Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 14-15, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Lawmakers in the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] have introduced a bill to lower the minimum age for taking the oath of allegiance when obtaining Russian citizenship from 18 to 14 years. The proposed legislation stipulates that authorities will nullify the decision to grant citizenship if applicants fail to take the oath or do not appear for the ceremony within one year. The bill's authors argue that taking the oath will "enhance the patriotic spirit."
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] analyzed data on "payment holidays" granted to military personnel and found that recruitment of volunteer fighters for the war is proceeding at record levels. Coming from the Central Bank of Russia, the data shows the loan deferments granted by banks primarily to new participants in the war, since the deferments are not available for loans taken after deployment to the frontline. From July to September 2024, banks approved approximately 54,200 new loan deferments for participants in the invasion of Ukraine, nearly double the amount in the same period of the previous year. In the second quarter of 2024, banks processed 45,800 deferments. Since the program's inception in October 2022, banks have issued over 411,000 loan deferments to military personnel.
In a bid to bolster military recruitment, authorities in Russia's Novosibirsk and Rostov regions have increased sign-up bonuses for enlistees. In Novosibirsk, the bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense has jumped from 600,000 rubles [$6,040] to 1.1 million rubles [$11,100]. Including the federal component, recruits can now receive a total of 1.5 million rubles [$15,100]. This bonus will remain in effect until December 31, 2024, after which it will revert to the previous amount, which had been introduced in early October. Meanwhile, officials in the Rostov region have raised the sign-up bonus from 1.3 million rubles [$13,100] to 1.6 million rubles [$16,100], with potential total payouts reaching 2 million rubles [$20,100] when the federal component is included.
In the city of Perm, advertisements promoting contract-based military service have appeared in the Trade and Technology College, the Polytechnic University, and the College of Entrepreneurship and Service. Previously, promotional banners urging enlistment for military service were displayed on school fences. Additionally, all schools in Perm simultaneously posted advertisements for army service in their groups on the VKontakte social network.
Former Rybinsk city council deputy Viktor Tamarov of United Russia [Putin’s ruling party], who was previously arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe of 600,000 rubles [$6,040], has signed a contract with the MoD and gone to the frontline.
It has also been reported that the criminal case against Yakov Sandakov, the former health minister of the Irkutsk region, who was suspected of accepting a bribe exceeding 7 million rubles [$70,400], has been suspended due to his participation in the "special military operation." Previously, Sandakov had been charged under four articles. Although he had earlier requested to join the war effort, the court at the time sided with the prosecutor, deeming the request unfounded.
The Zampolit Yakutii Telegram channel reported that Sulustan Zabolotsky, head of the executive committee of the United Russia party in Yakutia [Russia's constituent republic of Sakha (Yakutia)], signed a contract with the MoD and went to war. He was spotted in a video where Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, was seen bidding farewell to volunteer fighters before their deployment to a combat zone. According to TASS [Russian state-owned news agency], the volunteers will serve in the Kaskad military unit.
A 27-year-old Moscow resident, Vadim Ryazantsev, who has a bleeding ulcer, an untreated leg injury, and suspected borderline personality disorder, was detained near the metro and is being forcibly conscripted for regular biannual military service. At the police station, Ryazantsev fell ill, but the paramedics who arrived in response to a call refused to take him to a hospital. In early October, he underwent a medical examination at the draft office where he reported his health issues and was deemed fit only for limited types of military service. Currently, he is at the military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street, and his relatives cannot contact him.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
BBC News Russian, in collaboration with Mediazona and a team of volunteers, using open-source data, has managed to identify the names of 78,329 Russian soldiers who have died during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including 9,620 mobilized soldiers. In one week, the list grew by 1,186 names, including 155 mobilized soldiers. Journalists note that the rate of confirmed fatalities is the highest since the beginning of the war. The average age of confirmed deceased Russian soldiers this year has reached 38 years.
Soldiers who were held at the 35th Brigade in the Novosibirsk region, where a mutiny took place on Nov. 13, were sent to Rostov. From there, they are expected to be deployed to a combat zone. According to sources of the Astra Telegram channel, on Nov. 8, the unit received over a hundred soldiers with AWOL status. Among them were individuals who were "sick, on crutches and immobile," some were officially categorized unfit for military service and on temporary leave. On Nov. 15, nearly all those in the unit, along with soldiers from other units (totaling 200 people), were loaded onto a plane.
Aleksandr Fyodorov, a 38-year-old mobilized man from Russia's constituent Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), has amputated his own leg. The soldier sustained an injury and, lacking any assistance, proceeded to amputate his leg with a knife in the trench after administering himself pain medication. He was only evacuated after 17 days.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
In Russia's constituent Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, on Nov. 14, a participant in the war with Ukraine, who was on leave due to an injury, committed a murder. Private Renat Sakiev, a 35-year-old soldier from the 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade, had an argument with Valery B., his 33-year-old acquaintance. Sakiev then got into his Range Rover and ran over Valery and another man who were standing nearby with the vehicle, before fleeing the scene. As a result, Valery died on the spot, while the other man suffered fractures. Sakiev is currently wanted. He has previous convictions for theft and the illegal possession of firearms.
The Tomsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced soldier Sergey Chebykin to five years in a maximum security penal colony under charges of resisting his superior during mobilization or combat operations.
For the first time, a court has imposed a fine for failure to obey orders. In the summer of 2023, contract soldier Andrey K. was sentenced to two and a half years in a penal settlement. The sentence came into legal force, resulting in the soldier's discharge from service. After the appeal decision, he spent nine months in a penal settlement. In the summer of 2024, his legal counsel was successful in having the sentence overturned in cassation, resulting in the criminal case being sent for a retrial. During the retrial, some of the charges were dismissed, and, despite the soldier being found guilty of failure to obey orders once more, the court handed down a more lenient sentence, namely a fine of 100,000 rubles [$1,010]. Given that the convict had already spent nine months in a penal settlement, the court exempted him from paying the fine.
In Saint Petersburg, Yury Sergeyev, an assistant military commissar for the Admiralteysky and Kirovsky districts, and his wife Anastasia have been detained on suspicion of embezzlement. According to investigators, the couple recruited individuals whom they fictitiously employed at the Lenenergo energy supply company. Contracts for participation in the "special military operation" were then signed on behalf of these individuals. These "employees" were entitled to monthly payments of 50,000 rubles [$500] and a sign-up bonus of 500,000 rubles [$5,030]. Sergeyev and his wife appropriated the funds. The total damage amounted to 1.6 million rubles [$16,100]. A criminal case for fraud has been initiated, and both spouses have been placed in pre-trial detention for two months.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported the detention of a 16-year-old teenager in the Kirov region, suspected of preparing an act of sabotage on a railway. According to law enforcement officers, he received the assignment from Ukrainian intelligence services and was promised 25,000 rubles [$250] for carrying it out. A criminal case for attempted sabotage has been initiated against him.
A court in the city of Yekaterinburg has found 20-year-olds Dmitry Davydyenko and Andrey Yereklintsev guilty of attempted sabotage and 21-year-old Danil Nureyev guilty of incitement to terrorist activity and attempted sabotage. Davydyenko and Yereklintsev were sentenced to 13 and 12.5 years in a maximum security penal colony, respectively, while Nureyev, considered the "handler" of the sabotage, received 15 years of imprisonment. The three young men were detained in January 2023 while attempting to disable a traction substation on the South Ural Railway. The defendants claim they were fulfilling an order from a railway maintenance company and that the arson was unrelated to the "special military operation." In his final statement, Davydyenko accused FSB officers of staging a false flag attack and fabricating the criminal case. He said that while he did not deny his guilt, he demanded that intelligence service officers also be held accountable under the law. In court, Davydyenko described being tortured and assaulted during his detention.
A court in the Moscow region sentenced Tajik national Sharifjon Tillozoda to 14 years in a maximum security penal colony for espionage. Though the exact circumstances leading to his prosecution remain unknown. His detention was first reported in October 2023, when he was placed in a pre-trial detention center. Before that, a Moscow region court fined Tillozoda 5,000 rubles [$50] for violating residency rules in Russia. According to court documents, he had violated regulations on foreigners' access to restricted areas and facilities, which require special FSB authorization.
According to the Apolitika Telegram channel, a court in Belgorod found a local woman guilty of discrediting the Armed Forces and fined her 30,000 rubles [$300]. On Oct. 1, she reportedly tore down a Ministry of Defense advertisement banner at a bus stop in the town of Gubkin. Law enforcement officers identified her after witnesses reported the incident.
Assistance
The Mosfilm Director General, Karen Shakhnazarov, informed Vladimir Putin about donating 36 tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles, and eight trucks from the studio's stock to the military. Oleg Nikolaev, Head of Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic], reported sending an ambulance to the frontline.
In Saint Petersburg, an additional 1.2 billion rubles [$12.08 million] will be allocated to support participants in the war with Ukraine. The members of the Legislative Assembly approved the relevant budget amendment proposed by Alexander Beglov, Governor of Saint Petersburg, for 2024.
Arthur Parfenchikov, the head of Karelia [Russia’s constituent republic], urged residents on social media to participate in the "Warm a Soldier" campaign by collecting generators, potbelly stoves, undergarments, and lumber for Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, Tatyana Solomatina, a State Duma deputy from the Tomsk region, stated on her Telegram channel that Russian soldiers lack basic medical kits.
The Mari El [Russia's constituent republic]branch of Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] announced that citizens charged with certain weapons-related misdemeanors would be exempt from administrative responsibility if they surrendered firearms for shipment to the frontline. In Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic], since August 2024, 40 hunting shotguns have been sent to support the "special military operation," with plans to transfer more than 200 additional confiscated weapons.
Children
In the Krasnoyarsk region, a concert was held featuring kindergarteners, schoolchildren, and participants in the war with Ukraine, including Viktor Yendaurov, a Wagner Group mercenary previously convicted on drug charges.
The Ministry of Culture of Russia's constituent Republic of Tyva reported on a "lesson of courage" for teenagers held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the city of Kyzyl. War participants came to the event to see the convicts.
School counselor on education Tatyana Boroshchuk reported on the events held at the Mednogorsk Lyceum in Karachay-Cherkessia [Russia’s constituent republic] in honor of the so-called Day of a Mobilized Soldier. According to her, this date is celebrated weekly throughout Russia, but there is no official confirmation of such a holiday.
A paramilitary obstacle course has been opened at School No. 2 in Lesosibirsk in the Krasnoyarsk region. Young Army [pro-Kremlin youth organization] members and ordinary schoolchildren will train.
100% of teenagers aged 14 to 17 will be subjected to military-patriotic education in the Belgorod region, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of the region. According to him, 20,000 schoolchildren aged 14 to 17 have already been involved, but he believes that this is not enough. The governor gave the heads of municipalities one week to prepare projects to involve children in military-patriotic activities.
A military training center will be established at Omsk State University, where full-time military training programs will be conducted.
Kursk and Belgorod Regions
The government has promised to allocate 14 billion rubles [$141 million] to the Kursk region for housing certificates following protests by displaced residents from border areas. Additionally, the region will receive nearly 4 billion rubles [$40.25 million] for purchasing essential items for displaced persons and over 1 billion rubles [$10.06 million] to compensate for housing rental expenses. The Belgorod region will receive 3.5 billion rubles [$35.22 million] for similar purposes. The government claims that 17.5 billion rubles [$176 million] have already been allocated to assist war-affected residents of the Kursk region.
During his visit to the Kursk region, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Development Marat Khusnullinstated that over 2,000 families had allegedly already received housing certificates. However, local authorities reported handing out the first two housing certificates just on Wednesday. The certificates went to military families with many children. It was reported that the wives of the servicemen filled applications in the morning and received the certificates within a few hours. Local residents are concerned that only a few families will actually receive the housing certificates. The minister of transport and former Governor of the Kursk region Roman Starovoyt stated that all local residents whose homes were partially or completely destroyed would receive housing certificates. Starovoyt also mentioned "instances of looting by both civilians and military personnel" in the Glushkovsky district of the region.
The head of the Glushkovsky district administration, Pavel Zolotaryov, met with military police officers and discussed the problem of looting, "which unfortunately exists." Police had reportedly found weapons and stolen property on some individuals after detaining them. Pavel Zolotaryov requested that the military police increase patrols and tighten pass control in the district’s settlements. Residents of the village of Korenevo, along with Russian soldiers and volunteers who have lost their loved ones, spoke to BBC News Russian about the killings and looting in the Kursk region.
4,018 families in the Belgorod region received rental assistance from the government. According to Governor Gladkov, 110 million rubles [$1.11 million] were allocated for this purpose from the regional budget. The rent subsidies will be paid to families from closed settlements, as well as those whose homes were destroyed by artillery and drone attacks. The starting payment per family will be 20,000 rubles [$200], while families with several children will receive 40,000 rubles [$400]. 173 displaced persons had their government aid suspended and were accused of fraud.
Longreads
The list of killed soldiers from the regions of southern Russia and the North Caucasus, which is maintained by the editorial board of the Kavkaz.Realii [Caucasus.Realities, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] media outlet, already includes more than 10,000 people.
The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet published an interview with a soldier who participated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, who does not hide the fact that war is a way for him to earn money.
Relatives of three soldiers freed from a torture mine in the suburbs of Donetsk shared their stories of being beaten and humiliated while their loved ones being extorted.