the fact that they have the right to defer military service. Legal expert Artyom Fayzulin notes that the authorities are serving summons not only to senior students, but also to freshmen. He stresses that draft offices cannot require students to appear in front of a medical evaluation board. By law, this step is part of the recruitment process, from which students are exempted during their studies. The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel had also written about this earlier, noting that draft offices are only allowed to summon college students for a "data check-up." Students may undergo medical evaluations only on a voluntary basis.
A 25-year-old resident of Krasnoyarsk, suffering from a duodenal ulcer, regularly receives draft notices for regular biannual conscription. The man has all the documents required to confirm his diagnosis. However, Viktor Nechiporenko, the military commissar of the Sovietsky and Central districts, accuses him of draft evasion. During his last visit to the draft office, the young man recorded his conversation with Nechiporenko, during which he was insulted and called a traitor.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Ilya Legkodimov from the Irkutsk region.
The authorities in Cherepovets have forbidden local resident Yury Markov from publishing photos from the funerals of participants in the war with Ukraine. According to Markov, the police informed him that complaints about the photos supposedly came from the relatives of the deceased. However, Markov believes that the ban on photographing comes from the military commissar of Cherepovets. Markov has been virtually the only source of information about the war-related deaths of Cherepovets residents. The local authorities do not report these losses.
The convicted former director of Yeralash [Russian children's comedy TV show and magazine], Ilya Belostotsky, who was sentenced for pedophilia, has been awarded the medal For Life Saving and had his prison sentence waived. He serves as a medic in an assault unit. Belostotsky signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense in October 2023, when he had two and a half years left of his sentence in prison. In November 2022, Belostotsky was sentenced to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old child. However, later, the Moscow City Court reclassified the charges to indecent acts and reduced the sentence to six and a half years. According to current legislation, individuals convicted under this article are entitled to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
On May 4, in the "DPR," 57-year-old Sergeant Yuri Galushko shot six fellow soldiers from the Howitzer Artillery Division of the 10th Tank Regiment, after which he fled with a personal weapon—an AK-12 assault rifle. According to the Astra Telegram channel, Galushko is a native of Kharkiv and holds Russian citizenship, having lived in the Belgorod region for some time. Allegedly, he volunteered for the war from prison at the end of February this year. However, the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, associated with law enforcement, claims that at least in November 2023, Galushko was at liberty, and he joined the service to earn money for an eye surgery. According to the channel, the shooting of his fellow soldiers could have been triggered by an incident involving his mother: the woman living in Kharkiv came under fire from Russian forces, sustained an injury and suffered a stroke as a result. According to the Baza Telegram channel, Galushko is being sought in the Rostov, Belgorod, and Voronezh regions, a report echoed by law enforcement sources of the 161.ru media outlet.
In the Rostov region, a court has sentenced two mobilized soldiers from the Chelyabinsk region to two years in a penal settlement for failing to execute orders. The men simultaneously refused to obey the order to deploy to a combat zone. Initially, the investigation initiated a case of collective failure to execute orders with serious consequences, as the investigators believed that the refusal of the mobilized soldiers led to a decrease in military discipline, negatively affected the morale and psychological state of other servicemen, and undermined the authority of commanders. However, the court rejected the arguments of the investigators and reclassified the actions of the mobilized to a lesser offense.
According to Astra, the schoolboy arrested for collaborating with the "Freedom of Russia Legion" turned out to be 15-year-old Matvey Treshchev from Bryansk. On May 3, the teenager was placed in pre-trial detention for allegedly photographing bus stops, Lenin Square and the government building on the instructions of the "Freedom of Russia Legion." Treshchev allegedly attempted to recruit his classmate, who presumably reported him.
A court in Saint Petersburg sentenced teenagers to four and two years in a juvenile colony for an act of terror committed in a group, following a railway arson incident. According to the court, in September 2023, the teenagers "entered into a criminal conspiracy with a supporter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to commit an act of terror." Fontanka reports that the teenagers are 15 years old.
Near the railway station in Tambov, a 44-year-old Russian man was detained for allegedly preparing to bomb the buildings of the regional and arbitration courts on the instructions of the Ukrainian intelligence services. It is claimed that station workers noticed the man placing unknown objects in construction debris during a patrol. Two explosive devices were found at the scene of the detention. In a video, the detainee claims that he was recruited by the Ukrainian intelligence services in July 2023 "to carry out sabotage and acts of terror on the territory of Russia." A case of preparing an act of terror has been initiated against him.
Assistance
According to the Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet, schools in the Krasnoyarsk region collect toilet paper and soap for the military as part of the "Victory Was and Will Be Ours" campaign.
The Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject] government has introduced new housing benefits for war participants. They are now entitled to subsidies to improve their housing.
Children and Educational System
The Ministry of Education and Science of Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic] has purchased eight UAVs to equip specialized clubs in 17 schools. The republic spent 43.7 million rubles [$477,700] from its budget for this purpose.
The Higher School of Economics administration is demanding the inclusion of patriotic activists in the student council composition, threatening dissenters with expulsion. Students of the university anonymously shared this information with TV Rain. In April, the HSE rectorate disbanded the university's student council after it failed to include members of the Movement of the First state-led youth movement.
In Russia’s constituent Altai Republic, Amyyr Konunov, a war participant with a previous criminal record, met with second and third-grade students of the Ulagan elementary school. The meeting was organized by the parents’ committee. Sibir.Realii discovered that Konunov had previously been convicted of threatening murder, causing bodily harm and illegal logging.
Students at the Baltic State Technical University are being forced to work with military drone manufacturers under the threat of expulsion. They are being forced to sign an employment contract instead of an internship agreement and documents for access to classified information. According to a student who contacted the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet, the university instructs students to intern exclusively with military companies. Although the students are not informed about their specific tasks, they assume that they will be assembling drones and other military equipment. Those who refuse are threatened with expulsion.
The Movement of the First is recruiting 850 teenagers for internships at the defense industry companies in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, where they assemble Shahed kamikaze drones (Shahed-136 (Geran-2) loitering munitions). Students and graduates of vocational educational institutions aged 16 to 22 are invited to apply for the internship selection process. Applicants are required to prepare a resume and undergo two tests. Upon completion of the internship program, they will have the opportunity for further employment in Alabuga. The plan is to hire 300 people specifically to assemble the drones. Another 300 will be involved in providing meals for the factory staff, and 250 will be responsible for maintaining the dormitories. Student interns will receive a monthly stipend of 25,000 rubles ($270), while production operators in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstanstart with a salary of 60,000 rubles [$650].
Longreads
Journalists from the Okna [Windows] media outlet conducted an investigation into the abduction, torture, and illegal deployment to war of conscript Vladimir Frolov, whose death was reported several weeks ago. It turns out that Frolov was far from the only one who was thrown into basement prisons, tortured, and then sent on deadly combat missions. Journalists attempted to uncover who is behind the torture and why relatives are unable to save their loved ones from abuse.