Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 11-13, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Federation Council [upper house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] has approved a bill lowering the age of criminal liability for sabotage from 16 to 14 years. One can read more about the initiative here.
The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a bill in its first reading that would stiffen penalties for convicts and individuals under investigation who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense but later refused to fight. Under the new legislation, those who go AWOL for two to 10 days would face up to six years in prison. Absences lasting from 10 days to one month would increase the penalty to one month, while desertion would carry a sentence of up to 20 years.
Lawmakers also approved a bill in its first reading related to transitioning to year-round conscription. The document proposes eliminating the rule whereby fines for failing to notify the draft office of an address change applied only during conscription periods. The bill would require individuals to report any departure from their place of residence for more than three months to the draft office at any time of the year, or face a fine ranging from 500 to 3,000 rubles [$6-$37]. The changes would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
The State Duma recently approved a bill requiring mandatory work assignments for all medical school graduates but introduced an exception for the wives of military personnel if no suitable hospitals or mentors exist at their husband's duty station. However, how authorities will implement this measure remains unknown; they classified the section detailing its implementation.
Army Recruitment
After the law allowing reservists to be deployed to guard essential facilities was adopted, regional authorities in Russia began actively recruiting unemployed men into BARS (Special Combat Army Reserve) volunteer units, promising them jobs at the factories they would be protecting. This was reported by Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet]. Some draft offices have confirmed that such recruitment is underway and described several types of payments: monthly retainers for staying in the reserve, ranging from 2,000 rubles [$25] to 10,000 rubles [$120], and payments for participating in military training, ranging from 20,000 rubles [$250] to 50,000 rubles [$620]. In some cases, reservists may also receive a sign-up bonus and a salary from the guarded factory. For instance, in Russia's constituent Republic of Bashkortostan, in the Kuyurgazinsky district and in the city of Ufa, unemployed people are being offered jobs at a factory classified as an essential facility. In the Krasnoyarsk region, a draft office representative held a meeting at the local Employment Center. In some regions, employees of essential facilities are also being urged to join the reserve. The Kommersant daily newspaper previously reported that reservist units intended to guard essential infrastructure have been established in at least 20 Russian regions.
Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, announced that the BARS-NN reserve unit has been joined by the heads of 15 municipalities, as well as Andrey Gneushev, the deputy governor. The reservists will be tasked with defending essential facilities in the region.
A 32-year-old resident of the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject] was offered to join the reserve when he reported to a draft office for a "data check-up" after receiving an electronic notice. He and about ten other men were promised a draft deferral certificate if they enrolled. According to him, none of the men present agreed to sign up.
In the Krasnoyarsk region, authorities have temporarily increased the sign-up bonus for contracts with the MoD—from Nov. 10 to Dec. 26 of this year, it will amount to 3.1 million rubles [$38,200]. The previous increase occurred in August, when the bonus was raised from 1.1 million rubles [$13,600] to 1.7 million rubles [$20,900].
Four members of an organized criminal group involved in large-scale kidnappings, armed robberies and rapes have signed military contracts and been sent to the war in Ukraine. Their criminal case has been suspended. According to investigators, the group began operating in the Khabarovsk region in August 2023. Their victims included 13 people—mostly women, as well as two men, one of whom was a minor. The perpetrators met women through social media or mutual acquaintances, then took them to remote locations where they staged a drug search and "detention." They threatened the victims with a baseball bat and a mock grenade, seized their phones, took out loans in their names and held them in rented apartments to prevent them from contacting the police.
The Telegram channel Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] reports new incidents of conscription roundups in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Police, Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] and traffic police are stopping young men at both central and outlying metro stations.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
One hundred and seventeen natives of Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] under the age of 20 have been killed in the war against Ukraine, activist of the Free Buryatia Foundation Valentina Bazarova told the Mozhem Ob’yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel. All of them were still attending school when the full-scale invasion began. This year, volunteers found obituaries for 10 young men. One of them, Maksim Suvorov, was drafted during the regular biannual conscription campaign in June 2025, and just two days later he signed a contract. He was killed on July 24—only 30 days passed between his call-up and his death.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
A court in Saint Petersburg sentenced a contract soldier Maksim Vorobyev to 18 years of maximum security penal colony on charges of desertion accompanied by robbery, murder for profit and attempted murder, robbery causing grievous bodily harm, as well as theft. Prosecutors had requested a 21-year sentence. In his final statement, Vorobyev pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. The 26-year-old native of Medvezhyegorsk signed a contract in June 2024 and was assigned to serve in a military unit in Kamenka, Leningrad region. On Aug. 5, 2024, he went AWOL and traveled to Saint Petersburg. On Oct. 2, he committed several thefts in grocery stores. On Nov. 12, at a bus stop, he robbed a man, stabbing him in the head with a knife; the victim died nine days later. That same day, Vorobyev stole a bottle of whiskey from a supermarket, threatening the cashier with a knife, and also attacked a taxi driver with a knife, forcing him to hand over money. Vorobyev was arrested on Nov. 13, 2024, and was found to be under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest.
In the Tyumen region, a man who had participated in the war was sentenced to seven years in a maximum security penal colony after being convicted of rape under threat of murder. Prosecutors said he threatened to break the neck of a woman visiting him if she refused to have sex. The victim managed to call police after the man fell asleep. The defendant had a lengthy criminal history. He previously served 12 years for premeditated murder and later received a five-year sentence for rape. Just two months before completing that second term, he signed a military contract and was deployed to the war.
The Orenburg Garrison Military Court sentenced a serviceman to seven years in a maximum security penal colony after convicting him of going AWOL. He left his unit on Jan. 17 and returned to his home in the Orenburg region, where he remained for more than five months. On July 2, 2025, he voluntarily reported to the military investigation department and disclosed his whereabouts. In court, he entered a full guilty plea.
Authorities in Russia’s Leningrad region detained a woman on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack. Investigators allege she entered the Sablino railway station and set fire to two switch control cabinets. Officials further claim she acted under instructions from scammers.
In Omsk, a 27-year-old local resident has been detained in a criminal case involving an intentional arson. According to investigators, on Nov. 11, he set fire to a police precinct officer’s service vehicle parked in a residential courtyard, acting on instructions from scammers he had been communicating with via messaging apps. The detainee told authorities that one of the scammers had posed as an officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and promised to return a previously stolen 700,000 rubles [$8,620] if he agreed to torch "any government-owned vehicle." A court has placed the man under house arrest.
A 24-year-old woman from Kirensk, Irkutsk region, has been detained on charges of carrying out an act of terror. Investigators say scammers called her and tricked her into granting them access to the Gosuslugi public services portal. They then coerced her—under threats—into transferring 300,000 rubles [$3,700], and, promising to return the money, urged her to carry out an arson attack. On Nov. 12, the woman set fire to an electrical transformer, cutting power to 38 residential buildings and six public facilities; the blaze also spread to a nearby gas station, where bystanders extinguished the flames.
A criminal case has been opened against a 24-year-old resident of Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic], whose name has not been released, on charges of treason and participating in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, from July 2023 through September 2024, the defendant "maintained contact with a representative of a terrorist organization acting in the interests of Ukrainian intelligence."
The Kherson Regional Court, established by the Russian occupation authorities, has issued a verdict in the murder of Petro Martynchuk, a resident of the village of Chornianka who was abducted and killed by a group of men in March 2023. Two Ukrainians, Oleksiy Yansevych and Mykola Antonenkov, and Russian citizen Andrey Timchenko encountered Martynchuk while drunk and began talking to him about the "special military operation." According to their testimony, Martynchuk was also intoxicated and allegedly "expressed support for Ukraine." They forced him into the trunk of a car, drove him to a field, beat him and then strangled him. Yansevych was sentenced to 16 years on charges of murder committed by a group and kidnapping. Antonenkov received 12 years in a penal colony on a charge of murder committed by a group. Timchenko, who was accused of concealing a serious crime, was released from punishment due to the statute of limitations.
Assistance
Authorities in Bashkortostan plan to allocate 24.5 billion rubles [$302 million] next year for payments to participants in the war and their families. Earlier, regional governor Radiy Khabirov said the republic had allocated 26 billion rubles [$320 million] in 2025 to "support the special military operation."
Children and Militarization
In Chita, officials have opened a new military-history classroom called "Memory and Glory." For two years, students in 10th and 11th grades will have daily classes on Russian military history, military journalism, basic tactical medicine and UAV operations. Upon graduation, they will receive, in addition to a standard school certificate, a qualification as a UAV operator-developer.
Longreads
Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] reports on how and why regional authorities are urging local residents to join the mobilization reserve.